Nebelung

The Nebelung cat is a medium-haired cat breed, and resembles the Russian Blue but has a medium-long coat.

The breed was created in the early 1980s in Denver, Colorado by Cora Cobb, with the two foundation cats being Elsa, a black domestic shorthaired cat, and an unnamed blue domestic shorthair. The first mating of these two cats produced five black or blue shorthaired kittens as well as Siegfried (born 1984) who was blue with medium long hair. The second mating produced five black or blue shorthaired kittens, as well as a black longhair female and Brunhilde (born 1985), a blue longhaired female. Cobb decided to mate Siegfried and Brunhilde, and their first litter was born in 1986. The offspring of Siegfried and Brunhilde were eventually out-crossed to natural Russian Blues in order to replicate the Russian Blue type. Although the Nebelung is sometimes called a long-haired Russian Blue, it is actually a separate breed.

The breed was officially recognized by The International Cat Association (TICA) in 1987 under the 'new breeds' category, and achieved full recognition as a Championship breed in 1997. The Nebelung is recognized by many cat registries/associations throughout Europe and also the World Cat Federation (WCF), as they mimic the natural, long established Russian Blue except for coat length.

Nebelung is a German word meaning "creature of the mist". These cats are judged in Europe on the same standard as a Russian Blue with the exception of their coat, which is mid-length with a dense plumy tail. TICA judges the Nebelung on a different standard which was developed specifically for the breed. Most Nebelungs have green eyes, though some are yellow. They usually turn green as the cat matures. Their fur must be "blue" (a term of art for a slightly blue-tinted grey) tipped with silver. The Nebelung is an intelligent cat, which stays playful when they get older.