Our featured Siberian cat of the day is Morpheus, a 5-months old who lives in Italy with his family! His Instagram account is @morpheus_the_machocat. Check out his awesome pictures! Thank you, Morpheus and his Humans, we are so happy to feature you on our site!
What is the name of your Siberian kitty? Why that name?
We named our cat Morpheus, Morfy for short, because in Greek mythology, Morpheus was the God of Sleep and Dreaming. There was a period of time when my six-year-old daughter was having a difficult time sleeping on her own and we kept finding her crawling into bed with her big brother.
We decided to call our kitten Morpheus so that he could protect her at night and help her have sweet dreams. It worked!
How old is Morpheus?
Morpheus was born on December 19th, 2017, so that makes him almost 5 months old now.
Where is your family located?
I am from Canada, but we live in Italy (my husband is Italian). Morpheus was born in Tuscany.
How did you make a decision to get a Siberian cat and why?
My little girl had wanted a cat her entire life. It’s all she ever spoke about. But the problem was, both my husband and I are allergic to cats. I saw how sad my daughter was about this, and how she started becoming resigned to her fate of never having a kitten.
That’s when I started researching hypoallergenic cats. I came across the Siberian breed and I was blown away that such a beautiful and good-natured cat could actually be hypoallergenic!
My husband and I secretly went to a breeder to do an ‘allergy test’ with some Siberians, and were excited to discover that we did not have any allergic reactions! We got on a waiting list for a Neva Masquerade Siberian, and after 3 months of anticipation, finally brought the kitten home.
My kids didn’t know anything about it so they got the biggest, happiest surprise of their lives on Easter morning.
I will never forget my daughter’s sparkling eyes when she opened the basket and discovered the fluffiest, sweetest kitten inside.
What does Morpheus like to eat? Would you have any recommendations in terms of food for
other Siberian cat owners?
Morpheus eats high quality dry and wet food and lots of it! He’s a growing boy!
What are your cat’s favorite toys or games?
He loves to chase my daughter around the house. She hides under a blanket and Morpheus pounces on her. He is very gently though, never scratches or takes out his claws.
What are your Siberian’s favorite activities?
Other than sleeping, he seems to enjoy walking slowly along the couch and purring, rubbing his head on us and occasionally waving his fluffy tail in our faces.
What’s the funniest story you could tell us about Morpheus?
When Morpheus first arrived at our house, he was very frightened of our big, old dog, Sula. He hid from her and trembled whenever she walked past. Then day-by-day he realized that she was a gentle giant and started getting more adventurous with her.
Now whenever she walks by, Morpheus tries to bat her tail or runs between her legs. The dog is very patient and just looks at me with sad eyes when Morpheus starts eating her food before she can get to it.
I always scoop him up and tell him, “No Morfy, that’s Sula’s food!”
Can you tell us about some things that you love most about your Siberian?
I love how easygoing he is. Sometimes it seems that his paws never touch the ground because my kids are always carrying him everywhere. He never scratches, only meows occasionally to complain.
I also love how deep and rumbly his purr is. All I have to do is tell him “what a good boy!” and he rolls onto his back and starts purring.
What would you say are the benefits of having a Siberian cat?
He is the first cat that my husband and I can get close to, due to his being hypoallergenic. This seems miraculous to us! We are discovering a whole new world!
What would you say are some downsides to having a Siberian cat?
I don’t think there are downsides to Siberians in general… I guess the fact that they are still so rare and consequently are very expensive is a downside.
Our dog is a rescue and I have always believed that taking in abandoned pets was the right thing to do, but since we have cat allergies, that was not an option for us, so we had to go through a breeder.
What about Morpheus’s fur? Does your kitty shed much and how do you deal with it?
He’s still a kitten and has his baby fur so he doesn’t shed at all. But from what I’ve heard, Siberians tend to have a heavy molt twice a year. I guess that’s something to look forward to! haha!
What about your kitty and traveling? What do you do when you need to go on
vacation? (Pet sitter? Cat hotel? 🙂
We live in the city but rent a little house in the mountains where we go usually once or twice a month. We took Morpheus with us for the first time and it was fine. He was a bit scared of the new environment and it took him about a day to get used to it, but then he settled in fine.
When we go on holiday I believe I will let him stay with a friend for a couple of weeks, but we haven’t done so yet. I will let you know how it goes after the summer!
Would you recommend other people to have a Siberian cat, why or why not?
Like I said before, I have never really been able to get close to cats in the past because I would have an allergic reaction, so I don’t know what other breeds are like. But I know that this Siberian has a gentle, loving and affectionate personality.
He is great with the kids, very playful and sweet, and is a smart boy. When I tell him not to go on the table, or scratch the couch, he learns right away. I think he is a wonderful cat.
If you suffer from allergies, it is worth going to a Siberian breeder for a trial with their cats. We had a bit of sniffling and itchy eyes for the first few weeks, but then our bodies adjusted and now we have no issues at all. And Morpheus is definitely a lap cat so he is always on us!
To learn more about Morpheus, follow him on his Instagram account – @morpheus_the_siberian
Note: We do not add or change anything in our featured Siberian cat profiles and publish information exactly as it is provided by our featured kitties. We do not promote mentioned products, every product endorsement/recommendation belongs to the kitty in question and their human 🙂
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