About the breed | Norwegian Forest Cat

History of the Breed

Cats similar to Norwegian Forest Cats ('skogkatts') appeared in Nordic folklore for hundreds of years. However it wasn't until the twentieth century that they became pedigree cats. Breeders in Norway first started showing an interest in the semi-wild Norwegian Forest Cat as early as the 1930’s. Due to the 1939/45 War it was not until the beginning of the 1970s that things really began to happen in earnest for the NFC as a pedigree breed. It had become apparent that if the breed were to be saved from extinction a controlled breeding program must commence. The environment had changed; modernisation spreading into the Norwegian waste lands started to change the landscape so that the cats' habitat was being altered and other pet cats were being imported which could inadvertently mix with and change the traditional type of cat. If a planned breeding program had not taken place, the Norwegian Forest Cat may not have been preserved.

The idea of recognition for the Norwegian Forest Cat within GCCF was taken up by Carl Frederick Nordane and other members of the Norwegian Breed Advisory Committee. They went to see two kittens of approximately six weeks of age, one red and the other brown tabby & white. These kittens were living with the Nyland family near Oslo. The Nylands, together with Freddy were to become the driving force behind the recognition of the Forest Cat.

However, at this time it was the brown tabby & white kitten, which caught the interest of the visiting group — this kitten’s name was Pans Truls (pictured above) — he was destined to become the Forest Cat to set the standard for all Norwegian Forest Cats. The Breed Advisory Committee took Pans Truls as the breed ideal and set up a standard of points; this is still the basis of the GCCF standard we have today.

NFCs in Britain

It is believed that the first NFCs were brought into this country during 1986/87 from Holland and Norway respectively. Since then, significant numbers of NFCs have been imported from all parts of continental Europe by a band of dedicated breeders. This has given the UK NFC breed an excellent and quite diverse gene pool and enabling us today to produce a quality of cat that can rival those found in the breed’s native land.

The breed was fortunate to be sponsored in the UK by the Colourpoint, Rex Coated and AOV Club who at that time (before the existence of BACs) sponsored the breed and supported our application with the GCCF for recognition. The breed gained preliminary recognition with the GCCF in late 1989, allowing the first NFCs to be exhibited at the Supreme Show in May 1990. Since then the breed has gone from strength to strength in Britain, winning many high titles and gaining in popularity due to the breed's easy-care beauty and delightful temperament.

Health of the breed

The Norwegian Forest Cat is generally a very healthy breed, with one of the widest gene pools. However it is still very important that breeders should do everything they can to protect the health of their cats, and any potential problems should be researched and nipped in the bud.

Health Testing

Mandatory testing for PKDef and GSDIV is required for Norwegian Forest Cats on the active register.

Pyruvate kinase defiency (PKDef)

Pyruvate kinase is a red blood cell enzyme important in red blood cell energy metabolism. Therefore, if this enzyme is lacking, a haemolytic anaemia can result. However, the anaemia may only be mild and intermittently detectable, or may not become evident until the cat is older. A rapid severe life-threatening anaemia can also develop.

Glycogen storage disease type IV (GSDIV)

This disease causes the abnormal accumulation of glycogen (a form of glucose) within the heart, liver and brain cells. Affected kittens usually die at or soon after birth. Some kittens survive for up to several months but they develop heart and neuromuscular disease which ultimately leads to them dying.

PKDef and GSDIV are both autosomal recessive, this means a cat has to have two ‘mutant’ genes for the cat to be affected by the condition. A inexpensive DNA test done by a veterinarian swabbing the cats cheap allows breeders to know whether their cats are carriers or not.

Cats with one mutant gene are carriers of the condition, this means they are not affected by the condition but can pass this mutant gene onto their offspring. Carrier cats should not be excluded from a breeding programme to protect the diversity of the gene pool but only should be mated to cats with two 'normal' genes to avoid breeding affected kittens.

The NFC breeding policy gives more details about conditions that could affect NFC and how to avoid these it is available here

History of the Breed

NFCs in Britain

​

Health of the breed