Norwegian Forest Cat
(N) VARGSKOGENS NFO
the Norwegian Forest Cat.
The Norwegian Forest cat is the national cat of Norway. It is a healthy and robust cat, that doesn't need a lot of work with its fur. The temper is lovable; playful, social and family friendly.
The Norwegian Forest cat is a semi-longhaired breed. It's supposed to be big and powerful built, long in body and high on legs, big paws and a long, bushy tail. They have a duoble fur, with a wooly undercoat to keep the cat warm, and glossy, water resistant overcoat. In full condition the Norwegian Forest cat should have a full frill, shirtfront and nickerbockers.
All colours are allowed, except pointed colours and lilac, chocolate, cinnamon and fawn. The Forest cat should have a triangular shaped head with a long and straight profile and strong chin. The ears should be big with tufts and hear out of its ears, and eyes are slightly oblique with a wild look to them.
From old folklores the Forest cat has been known since the 16th century, known as "the Huldre cat" or "the Troll cat". It was given magical qualitys and took part in a lot of myths. Example given is that people for a long time believed that the cat really was a mix between lynx and cat.
The truth is that the Norwegian Forest cat in a early point of its history started to live on the farms. It was a tough breed, adapted to live in extreme nature, and a great mice hunter was needed at any farm. Due to unpopularity, misconduct, and also breeding with other domesticated house cats, the breed was almost led to extinction many times.
The first time "the Troll cat" participated at a cat show was in 1938. However, it wasn't recognized internationally as a pure bred cat before 1977. This thanks to persistent lovers of the breed. Since then the Norwegian Forest cat has been more sought after both inside and outside of Norway, and today it is to be found on all continents, including Africa and Australia.
Breed standard was written with Pans Truls as a guideline
NFO Colours and Breed Standard
| Colour code | White spotting | Agouti pattern |
| n (black) | 01 (van=75%< white) | 21 (agouti pattern impossible to identify) |
| a (blue) | 02 (harlequin=50-75% white) | 22 (classic tabby) |
| d (red) | 03 (bicolour=25-50% white) | 23 (mackarel tabby) |
| e (creme) | 09 (unspecified anount of white=0-25% white) | 24 (spotted tabby) |
| f (black tortoiseshell) | 25 (ticked tabby) | |
| g (blue tortoiseshell) | 11 (shaded) | |
| nt (dark amber) | ||
| at (light amber) | ||
| s (silver; always in combination with one of the aboves) | ||
| w (white; always covering another genetic colour) |
| General | Size | Large |
| Head | Shape | Triangular, where all sides are equally long. With good height seen in profile. |
| Forehead slightly rounded; with long, straight profile, without stop or dip. | ||
| Chin | Firm | |
| Ears | Shape | Large, with good width at base; pointed tips; with lynx-like tufs and long hair out of the ears. |
| Placement | High and open, so that the outer line of the ears follow the line of the head down to the chin. | |
| Eyes | Shape | Large and ovale, well opened, set slightly oblique. |
| Expression | Alert expression. | |
| Colour | All colours permitted, regardless of coat colour. | |
| Body | Structure | Long, strongly built; solid bonestructure. |
| Legs | Strong, high on legs; hind legs higher than the front legs. | |
| Paws | Large, round, in proportion to the legs. | |
| Tail | Long and bushy, should reach at least to the shoulder blades, but preferably to the neck. | |
| Fur | Structure | Semi-long. The wooly undercoat is covered by a water repellent uppercoat, which consists of long, coarse and glossy guardhairs covering the back and the sides. A fully coated cat has shirtfront, a full frill and knickerbockers. |
| Colour | All colours are permitted, including all colours with white; except pointed patters and chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn. Any amount of white is allowed. Fargen skal være klar | |
| Faults | General | Too small and finely built cats. |
| Head | Round or square head. Profile with a break (stop or dip). | |
| Ears | Small ears, placed too widely apart or too close together. | |
| Legs | Short legs, think legs. | |
| Tail | Short tail. | |
| Coat | Dry coat, knotted with lumps, too silky. |