Hello all!

Hello there, everyone!

Ever since my husband and I got our second cat, I've been incredibly interested in (and obsessed with!) Nebelungs. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be too much out there on the breed! So I was thrilled to find this forum. This is the story of how we got our little Nebe- it is a long one!

First, her name. Her real name is Chat Gris. The name of the inn in one of my favorite books (The Scarlet Pimpernel) is called the Chat Gris, and when my husband I read it together, every time they talked about the inn I would joke about it, saying that someday we'll have a grey cat (I know the color really is blue) and name it Chat Gris. So when we were looking for our second cat, I already had it in my head that I wanted a blue one so we could name him/her that!

We went to an "adoption fair" last April at a park in Los Angeles to find her. Shelters from all around come and bring their cats and dogs so people can look at them and hopefully adopt one. We found this cutest little grey ball of fluff first, a kitten, but someone else had already claimed it. I can't help but to be grateful for that!

We found her in a cage with three other cats. She was a bit older than we had wanted, about 4 or 5 months old, but she was quiet and shy, which we thought might be good, since our first cat was pretty outgoing and energetic (she's a Bengal, or so I'm told). We didn't want their personalities to clash too much. My husband was leaning towards this Ocicat, but I loved her and he gave in to me =)

When we first brought her home, we kept her in the bathroom to get used to her surroundings and to not freak out our other cat (her name is Nala, although we call her Keyteh). Everything was fine until I went in to visit with her. She was hiding behind the toilet. When she heard me approach, she freaked out. She ended up leaping through this little tiny hole underneath the sink and got into the cabinet (I didn't even know that hole was there!). Every time my husband or I tried to come near her, she hissed, growled, and angrily batted at us. We were actually pretty scared of her because she was so violent; my husband was ready to give her back. I convinced him to give her a few more days.

During one of the times we went in to visit her, Nala ran into the bathroom with us. She was hissing, but for some reason, Chat Gris was more comfortable with an angry cat than a caring human. She didn't hiss back or growl or attempt to fight her like she did with us. We realized that this was our way in. When we first saw her, she was in a cage with two other cats, and the shelter didn't know anything about her. They didn't know where she had come from or who had fostered her. So it was obvious to us that she needed the presence of another cat to feel safe.

We let them have time together much earlier than everyone says you should, but it really worked wonders for our newest addition. And once she saw that the other cat liked us and let us touch her and play with her, she started to come out of her shell a little bit, too. We decided to keep her, but it would be a long road ahead.

When we first got her, she didn't look well-taken care of at all. Her coat was ratty and she didn't look all that healthy. Here is a picture of her from those days.



It became very quickly obvious that she had been severely abused and neglected. When we ate, she constantly tried to steal our food and eat things off the floor, as if she didn't know when she would be fed again. When we gave her treats, she would take them with her and run away to hide it, to either save it for later, or to prevent someone else from taking it from her. Walking towards her resulted in her completely going crazy and running away to hide, as though she thought she was about to get kicked. When held, she would immediately begin to struggle as if to save her life, but she never, ever, bit- as though she knew that would result in her being hurt. It was really, really sad to see how she reacted, and even worse for us to know that she had been hurt so awfully before.

It took a really long time- we got her a just about a year ago- but she is doing wonderful now. It didn't take long for her to grow into herself a little bit, and she has the most luscious, beautiful coat. December was the first time that she let me step over her while she was lying down. I was so shocked. Last month, she let me pet her with my foot. And just last week, she was playing and I put my hand down to play with her, and she play-bit my hand. Recently, she has become less resistant to being held. And she is so much fun. She plays like crazy and loves our attention. She'll sleep with us under the covers at night and she needs to be constantly in contact with one of us (usually me). She kneeds us all the time and purrs up a storm. Her purring has gotten louder, and so has her meowing- she is always chatting with us and telling us what she wants!





When we first got her, I thought she might have some Turkish Angora in her, because of her tail. But upon further examination, I realized that without a doubt, she is a Nebelung. We have no idea where she came from, so she doesn't have a pedigree. But I've read every description available, and she fits it perfectly, both in physical traits and her personality.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her:



I love this cat to death and I thank God everyday that we kept her. I know it isn't fair to say, but she is absolutely my favorite cat of all the cats I've ever owned (she's my fourth). She is so beautiful; I wish I could capture it in a picture! (Someday, I plan to get professional pictures done of her, to capture her beauty!). The description of the Nebelung as a romanticized 19th century cat picture is her- she has all these poses that she does and every way that she sits, lays, stands... she looks perfect, as if she were doing it on purpose to show off!

We mostly just call her "Littlest"- a name that stuck because she was so much smaller than Keyteh. Depending on what she is doing, I have tons of nicknames for her related to this: "Littlest Craze" when she is darting around being crazy, "Littlest Blend" because she has this uncanny ability to blend into things and surprise us, "Littlest Love" when she is being loving... etc. etc. etc.

Here are some pictures of the two of them being loving:



And a close up of that one:



(If you can't tell, Keyteh is licking her. She likes doing that.)

Ok, so long story, like I said it would be! I wish I had some more pictures of her in her poses and her beautiful tail- they are so hard to capture! We don't have the best camera either, so that doesn't help!

Anyways, just wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce you all to my Littlest Love. =)

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Voilà une belle histoire. Merci d'avoir partagé votre bonheur avec nous. Faites beaucoup de caresses à "Chat Gris" pour moi.

This is a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing your happiness with us. Please do a lot of pettings to Chat Gris for me.

It is my hope that you will develop warm relations. Very touching story
Regards, Vilia

This story touched me. I just joined this forum and this was the first story that I read.
I also live in Los Angeles, and that is where I got my male Nebelung, five years ago. His name was Smokee. Up until a few hours ago I did not know his breed, I thought he was just a most beautiful mix, and I was super lucky to get such a charming, loving, and handsome cat. He was a month old when we got him. However, he was not of the best health, and four days ago we lost him due to renal failure.

As you said, this cat can only be adored, and out of the two I had, Smokee was my favorite. Inkie is still with us, but she also misses him a lot.

You are very lucky to have your girl, and to have her love. I recognize some traits that you described she has. I hope that they are common to this breed, as I am praying that one day I will be able to find another one close to Smokee.

If you happen to know who may breed Nebelungs in LA, or in CA, I would be very happy to find out.

In the meantime, all the best to you and your precious little one. She is beautiful!

Natasha