After the war, continued breeding
between Forest Cat and the domestic shorthaired
huskatt, the equivalent of our domestic feline,
almost stopped the Wegie's progress cold.
Fortunately, in the early '70s Carl-Fredrik
Nordane, past president of the Norwegian Cat
Association, began lobbying on the Wegie's
behalf. He organized a meeting at which the
first Norwegian Forest Cat breeding program was
designed, and helped to charter the Norsk
Skogkattring, a Wegie breed club that held its
first meeting in February 1975.
The breeders followed strict
rules. Only genuine Forest Cats were allowed in
the breeding program. In order to control this,
meetings were arranged and cat owners were
invited to come and show their cat before the
Breed Committee. Only cats recognized by the
Committee could be registered as such.
Two and a half years later
Nordane traveled to Paris, where he made a
presentation about Forest Cats to the general
assembly of Feline International Federation (FIFe)
on November 25,1977. Norway's quarantine laws
made it inconvenient for Nordane to bring live
cats with him, but he showed the FIFe assembly
slides of two Wegies with winning names: Truls
and Pippi Skogpus. The cats must have had
winning conformation, too, because FIFe voted to
confer championship status on the breed. When
Nordane returned to Oslo the following night, he
was greeted with flags, music, and 40 cars'
worth of NORAK (Norwegian Cat Fancy Council)
members in a joyous parade.
The first breeding pair of
Norwegian Forest Cats arrived in the United
States on November 1, 1979. The first Norwegian
litter born in this country arrived on March 21,
1981. In August 1984 The International Cat
Association (TICA) became the first North
American registry to grant championship status
to the Norwegian Forest Cat, which is currently
accepted for registration in six associations:
ACA, ACFA, CFA, CFF, CROWN, and TICA.
A Norwegian Forest Cat is a big
and strongly built cat with a medium length body
and hind legs higher than the front legs. It is
muscular and heavy boned. The males are large
and imposing (averaging 12 to 16 lbs.) while the
females are smaller. It should be noted that
this breed is not fully mature until three to
five years of age.
The head is triangular shaped
with all three sides equal. The profile is long
and straight with no break, stop, or bump, and
the cat has a strong chin. The eyes are
extremely expressive, large and almond shaped
set at a slight angle with the outer corner
slightly higher than the inner corner. All eye
colors are accepted, including blue and odd-eyed
whites. The ears are medium large, set on the
head so that they follow the line of the
triangle from the outer base of the ears down to
the chin. The ears are well tufted and many of
the cats have lynx-like tips. The tail is long
and flowing and carried high. The Forest Cat is
accepted in all colors and patterns except
color-points.
Retention of body heat was
essential to survival. Wegies adapted to their
environment by developing a double coat. They
have an undercoat that insulates them in sub
zero temperatures. It is dense and woolly but
soft to the touch. The outer guard hairs, or
raincoat, keep the cat dry in rain and snow. In
the spring as the weather gets warmer they shed
much of their undercoat to accommodate the
change in temperature.
Their ears have long tufts of fur
for insulation. Their feet also have tufts of
fur (we call them "toe feathers") sticking out
between their toes for stability when walking on
snow or climbing rocky hillsides -- little snow
shoes provided by Mother Nature! Their back legs
are longer than the front making them great at
climbing and running through tall grass and
snow.
The Forest Cat is a social and
adaptable cat. They love their people and want
to be with them all the time -- not on your lap,
usually, but nearby so as to supervise your
every action. With a Forest Cat in the
house you have to close the door to get any
privacy. That is, if they will let you close the
door! Wegies get along well with children and
other animals and adapt well to new situations.
They are a medium activity cat that loves to
play and climb. A tall cat tree is a must and
even then, they will seek out the highest spots
in the house to explore.
Beautiful,
sturdy, friendly... who could resist? Once you
meet your first Norwegian Forest Cat you'll fall
in love just like we did!