NORWEGIAN FOREST CAT

The Norwegian Forest Cat is rather large, the body is slightly elongated, very strong and muscular. The legs are high (long) and sturdy with strong paws. The bone structure is heavy and strong.
Their head builds an equilateral triangle, where the nose is long and straight. When viewed in profile, a long straight line can been seen, which starts at the center of the top of the skull and continues down to the tip of the nose. When viewed from the front, the outer edges of the head built an equilateral triangle. On top the skull is rounded.
The neck is strong.
The eyes are large and oval, and set slightly oblique towards the base of the ears. The eyes have a very characteristic expression, sparkling as if the cat would be always alert for its surrounding. They eyes can show any colour, which is not associated with any colour or pattern of the coat.
The ears are large, wide at their base, and are placed to continue the outer edges of the head.
The coat is fairly long, it has a coarse waterrepellant uppercoat, with very dense woolly undercaot. In winter the Norwegian Forest Cat shows an imposant ruff, the hairs on the hind legs are rather long, thus resembling so called nickerbockers. The uppercoat developes rather slowly, and can hardly be seen in kitten.
The tail is long, and reaches at least up to the shoulders. The tail is very bushy.

Norwegian Forest Cat tortie silver tabby

Norwegian Forest Cat blue mackerel

Norwegian Forest Cat tabby with white

On the picture above you can see the imposant ruff, the triangular head, the slightly slanted eyes and the luxuriously growing coat very well.

• white
• black and blue
• red and cream
• amber und light amber
• all these colours can also be in tortie, i.e. patched with red resp. cream
• all these colours can also have a tabby pattern (blotched, mackerel, spotted and ticked)
• all these colours can also exist with silver, for example smoke, silver tabby, etc.
• These colours can have patches of any amount of white, for example with white toes, with small white patches, in any bicolour pattern.

Norwegian Forest Cat red tabby with white Already in the kitten the long straight nose can be seen.	Norwegian Forest Cat black with white
Norwegian Forest Cat tortie smoke with white	Norwegian Forest Cat black silver tabby with white

Norwegian Forest Cat blue mackerel (tiger)

Norwegian Forest Cat blue

The Norwegian Forest Cat, called Skogkatt, is a very old breed from Norway. Their origin is unknown, these cats have been arround for ever. Norwegian Forest Cats are not the result of crossbreeding with Persians, because Persians did not exist in Norway up to the 20th century, but Norwegian Forest Cats are dated back much earlier. Norwegian Forest Cats are also not domesticated cats of wild origin. The first Norwegian Forest Cats had been outdoor cats. In the Norsk mythology it is said that even the god Thor could not lift up this huge cat from the ground because it was too heavy for him. Freya, the goddess of love and fertility, had a carriage which was pulled by two large cats.
Norwegian Forest Cats develope all attributes necessary for their survival: a heavy double coat, a sturdy boning, strong hind legs with strong claws to ensure jumping and climbing for hunting, to ensure the survival when living outside in the snow and in a rough environment. In the early days thousands of Norwegian Forest Cats had lived in the forests and the countryside of Norway. It was in the 1970s that breeders made an effort to preserve the original uniqueness of this cat. 1979 the first breeding pair was exported to the US.

Norwegian Forst Cat, tabby with white, black with white
 

The Norwegian Forest Cat has a soothing and lovely disposition. Forest Cats are always around you and will be your best friends for a life time. These cats are not lap sitters, they do it only on their own terms. They like to sleep in your bed, but prefer not to sleep under the covers. They are gentle and quiet, but they know exactly what they want. Forest Cats are very intelligent and sensible cats. They will follow your word, when being outdoors, and they like to bring also little prizes from outdoor for you.

Norwegian Forest Cats have a coarse all weather coat, which is adapted very well to rainy weather or winter times. Their coat has no tendency to mat or getting knots. In general they are easy to groom, combing their coat regularly will enhance the silkiness and glistening of their fur.