Siberians are aboriginal forest cats imported from Russia and Siberia. For a significant period of time, it was against the law in Russia to own and feed pets. Many strays found refuge in monasteries which is a major part of the historical lore of Siberians. Prior to the fall of communism, Siberians were also not allowed to be exported to other countries. The first standard of this breed was developed in 1988, and after over a year of calls, letters, paperwork complicated with language barriers, slow mail, and many other problems, Elizabeth Terrell was able to import three Siberian kittens. Elizabeth had seen an article asking for breeders willing to donate or trade Himalayans in order to help establish the breed in Russia. She was able to work out a trade and in return she received one male (Kaliostro Vasenjkovich) and two female (Ofelia Romanova and Naina Romanova) kittens. Since then, many other kittens have been imported by American breeders in order to increase the genetic diversity of Siberians in the USA. Currently Siberians are becoming more popular all over the world and are now accepted by the leading world felinological associations.

Siberian cats have delightful personalities. Siberians are playful, affectionate and devoted to their people. They are also intelligent, observant and very curious. With their gentle, good natured, and dog like personalities, Siberians are very easy to train. Generally quiet, Siberians speak with purrs, chirps, squeaks, and body language. Needless to say, I have not found a better cat personality.

The Siberian cat has a reputation for being hypoallergenic (below normal allergenic), because some people who normally suffer from cat allergies have reduced or no reaction to Siberians. Siberians have lower levels of the protein Fel-d1 in their saliva. Dried saliva is a major part of dander, which is what most people with allergies have allergic reactions to. Because they express lower amounts of Fel-d1 in their saliva, Siberian cats can be tolerated by many individuals who suffer from cat allergens.

We have found that roughly 70-90% of typical cat allergy sufferers are able to tolerate Siberians having little or no reaction. Individual response to cat allergens vary depending on how sensitive they are to cat allergens and also, the allergen levels of the cat itself. Because of this variation in allergic reactions, each cat allergy sufferer should visit a Siberian cattery and spend time with an adult cat before purchasing a kitten. There is a test available that measures Fel-d1 levels in cat saliva and at one time all of Golden Dawn Siberians' breeding cats had been tested.  That is no longer the case.. There were changes made to the protocals for gathering the saliva in preparation for the test and using the new rules I can't seem to gather enough saliva for the test...We do in person testing for cat allergies which seems to work perfectly in determining whether an individual is going to react to our Siberians or not..