Siberian cats, as the name itself suggests, come from the distant Siberia. As a result of its harsh climate and tough environmental conditions they developed thick, moderately long coat, intelligence, endurance and high immunity against diseases.

NEVA MASQUARADE, is the colourpointed variety of the Siberian cat. It is distinguished by markings (called points) otherwise characteristic for Siamese and blue eyes.
Neva comes in a myriad of colors and markings. Thanks to that they are always unique and rare cats.
Siberian cats with points are a result of a big Russian breeding program started in 1960 by members of the Russian Club of Cat Fanciers (TARC) from Petersburg.
By means of selection, a sufficient number of kittens had been gathered to begin the breed.
The breed has been named after the river Neva running through the city of Petersburg, once famous for its splendid masquerades.
Neva Masquerade is considered to be an equivalent of the Siberian Cat by most of the breeding federations and only a few of them accepted it as a separate breed. After heated protests from the breeders of typical Siberian Cats, opposed to the notion of accepting "Neva" as a colourpointed variety of Siberian cat, the amateurs of Neva registered their cats as a completely new breed "Neva Masquerade".
So far it has been approved by the Feline Federation Europe (FFE) from Great Britain, The World Cat Federation (WCF) and the process of registration is currently underway in a few other federations (TICA).
The Russian breeders are very proud of this breed and consider it a great success. Again it must be stressed that it has been created without outcross, only by means of kitten selection.

The history of Neva began In XVIII century when the some of the Siamese cats, brought and held by Russian nobility, mated with native domesticated cats, also with the Siberians.
Neva is identical to Siberians in both physical and psychical aspects; the only difference is the color of the coat.
Because of the Siamese points, Neva resemble the Birman or the American Ragdolls.
Neva's markings develop very slowly - it is a cat that changes constantly over time.
Neva are unusual cats; they possess the best characteristics of both the Siberians and the Siamese.
They not only inherited the marvelous presence of a forest cat from their forebears but also Siberian's exceptional character and intelligence; at the same time they managed to retain the Siamese-like points on the head, paws and tail, strikingly blue eyes and nearly doglike personality. Neva have got a very nice voice and are rather vocal. They love to communicate by voice with their owners, so that you can almost have dialogs with them. They can be friendly and loyal without ever becoming importunate.
Neva are very curious and they often follow their owners around the house so as to not miss anything interesting. They are lively and active, with much temperament, but not aggressive; they often choose to avoid confrontation. They like company and playing around.
Neva are friendly, loyal and become very attached to their owner.