• HISTORY. RECOGNITION OF THE BREED:

The Norwegian Forest cat belongs to one of the oldest natural breeds in Northern Europe. As for the origins of this semi-long haired cat, surely to be found in regions of the Middle East, hence also the Angora cat. It is believed that Viking sailors some cats brought there on board the cargo ship to defend their mice. Once landed on Norwegian soil, cats have adapted to extremely harsh climatic conditions in these regions, which changed its morphology and mantle, giving rise to a unique animal in appearance and in character.

Then the Vikings would have taken these same cats in the New World, led by Erik the Red, the Norse would have stepped on American soil four centuries before Christopher Columbus. Left in place, these cats would be the ancestors of the Maine Coon, a breed that has some similarities with the Norwegian Forest cats.

Until the beginning of the twentieth century, and nothing is known of the history of Norwegian Forest. By 1930, some cat lovers were alarmed to see that this breed was heading toward extinction, also because of the massive deforestation that occurred in Norway and the subsequent planning. Soon the Norwegian Forest cat began to be admired for their beauty, elegance and character. The natives of the area called it Skogkatt Norsk (literally, Norwegian Forest Cat) and after introducing it in their homes soon cat exhibit at events with a great acceptance by judges.

In 1977 FIFE (Federation International Feline) recognized it as a race and set a general standard of the breed using as a model Pan's Trul, the Norwegian Forest cat most famous of all time. Subsequently other cat associations also recognized as a race in this cat and even developed their own standards, the differences between them are not exclusive.

Soon after its recognition as a race, any Scandinavian could literally take a wild cat of the forest and bring it to an exhibition where the cat was assessed met the breed standards and could be officially declared this member. If the failure was positive and favorable to that issue could be included in a breeding program and appear in the pedigree of his descendants.

Today is already banned breed with cats taken from the forests still a controversial decision, critics argue that work only on existing lines would lead to a high degree of consanguinity and the deterioration of the specimens, while others think that there are enough lines open and if they return to breeding cats include wild or semi-wild with aspects of Norwegians, perhaps products of miscegenation, could begin to appear "genetic defects" that damage its present or even worse than congenital or inherited diseases arise not up to now.

• STANDAR OF NORWEGIAN FOREST CAT:
• General:
• Large cat.
• Head:
• Triangular shape with all sides equal. Looking at her profile shows a good height. Forehead slightly rounded. Long, straight profile without break in their line (no stop). Chin firm.
• Ears:
• Large, wide at the base. It wants you to have plumes of lynx in the tips and tufts of hair emerging from the ears. Its location should be high and open, so that the outer line of the ears follow the line of head to chin.
• Eyes:
• Large, almond, wide open, slightly oblique. Expression alert. All colors are permitted regardless of the color of his robe.
• Body:
• Long, sturdy, solid bone structure.
• Legs:
• Strong and long. Hind legs higher than front. Claw large and rounded, in proportion to the legs.
• Tail:
• Long and thick. Grow to at least the shoulder blade but preferably to the neck.
• Coat:
• Semi-long. The woolly undercoat is covered by an outer coat layer present in the back and sides and whose consistency is rugged, waterproof and shiny. An adult cat wears a collar and pants. All coat colors are allowed as well as any amount of white in them. Pointed exception patterns, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn.
• Note:
• It should be noted the slow maturation of this race.
• mature or adult males have broader head than females.
• With regard to the mantle only assess its texture and quality and the length and density of the coat will vary with the seasons. Puppies develop guard hairs from 6 months.
• Defects:
• Cats with small and thin constitution.
• Round or square heads.
• Profile with stop.
• small ears placed far apart or too close together.
• Short tail
• Legs short and slender.
• Coat very dry, very silky and knotted.
• SCALE OF POINTS ASSESSMENT IN EXHIBITIONS:
• Total 100 points:
• Head: 20 pts
• Hears: 10 pts.
• Eyes: 5 pts.
• Bodu: 25 pts.
• Tail: 10 pts.
• Coat: 25 pts.
• Condition: 5 pts.
• EMS CODE:
• The EMS-Code is a system used in FIFE to better identify the cats. In this way with a simple composition of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers can tell the race, color, and picture of a cat in particular without seeing it. A Norwegian Forest reserved for them the acronym NFO, then appear a lowercase letter that would tell us the color and then can be observed between 0 and 4 digits to indicate the type of drawing or pattern and amount of white in the body in the case to be had. Other breeds include numbers that describe color of eyes, type of tail and ears etc, but is not the case of the Norwegian Forest.
• The initials of the colors allowed in the forests of Norway are:
• a (blue).
• d (red).
• e (cream).
• f (black tortie).
• g (blue tortie).
• n (black).
• s (silver,smoke).
• w (white).
• nt (amber).
• at (amber light).
• The target amounts are reflected as follows:
• 01 Van (means that more of 75% of the body is white).
• 02 Arlequín (means that 50 - 75% of the body is white).
• 03 Bicolor (means that 25 - 50% of the body is white).
• 09 Unspecified: (means that less than 25% of the body is white).
• To understand the designs and patterns in Norwegian must be known that there are cats and cats tabbys solid. The solids are those whose color is homogeneous and uniform, and each of their hairs have the same intensity of color from root to tip. The tabbys are instead put it another way, a degradation of color in each individual hair and the illusion that your hair is so varied designs. The designs or patterns in Norway are:
• (-) Solid cat
• 21 Tabby Unspecified.
• 22 Blotched.
• 23 mackerel.
• 24 Spotted.
• 25 Ticked.
• CUIDADOS:
• Being a natural breed do not require special attention and thanks to its spontaneous evolution is a cat with good health and longevity that carries no specific diseases associated with their race.
  
  We provide enough food and water, litter box and kitty litter to be cleaned and disinfected regularly, malt cats or cat grass to avoid the formation of hairballs in the stomach and of course veterinary care when needed.
  
  Although not essential it is useful and helpful to let your disposal a scraper or table to sharpen their nails, toys for cats that will activate their prey drive and help you develop your intellect. And though of course if they alone are concerned with grooming and preening, not more than regular brushing, especially in times of moving, first to prevent excessive hair ingestion and second because it is better to remove the dead hair brush to expect it will spontaneously spreading throughout the house.
  
  Norwegian Forest could live in multiple situations and environments. The same in-storey houses, indoor or outdoor access. The climate is also not a problem for them, their thick fur supports cold temperatures, but seasonally move through the hair, also could be adapted to hot climates. It is a cat can live with men in any of our habitats.
• CHARACTER OF NORWEGIAN FOREST CATS:
• his cat, very sure of himself, is equipped with a very stable temperament. Sociable, easy character, quiet but playful. Accepts both congeners, such as dogs and children. His voice is soft. It is a sturdy and robust cat.
  
  Has managed to unseat popular breeds such as Persian or Siamese cats the list of highest demand, thus becoming number one. The forest cat is an animal very healthy, with hunting instinct and needs to be accompanied by a member of their species. His good nature makes him a very affectionate cat, calm and playful.