Norwegian Forest Cat

The Norwegian Forest Cat, called the skogkatt (forest cat) in Norway, is a natural breed and despite its feral appearance is not a descendant or a hybrid of any wild cat species. Forest Cats probably arrived in Norway from Europe, descendants of domestic cats introduced to northern Europe by the Romans. It is supposed that the Norwegian Forest Cat has existed for a long time, since several mentions of large, long haired cats exist in Norse mythology. Estimates of when these cat tales were written vary greatly. Most Norse myths were passed down by oral tradition and were finally recorded in what was called the Edda poems, written sometime between 800 A.D. and 1200 A.D. These myths suggest that domestic cats have been in Norway for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years. Whether the cats portrayed in the myths are Forest Cats is subject to debate.

When cats arrived in the northern countries, most likely with human settlers, traders, or crusaders, the breed's progenitors were probably short haired, since the cats transported by the Romans came from Egypt (generally) and were short haired varieties. The cats survived and in time adapted to the severe climate. Northern Norway, where the sun never sets from May 12 to August 1, and where the winter nights are correspondingly long and dark, proved a harsh test for these cats. Over the centuries of prowling the Norwegian forests, they developed long, dense, water-resistant coats, hardy constitutions, quick wits, and well-honed survival instincts.

The first efforts to have the Forest Cat recognized as a distinct breed began in the 1930s. The first Norwegian cat club was founded in 1934, and in 1938 the first Forest Cat was exhibited at a show in Oslo, Norway. World War II, however, put a damper on all cat breeding and showing, and after the war the breed came close to extinction. Interbreeding with Norway's short haired domestic cat (called the hauskatt) threatened the Forest Cat's existence as a pure breed. It wasn't until the 1970s that the cat fanciers of Norway started a serious breeding program to preserve the Norwegian Forest Cat.

Wegies (as Forest Cats are affectionately known) arrived in the United States in 1980. The same year, a small group of American fanciers founded the Norwegian Forest Cat Fanciers' Association and began working to get the Forest Cat recognized by North American cat registries. TICA, the first to recognize the breed, accepted the Wegie for Championship competition in 1984. The breed attained CFA Championship status in 1993 and won over the last association, ACA, in 1995.