This page on the Norwegian Forest Cat for kids is simplified in language and content. It can be reused under a creative commons license.
The beautiful Norwegian Forest Cat is one of the most popular cat breeds. As the name suggests this sturdy cat comes from Norway. Some people call this breed a “Wegie” and another name is “Skogkatt”. The ancient stories of the people of Northern Europe (Norsemen) mentioned the Skogkatt as a mountain cat that could climb better than other cats. You can make the name shorter by writing “NFC”. Today, the NFC has a reputation as a wonderful climber with a coat and character to deal with the cold climate of Northern Europe.
History
If you wrote about this cat’s history in a very simple way, you would write that this cat has been in Norway for about 1000 years as a farm cat and then became a recognized purebred cat in the 1930s in Europe. Today there are still many Norwegian Forest Cats in Norway and nearly all of them are moggies (random bred cats).
People think that the Vikings brought the cat to Norway in about 1000 AD. It is possible that this cat breed started off as a Turkish Angora (by the way, the Turkish Angora may also be the founder of the Persian cat).
In 1599 a Danish priest wrote about the “cat-Lynx”. He was probably writing about the Norwegian Forest Cat. This tells us that there are written records of this cat going back over 400 years. The first purebred Norwegian Forest Cats were taken to the United States in 1979 and then to the United Kingdom in 1980. The NFC is recognized by all the major cat associations in 2012 and has been for many years.
How the Norwegian Forest Cat Looks
This cat looks a bit like the Maine Coon or the Siberian cat. There may be a connected history. Over centuries, the Wegie has adapted to living outside in barns in harsh winters. It is a large cat with long hair. A larger cat can keep warm more easily than a small cat. The coat is glossy and smooth. It is waterproof. There is a warm, woolly undercoat. They weigh from about 7 to 20 pounds (lbs) which is 3-9 kilograms.
The head is triangular in shape. Think of geometry. This is where the name “Wegie” comes from. A wedge is triangular in shape, too. It also comes from the middle part of the word “Norwegian”. That is my guess, although I am yet to find out for certain where that nickname comes from. The muzzle of this cat is less square than the Maine Coon’s muzzle. It should be “pleasingly round”.
The cat can have a very wide range of traditional coat colors and types. “Traditional” means the colors and patterns that have been around for a long time.
Behavior and Character
The Wegie is said to be quiet, smart, sensible and somewhat independent. They can have “dog-like” characters. People who live with this cat and live near a stream say their cat likes to fish.
This page is dedicated to a cat I loved. She was an NFC mix (partly a Norwegian Forest Cat). Her name was Missie.
hi i have to say these are interesting but boring
Thanks for commenting. Not sure if they can be both interesting and boring! They are meant to be simple facts written for children. You can read lots more about the NFC on this site.
Beautiful cat. It reminds me very much of the Amur Ezra which has to be one of the cats I would be most honoured to encounter in it’s home territory. But I’d be honoured to meet a NFC in his/her natural environment too 🙂
Amur Ezra is an amazing cat. I don’t know this cat but he looks like a Russian bred cat. They do breed outstanding looking cats that are probably less extreme than the Americans. I guess Russians should be the best breeders of Siberian cats. The NFC is amazing. I’d like to be friendly with one.