Norwegian Forest Cats

Norwegian Forest Cats are one of nature's natural breeds that developed to withstand the harsh climate of the Northern Hemisphere. Large, strong legged cats that are very skilled climbers and hunters, these beautiful longhaired felines reflect their working cat ancestry.

Are these the fairy cats described by the Vikings in their legends? The Vikings journeyed the Mediterranean, the Asian rivers and even reached the eastern coast of America.

Cats were on board the Viking long boats to tackle the rat problem. Could the Maine Coon cat share the same ancestry as the Forest cat of Norway? It is very possible.

There are differing opinions as to the age of the breed. Cats were brought to Norway from warmer climates and some of these went on to live a feral existence in the woodlands and forests, and evolved over time to cope with the stringent conditions. With the passing of the centuries Forest Cats became the working cats of the farmyards.

Head of Norwegian Forest Cat Photographic Print Wegner Buy at AllPosters.com

Around 1930 concern was raised among Norwegian cat fanciers, when it was shown that the breed was in a real danger of dying out through interbreeding with feral domestic shorthair cats.

Efforts were made to establish a breeding program, this was put on ice during World War two, but in the early '50's an organization of cat lovers worked relentlessly to preserve the Skogkatt - the Norwegian term Skogkatt means Forest Cat.

King Olaf of Norway declared the Skogkatt the official Norwegian cat and in 1975 Norsk Skogkattring, the first Norwegian Forest Cat Breed Club was established to preserve and promote the breed. In 1977 the Feline International Federation of Europe accepted the Forest Cat for championship competition. The late '70's saw the first Skogkatts exported from Norway, but Forest Cats did not find their way to the United States until 1979.

Norwegian Forest Cats give the impression of great strength as they are large cats with long muscular bodies, but they are also very elegant, affectionate, playful and seriously shrewd!

The mane of a mature Wegie in winter is breathtakingly splendid, like the beard of a feline Santa.

These cats have double coats. An undercoat that is dense and woolly and a water resisting top coat. The coat does not mat, unless completely neglected, so unlike some long-haired breeds, very little grooming is necessary except in spring time when molting takes place. Tabbies usually have heavier coats than solid or bi-colored varieties.

The head is triangular with a wide and straight nose. Necks tend to be muscular and the chin is on the heavy side. The ears of the Forest Cat are fairly high on the head, long, pointed and proud with long tufts.

The eyes are large, bright and charismatic. Almost almond shaped, set at a slight angle with the outer corner highest. Colors found are green, deep green, gold, copper, and in white cats, blue and odd eyes.

Very sturdy looking cats, sporting broad chests and an ample bone structure. Their bodies are longish, the legs long, with the hind legs longer than the forelegs, the paws wide and furry. The brushy tail is long, lush and held erect.

Male Norwegian Forest Cats weigh 14 to 17 pounds, females are somewhat lighter.

Skogkatts can be found in an abundantly wide selection of colors and coat patterns.

Tabbies - classic, spotted, mackerel, patched(torbie) and ticked - in, brown, black, silver, cream, red, blue or blue-silver. Chinchilla - silver, red and golden. Shaded - silver, tortoiseshell and golden. Smoke - blue, cream, black and blue cream. Calico. Dilute calico. Bi-color. Solid. Whites are known as Snowkatts.

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