The Norwegian Forest attracts attention wherever he goes. Your Cat magazine deputy editor Angela Lowe why this breed is so special.

A beautiful breed with a temperament which is second to none, the Norwegian Forest has a wonderful wild and rugged look with a gentle and intelligent expression in his eyes — a combination that often seals new owners’ fate.

“One is never enough,” says Kate Healing of the Norwegian Forest Cat Club, “and people often return to the breeder for a second, third or even fourth!” A very sociable cat, the Norwegian Forest adores company and is not terribly fussy about where it comes from be it people, cats, dogs or
even rabbits!

Kate says: “They are also very good with children due to their gentle and tolerant nature. My
own neuter male often comes with me to schools and scouts where he helps me to promote cat welfare, he has also helped a number of cat-phobic people on the way to accepting cats.”

Fearless lapdogs

The Norwegian Forest loves to play and will happily retrieve a toy or a scrunched up piece of paper. “The nice thing about them is that the play doesn’t stop when they become older, as it seems to with some breeds,” says Kate. “My moggies played as kittens and then seemed to stop as they reached the age of about two. “They are very clever and will manipulate you into giving them what they want be it extra cuddles, fish or playtime. “I find them very dog-like. They walk well on a harness, fear little and are relatively well behaved when out for a walk. “Most Norwegians, if they can’t find any lap space, are content to sit by your feet and lean against your leg, or by your side, with perhaps just a proprietary paw touching you.”

As warm as toast

A semi-longhaired cat, the Norwegian Forest has a fairly short coat in the summer so is very low maintenance and a comb through once a week is usually plenty. Their winter coat needs a bit more attention, particularly when they reach two years of age, as their ruff can get knotted (usually because they like to head-butt and rub against anything and everything), and should be combed through twice a week. Some colours have softer coats — the blues and silvers, for example, need more grooming than the browns and blacks. The coat should be completely waterproof; very silky on top with harsher guard hairs to keep the rain from penetrating, with a soft woolly undercoat to keep the heat in.
Kate says: “My cats like to sit outside in the snow and are still as warm as toast if you feel through the coat to their skin.”

Colours

Currently, Norwegian Forests come in all natural colours — black, brown tabby, blue tabby, solid blue, silver tabby, blue-silver, solid white, red, cream, tortie, all combinations of smoke and tabby with or without white — for example black tortie, blue tortie, tortie smoke. At present colours such as fawn, cinnamon, together with colourpointed cats are not recognized. Only white cats have blue eyes and may be genetically deaf. Other eye colours include brown, amber, green and yellow.

At a glance

(Very much *** Reasonably ** Not especially *)
Home-loving ***
Friendly & affectionate ***
Quiet *
Intelligent ***
Non-destructive **
Loyal & devoted ***
Love of the outdoors ***
Lively; playful into adulthood ***
Good with family including children ***
Good with other animals including dogs ***
Lifespan: 13 to 16 years
Average weight: females 3.6kg to 5.4kg (8lb
to 12lb); males 6.4kg to 7.3kg (14lb to 16lb)
Coat type: semi-longhair
Availability: reasonable

Useful contacts

The Norwegian Forest Cat Club

Read about the breed's history