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The origins

 
 
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Norwegian Forests Cat, Norwegian Cat of Wood, Norwegian, Norsk Skogkatt, Skogkatt... All these names for the same cat !
Probably returned, during their trips in the Middle East, by these big explorers whom were the Vikings, he was welcome on longships to eliminate the rodents who attacked ropes and reserves of foods.
Once released in parts of the Scandinavian's country, the nature, over time, forged to him a morphology adapted to the harshness of the climate. His constitution became more strong, and his fur developed, endowing him of a thick under coat and of a waterproof cover coat.
His feet, his ears, are filled up with bundles of protective hairs.
Particularly agile, it's said that Skogkatt is the only cat who's able to go down the highest tops of trees upside down, its long tail in panache being of use to him as a rudder !
His size, his wild look, his majesty, doubtless contributed to his wide presence in the Scandinavian mythology.
Freya, goddess of the fertility and the love, is sometimes represented on a tank pulled by two enormous white, long-tailed cats and fur, following the example of the Norwegian. Thor himself, according to the legend, would not have managed to lift one of them !

The FIFe (the biggest international organization of cats in Europe) recognizes the race in 1976, and it's in 1982 when the Norwegian arrives in France.


 
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Standards of the race

 
     
 

FIFE

 

Size : Large

Head :
Shape : Triangular, where all sides are equally long; with good height when seen in profile; forehead slightly rounded; long, straight profile without break in line (no stop)

Chin : Firm

Ears :
Shape : Large, with good width at the base; pointed tips; with lynx-like tufts and long hair out of the ears.
Placement : High and open, so that the outer lines of the ears follow the line of the head down to the chin.

Eyes :
Shape : Large and oval, well opened, set slightly oblique.
Expression : Alert expression.
Colour : All colours permitted, regardless of coat colour.

Body :
Structure : Long, strongly built, solid bone structure.

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 the shoulderblades, but preferably the neck.

Coat :
Structure : Semi-long. The woolly undercoat is covered by a smooth, water repellent uppercoat which consists of long, coarse and glossy hair covering the back and the sides. A fully coated cat has a shirtfront, a full frill and knickerbockers.
Colour : All colours are permitted, including all colours with white; except pointed patterns and chocolate and lilac, cinnamon and fawn. Any amount of white is allowed, i.e. a white blaze, white locket, white chest, white on the belly, white on the paws, etc


faults :

General :
Too small and finely built cats.

Head :
Round or square head, profile with a break (stop).

Ears :
Small ears, set too widely apart; set too close together.

Legs :
Short legs, thin legs.

Tail :
Short tail.

Coat :
Dry coat, knotted with lumps, too silky.



SCALE OF POINTS :

Head = 20
General shape, nose, profile, jaw and teeth, chin

Ears = 10
Shape, size and placement

Yeux = 5
Shape, expression

Body = 25
Shape, size, bone structure, legs, shape of paws

Tail = 10
Length and shape

Coat = 25
Quality and texture, length

Condition = 5

TOTAL = 100


Remarks
Coat is evaluated only on texture and quality.
Very slow maturing of this breed should be taken into account.
Mature males may have broader heads than females.
Length of coat and density of undercoat vary with the seasons.

 
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LOOF

 

Head = 30 points
Shape and size = 10
Profile = 5
Muzzle and chin = 5
Ears = 5
Eyes = 5

Body = 35 points
Shape and size = 10
Body boning and musculature = 10
Legs and feet = 5
Tail = 10

Coatand texture = 25 points
Length = 10
Texture and density = 10
Colour = 5

Condition = 10 points

Permissible colours
Colours : all except those based on chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn

 

INTRODUCTION

The Norwegian, also called Norwegian Forest Cat or Skogkatt, is a large cat from Scandinavia. He developed a particularly dense and water-resistant fur as well as a large size in order to resist those regions' harsh climates. A large ruff frames its head and gives this breed a very special look.
NB : les mâles adultes présentent une évolution caractérisée par un élargissement de la tête et une ouverture du triangle formé par la pointe des oreilles et le bout du nez.

Head : medium in size, the head is a modified wedge. The slightly rounded top of head and forehead are followed by a straight nose, without curve or stop.
NB: in adult males, the head gets broader, and the triangle formed by chin and ears' end gets wider..

Muzzle : the muzzle is not pinched. The chin is firm.

Eyes : Large, almond-shaped, the eyes are set on an oblique tilt and give the cat an alert and expressive look. All eye colours are allowed regardless of coat colour.

Ears : medium to large, the ears are wide at base, slightly pointed and set in line of triangle. Viewed from the side, they tilt forward. Lynx tips are desirable. Furnishings extend beyond outer edge of each ear.

Neck : well-muscled, medium in length.

Body : rather long, powerful and massive, with a sturdy boning and a full and wide chest.

Legs : rather high, the legs are strongly muscled with a solid boning.

Feet : large and round, with tufted toes.

Tail : long, thick at base and bushy, it is ideally as long as the body.

Coat and colour : the coat is double, with long, coarse water repellent upper coat covering a woolly undercoat, giving an impression of density and thickness.
The ruff is made of long hair coming from behind the ears down to a well-furnished chest. Full ruff and britches are made of undercoat only.
Quality of fur is much more important than colour. In particolor cats, any proportion of white is accepted, whatever the size and place of it.



Allowances : A head that is longer than wide in kitten until championship.
Length of fur and density of undercoat varying along the seasons, a much shorter coat in summer should not be penalized.
Lack of upper coat is accepted in kittens until the age of 6 months.



Penalize :

Round or square head.
Head longer than wide in adults.
Ears too small.
Ears set too close or set too high in adults.
Convex, concave or broken profile.
Receding chin. Round eyes.
Short tail.
Silky or breakable hair.
Lack of upper coat in wintertime.

Withhold all awards :

Short body.
Short legs.
Fine boning.
Lack of undercoat in wintertime.
General show penalties and withholdings.

Permissible crosses :
NORWEGIAN X NORWEGIAN