Russia has now been hit with sanctions targeting its designer cats and their fanciers

Russian cats will not be allowed to compete in any shows

The International Cat Federation has hit Russian cats with sanctions following the country's invasion of Ukraine. The Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) announced on Tuesday that cats bred in Russia will not be allowed to compete in their cat shows until May 31 at the earliest. The federation also confirmed that cat-owners who live in Russia are also banned from the organisation until further notice.

The board wrote in a statement: "The FIFe Executive Board is shocked and horrified that the army of the Russian Federation invaded the Republic of Ukraine and started a war.

"Many innocent people died, many more are wounded and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are forced to flee their homes to save their lives.

"We can all witness the destruction and chaos caused by this unprecedented act of aggression.

"On top of that our Ukrainian fellow feline fanciers are desperately trying to take care of their cats and other animals in these trying circumstances."

The statement says that "no cat bred in Russia may be imported and registered in any FIFe pedigree book outside Russia, regardless of, which organization issued its pedigree." [caption id="attachment_320742" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Russian-bred cats and trainers from Russia are banned from all FIFe shows (Chris Ratcliffe/Getty)[/caption] It adds that: "no cat belonging to exhibitors living in Russia may be entered at any FIFe show outside Russia." FIFe, which describes itself as the "United Nations of cat federations," also said it would be dedicating part of its budget to "support cat breeders and fanciers in Ukraine who are suffering because of the current situation." In other sanctions on Russia, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) performed a U-turn on Thursday as it decided to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the Winter Paralympic Games starting on Friday (March 4). Less than 24 hours earlier, the IPC had said Russian and Belarusian paralympians would be allowed to compete under a neutral banner and with no place on the medal table. The Russian national football team and Russian clubs have also been banned from competing in European and international competitions by FIFA and UEFA. Related links:

• Football's response to Russia: The clubs and organisations cutting ties over Ukraine invasion
• Russian troops disobey orders to shell Ukrainian homes, intelligence claims
• Ukraine invites Russian mums to pick up their captured sons in Kyiv