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Need to Know
- Great for first-time owners
- Active and playful
- Sociable and dependent cat
- Quiet
- Average build
- Requires frequent grooming
- Likes both the indoors and outdoors
- Can be regularly left alone for a few hours
- Needs a calm environment
Personality
While gentle Nebelung cats are shy and slightly aloof with strangers, they are loyal, loving, and deeply affectionate with their family and well-known friends. Once Nebelungs form close bonds of love and trust, they maintain them for life. This breed adores human company and will want to be your shadow, following you wherever you go, always eager to get in on the action. Nebelungs make excellent lap cats and can be demanding when they want to cuddle.
A relatively new cat, the Nebelung originated in America in the 1980s as a cross between a Russian Blue and an Angora Cat. The name Nebelung comes from the German “Nebel” meaning “fog” or “mist,” and “nebo” in Russian, which means “sky” or “heaven.”
Owners will want to be home during the day or have another cat companion to keep the social Nebelung cat busy and occupied. Unlike some independent cats, the Nebelung has an intense desire to cuddle and will want to spend a lot of time interacting with owners.
These active cats love to play. Cat trees, platforms, toys, games, and food-dispensing puzzles are all right up their alley. Most importantly Nebelung cats will want to play with their owners, especially as kittens. They won’t mind being alone but they prefer to race around the house, climb furniture, and solicit pets from their owners.
Nebelungs enjoy outdoor time, but they should only be allowed to be outside when they are in a secure yard or cat run. Their silky coat is not weatherproof and can cause them to overheat easily. During the summer months, they should be kept indoors.
The Nebelung can groom itself, but check their bottoms, ears, and mouths regularly for debris.
Nebelung cats are intelligent and curious cats who learn quickly. They are easily capable of learning new tricks and do well with positive reinforcement. They can be clicker trained.
Nebelungs make good family cats. They get along well with family, other cats, dogs, and older children. However, these cats are sensitive to noise and can get easily agitated by busy households. Quieter households are more their speed.
The cost of a Nebelung from a breeder is significantly more than the cost of adopting one from a local shelter or rescue. The adoption fee usually covers additional items such as spaying or neutering, vaccines, and microchipping.
Learn more about feeding and caring for your Nebelung on Purina.