The Norwegian Forest Cat is a large but elegant breed with a semi longhair coat. The breed is slow developing and may not be mature until four years of age similar to that of the Maine Coon.
The head is triangular with a strong chin. The profile is long and straight with no break in the line. The eyes are large and may be any colour regardless of the colour of the coat. The ears are set high on the head and are broad based tapering to the tip. The outside edge of the ear follows the line of the head down to the chin. The ears have tufts and long hair flowing out of the ears.
The body is long, muscular and strongly built with solid bone structure. The hind legs are longer than the front legs. There are tufts of hair between the toes.
The tail is long and bushy and should reach the shoulders if not the neck when brought along the side of the cat.
A smooth semi-long glossy coat covers the woolly undercoat, which is water-repellent. The coat is significantly shorter in the summer than in winter. The cat may be any colour except Chocolate, Lilac or Siamese pattern and may have any amount of white markings on the paws, chest, belly or face.
Norwegian Forest Cats love people and thrive on human company.
They do not like to be left alone for any length of time and are very demanding of affection.
They are used to an outdoor life and are well adapted to roam outside but they can be very happy as indoor cats provided they have plenty of room to move about.
They are very intelligent and can be very rewarding companions, as they are extremely friendly and playful.
The Norwegian Forest Cat does look after its coat very well itself but additional grooming will be required especially if the cat is to be shown. If introduced to a brush and comb as a kitten the cat will come to enjoy regular grooming as part of the relationship between cat and owner.
