The earliest stories of Forest cats say they originated from house pets that the Norwegian Vikings used to take on their travels. They are mentioned in many myths and tales with references made to ‘the long-coated, large cats with long bushy tails and ear tufts’ and often referred to as ‘forest faeries’.
Kate Healing, of the Norwegian Forest Cat Club, says: “The Norwegian appears to have evolved through natural selection due to the Scandinavian climate. They have adapted to survive the extremes of temperature by developing an extremely thick woollen undercoat with long oily guard hairs covering their back, sides and tail, and knickerbockers, with both ears and feet having long ear tufts. The ears of some Norwegians also have lynx-like tips.

“They are large boned, strong looking cats and, as their hind legs are longer than their front legs, they are able to hunt both on land and in water. The long hind legs give them an extra advantage for running and jumping. The paws are large and, when spread, with their long toes, help them to climb down from trees head first, more often than not, leaping the last ten feet or so!”

It is believed that the first Forest cats arrived in Britain from Holland in 1986, with others arriving from Norway in 1987. The Norwegian Forest Cat Club was founded in Great Britain in 1987 and
affiliated to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in 1993.

Kate says: “The climb to championship status took seven long years starting in 1990 when the breed gained provisional status.” In June 1998 the first Norwegian Forest was granted a Grand Champion title.

Read the Norwegian Forest breed profile