History
The Skogkatt or Norwegian Forest Cat has been around for centuries. The tales about the Forest cat are many and it’s mentioned in literature in very early years. We can find a very interesting book in old time Island literature which does valuable references to existence of imposing and strong cats – perhaps ancestors of Norwegian Forest cat? The name of the book is Edda ballads. This collection includes thirty ballads with Scandinavian mythology theme. Many of them originated demonstrably from Viking period remaining until 11. century and they involve elements which might really refer to ancestors of Norwegian Forest cat: they describe big cats with bushy tails and high legs. There are several mentions about big and strong claws as well. The Vikings obviously deified these imposing quadrupeds. Who dared to kill this vary cat had to pay high ransom. They attributed magical vigour to white cats moreover.
If it comes off to explain their origin some day is more than uncertain. Their phenotype will not help us actually hunting for the origin; potentially every domestic cat would be transformed by influence of the subartic climate. The cold winters induce cats become heavier, larger and more resilient. The resistant coat structure is also outgrowth of climate impact. It is assumed no local wild cats existed originally in Scandinavia. That means ancestors of Norwegian Forest cats had to come to Norwegian forests through people. There are some theories seeking to explain the origin of these cats:
- The Vikings brought on their ships Scottish wild cats to Scandinavia. Some animals escaped and founded new population
at - Norwegians are descendants of savage domestic cats which mated with Scottish wild cats brought by the Vikings
- Norsk Skogkatt comes from Turkish Angora imported to Scandinavia in 16. century and later were crossbreed with descendants of Scottish wild cats
- Savage purebred Angora cats adopted to tough climate and set up base of Norwegian forest population
- Russian longhair cats (comparable with Siberian forest cat) caused origin of Norwegian Forest breed brought on ships to Norway
- Norwegian Forest cat are descendants of savage domestic cats
The cat fancy in Norway got started as late as 1934, and not until 1938 did anyone think of the Skogkatt as a special breed. The first Norwegian cat was shown in Oslo in 1938 and got very favourable reactions from Danish and German judges. The Second World War put a stop the attempt save this Norway’s national breed for a long time. The idea was dusted off again later in the fifties and sixties. With the foundation of the Norwegian National Association of Pedigree Cats in 1963, recognition for the Forest cat was a matter of pride for its president, Carl-Fredrik Nordane. The tomcat named Pans Trul became the first prototype of Norwegian Forest cat standard and founded forthcoming breed. A group of enthusiasts became involved in breeding the cats. The cats were given pedigrees as an experimental breeding and there were about 100 cats registered in 1976 in Norway. The Norwegian Forest cat was provisionally recognized at the general assembly of the FIFE in Wiesbaden in the same year. One year later, Carl-Fredrik Noldane and Arvid Engh presented plenty of photo materials and pedigree documentations showing three generation of Norwegian Forest Cats at the general assembly of the FIFE in Paris. They achieved international recognition of this breed. This event was covered by the Norwegain TV news and newspaper.
The Norwegian Forest cats have been started to spread in the world after their international recognition. Two first cats were imported to Sweden and the first import to USA was in 1979. Side note: the cat breed is registered with the Department of Trade as exportable goods. Norwegian Forest Cats are often the main breed shown at Scandinavian shows but there is a large and growing interest about the world.