Coming from the leafy Scandinavian forests we find the Norwegian Forest Cat, whose appearance is reminiscent of a small lynx. But let this wild aspect not deceive us, this is an incredibly affectionate and sociable cat, so much so that there are even guardians who take them for walks.
His story is incredible and fascinating, full of Viking magic and mysticism. It is one of the cats that are not afraid of water, even being an excellent fisherman. Nor should we be fooled by its solid physique, as it is a surprisingly agile animal that can become an acrobat worthy of the most amazing pirouettes. For all these reasons, keep reading and find out on our site about the characteristics of the Norwegian Forest Cat, its care and curiosities.
Origin of the Norwegian Forest Cat
Although the Norwegian Forest Cat breed was recognized in 1930, and its standards were officially established in the 1970s by the Fédération Internationale Féline, these cats already figured in Norse myths and legends. One of these legends from Scandinavian mythology relates that it was these cats that pulled the chariot of the goddess Freya, even when not even Thor himself could carry out this task. On the other hand, there are documents that record it as one of the three types of Norwegian lynx, such as the one written in 1599 by a Danish friar named Peter Friis, which is why This is why today it is listed as one of the 10 oldest cat breeds in the world.
The truth is that it is very plausible that the Vikings were the ones who caused the expansion of the breed across the continent, since they carried them on their ships due to the great rodent hunting skills that the forest cat of Norway had, and since the Vikings were innate travelers, the breed reached multiple countries.
This breed was not well known, but when the Norwegian king Olaf V designated it as a national mascot, it gained sudden popularity, which it maintains to this day. There is also a theory that they are ancestors of the current maine coon, since it is assumed that these Viking cats crossed with the American wildcats, however, it has not yet been confirmed.
Physical Characteristics of the Norwegian Forest Cat
This is a large cat, which can weigh up to 9 kg. Usually the weight ranges between 3 and 5 kilos in females and 4 to 6 in males. It has a muscular body, a long tail and brushes on its ears that make its appearance reminiscent of a lynx. Its head is triangular, long and with a straight profile. Its hindquarters are tall and its claws are large and strong, making the Norwegian nosque cat a superb climber.
Its fur is long and has two layers, a dense and woolly one that is closer to the body, which isolates it from the environment, making it waterproof and maintaining body heat, and a longer, silkier upper one, especially on the tail, neck, breeches, back and flanks. The Norwegian Forest Cat sheds its fur once a year, the length of the fur varying with the seasons.
Regarding the colors of the Norwegian forest cat, black, blue, red, cream, silver are recognized, gold, red chinchilla, tortoise shell, cream blue and brown. Likewise, the coat can be both uniform of a single color, called solid, as brindle or tabby; the latter can be of various types such as blotched or classic tabby, with drawings reminiscent of butterfly wings on the sides, mackerel tabby, which would have the same pattern as that of a tiger, spotted, with moles of different sizes, or ticked with a blurred dot. You can also present more than one color If it is bicolor one of them must be white yes or yes, that depending on the proportion of the same three types are distinguished: strict bicolor, with a 25% to 50% white surface, 75% white layer (the rest of the layer may be of any color and will be distributed between the ears and the tail), or harlequin coat, when 50-75% will be white, the other color will form patches of one or more shades. If they are tricolores they are almost certainly females because the genetic variation that causes it is extremely rare in males. Within the tricolor black tortie, blue tortie and calico are distinguished, which would be the tortoiseshell of the breed. All the information about it in the article "Why are tricolor cats female?".
Norwegian Forest Cat Character
The Norwegian Forest Cat is a cat attentive and affectionate with its guardians, so it is a perfect companion for families, as it He gets along well with the little ones in the house. He will take care of the home like a guardian, since he is quite territorial, in addition his wild origins make his hunting instinct very active, so they will enjoy playing with his toys.
It is true that they love to climb, it is therefore recommended that we provide them with scratching posts with various floors or heights for an immense enjoyment of our Norwegian forest cat. In this way we will prevent them from climbing on our furniture and damaging it or from feeling frustrated for not seeing their primary needs met.
As we have said, the temperament of the Norwegian Forest Cat is characterized by being patient and intelligent In this way, we can try to teach them little tricks, in addition to the fact that their training will become much easier than with other breeds. His emotional maturation is slow, lasting up to 5 years of age, so we have time to train him correctly and teach him the rules to follow at home.
Norwegian Forest Cat Care
Being a long-haired cat, within the basic care of the Norwegian Forest cat we find frequent brushing To do this, We can follow a series of recommendations that we expose in the article "Recommendations for brushing a cat's hair". In addition, the use of m alt can be beneficial to avoid hairballs that can cause digestive disorders of various kinds. This care must be more rigorous during the moulting season, which will normally be during the spring months and later in the autumn, that is, when temperature changes occur when passing from one season to another.
On the other hand, and continuing with the care of the Norwegian forest cat, constant bathing is not recommended, since we will remove the protective layer that insulates the animal from the cold and humidity, but if necessary we provide you with a guide on how to properly bathe our Norwegian Forest Cat. The ideal is to bathe him when he is really dirty or go to a feline groomer following the specialist's frequency indications.
As happens with the rest of the feline, it is important to watch the diet and opt for a quality one that also maintains its fur shiny and an optimal percentage of energy so that it can maintain its level of activity, which in turn will be what will determine the energy needs of our cat. Likewise, it will be necessary to check and maintain your ears, mouth and teeth, and nails. Let's remember that scratchers and a variety of toys will favor the mental stimulation of the Norwegian forest cat, so they should not be missing in the home.
Norwegian Forest Cat He alth
Norwegian Forest cats are he althy and strong cats but this cannot be an excuse to neglect or forget frequent visits to the vet to prevent and detect possible pathologies that will have a better prognosis the earlier they are diagnosed. Some of them are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which consists of a thickening of the heart muscle, or hip dysplasia, very common in cats that, like the Norwegian Forest Cat, are large. Due to this last condition, we have to take care that our pet remains in an adequate weight range, since an excess of kilos will negatively affect its joints.
In turn, the Norwegian Forest Cat may have a predisposition to suffer retinal alterations and glycogenosis type IV, which consists of a enzyme deficiency which is usually quite severe; luckily it happens very rarely.
We can regularly check our animal at home to detect possible alterations that need review by your veterinarian. It is also strongly recommended to follow the vaccination schedule and have frequent check-ups with a specialist.
