The ussuri is a rare domestic cat landrace originating in Russia's Amur River region. It is reputed to be derived from natural hybridization with small wild cats known as Amur cats. Semi-wild ussuris are said to have then further hybridised naturally with domestic Siberian cats and European Shorthairs. This hybrid-origin theory seems to be based on conjecture and the cat's appearance. The variety is rare even in Russia. A translated breed standard for this and other native varieties, from a Russian fancier organisation, was published in the mid-1990s, but nothing has been heard in the West since that time and its breed status even in Russia is unclear. The ussuri is not recognized as a formal cat breed by any major cat fancier and breeder organisation. The ussuri's numbers may be dwindling due to interbreeding with local domestic cats and, without a breeding programme to preserve the strain, it will likely disappear. But some other Russian minority cat breeds, such as the ussuri-unrelated, hairless Donskoy and Peterbald, whose standards were published in English at the same time, are now actively bred outside Russia in selective breeding programmes. Wikipedia [ - ]

The ussuri is a rare domestic cat landrace originating in Russia's Amur River region. It is... [ + ]