Norwegian Forest Cat

History Norwegian forest
The Norwegian forest cat  is an old breed, which started to live more than 500 years ago. Some people believe that the breed is even older than 1000 or 2000 years. It is possible that the forest cat’s ancestor is a Turkish long-hair (Angora), some Turkish emperors had Scandinavian guards (the  Vaeringer). People think that the Maine Coon, the Siberian forest cat , the Turkish long-hair and the Norwegian forest cat are related, since they have a similar ancestor. But that is only a thought. It might be very possible that the breeds came into being in a simultaneous evolution, in different surroundings.    
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Norwegian forest cats are also known as Norwegians, forest cat, Wegie (UK), Troll cat (UK), Huldrekatt (Norway), Norsk Skaukatt (Norway), Norkskogkat or Skogkat (Scandinavia). These cats are also called fairy-cats in the Norwegian mythology. In one of the myths, the Death of Balder, Freya (goddess of love and fertility) drives, in a coach drawn by Norwegian pets to Balders funeral. It is also said that the Norwegians pets belonged to the Vikings, who had taken them during their journeys through various countries. Hulder was a forest nymph, a supernatural person who was mostly invisible but lived in the neighborhood of the people. They could sometimes also be seen as a cat. This cat was called the  Huldrekatt or Troll cat. People believed that they had magical strengths.

During a very long time people believed that the Norwegian was a mixture between the Lynx and a cat. The truth, unfortunately, is that the Norwegian has become a farm cat, very early in history. Just what a farm needed: a solid, strong cat which could perfectly haunt mice. The Norwegian like we know him nowadays came into being through a natural selection; only the strongest cat with the thickest, indelible fur, the longest paws etc could survive in Norwegian’s hard and cold climate.

Norwegians still exist, their fur differs from their surroundings. Along the coast with its faded and dark rocks mainly black and blue Norwegians live. The striped Norwegians mainly live in the middle and in East Norway; they have a perfect camouflage here. There are also rust red mountains there; the red and tortoise colors probable found their origin here. The white Norwegians probably come from North Norway. Of course it isn’t true that only these colors occur on one fixed spot, for example look at the Turkish Angora and the Turkish Van, it aren’t really snowy surroundings there. The first time a wildcat was seen on a show, was in 1938, but it wasn’t until 1976 that this breed was internationally acknowledged as a separate breed. Pan’s Truls became the “model” for the Norwegian wildcat; he is also called the ancestor of the Norwegians. His appearance became the standard which is still valid. Since that time the number of Norwegian wildcats has increased, both in his native country as abroad.

The Norwegian forest cat’s appearance.
The Norwegian forest cat is a large, black, muscled cat with a long body. The tomcats can weigh between 5 and 10 kg, there are tomcats which even weigh more. The female cats are a bit smaller and weigh between 3,5 and 6 kg. They are high on their feet and their paws are solid. The hind paws are larger than the forepaws. The feet are round and large in the right proportion to the paws. The head looks like a triangle; all sides have the same length. The profile from the side is high and the forehead is a bit round. The nose is long and straight without stop. The chin must be solid. The ears are large and open, wide at the basis. The ears have lynx-like plumes and long hairs before their ears (coming out of the ears).

The outside lines of the ears follow the lines from the head to the chin. The eyes are large and oval, wide open and positioned slightly slantingly. They have an alert, awake look. All eye colors are allowed, independent of the fur color. The tail is long and bristly. If you place the tail over the back, it should at least reach the shoulder blades, but it preferably reaches the neck. Even in summer the tail remains bristly, long and hairy. In summer the tail shows you that it concerns a half-long-haired cat. The fur is half-long-haired. They have a woolly undercoat which is covered by a smooth indelible fur. The hairs are long, slightly fatty and shining. These hairs cover the back and the sides. A cat with a full fur has a wide collar, a full stomach hair and “"knickerbockers". The fur may have all colors except for the pointed (Siamese marking), x-colors haven’t been acknowledged yet, it concerns: lilac, cinnamon and fawn. Each white quantity is allowed. Recently the golden color has been acknowledged. People used to think that this concerned cinnamon or chocolate. But the color of the soles showed that it concerned golden.

Character
The Norwegian forest cat has a great character, they are brave and aren’t afraid. forest cats are known for the way the climb off a tree, with their head down. They aren’t nervous and restless and will accept a new situation soon. They can live in the house, but they need a few things which enable them to climb and scratch. Norwegian forest cats can get along well with other cat breeds, dogs and children. The Norwegian forest cat attaches itself to one person, who he will support through thick and thin. They love attention of people, congeners and dogs but can also live alone well.

The forest cat loves to play. They learn to walk on a safety harness, to bring a prey or toy, to jump at will and to talk to you. If the cat has enough things to play with and can use his muscles you will have a happy, beautiful, interesting and loving friend.

Colors :

The Norwegian wildcat has been divided in 9 (some people say 10) groups. Group 1 : Black and blue.
Group 2 : Black with white and blue with white.
Group 3 : Black striped and blue striped.
Group 4 : Black striped with white and blue striped with white.
Group 5 : Red (striped), cream and tortoise.
Group 6 : Red (striped) with white, cream with white and tortoise with white.
Group 7 : Silver or smoke.
Group 8 : Silver with white or smoke with white.
Group 9 : White
Group 10: X-colors.