Norwegian Forest Cats Switzerland
Breeder- and Kittenplatform
The Norwegian Forest Cat
History
on the breed of Norwegian Forest Cats
The
ancestors of the Norwegian Forest Cats reach very far back in time. The
official history of the breed known as today, however, is relatively young.
The final recognition by the Fifé (Fédération Internationale Féline)
happened only in November 1977. It took a very long time until breeders
started to seriously breed these cats in order to maintain its specific
appearance and character.
It was at the end of the 19th century that
a common interest in breeding purebred cats arose. In 1871, the first cat
exhibition took place at Crystal Palace in London. However, at that time,
hardly anybody took any interest in those allegedly “wild” and primitive
breeds. Whoever fell for a long-haired type of cat chose a Persian.
One of the first wild-type cat that was bred as an
independent breed was the Maine Coon.
As far as her looks are concerned, this breed
is very similar to the Norwegian Forest Cat, but still there are some
distinct differences that set these two breeds apart. Although the Maine
Coon was only recognized in Europe by Fifé in 1983, it is better established
and more popular than the Norwegian Forest Cat. In the United States of
America, breeders started to focus more on the Main Coons in the 1950ies
after this breed had almost disappeared because breeds like the Persians
became highly popular as of the beginning of the 20th century.
It was
only in the early 1970ies that breeders in Norway started to remember the
“wild” cats of their home country. One of the reasons certainly was the fact
that the long-haired coat of the native cats became more and more scarce, as
the long-haired coat is controlled by a recessive gene. Therefore, crossings
between long- and shorthaired cats produced mainly short-haired offsprings.
In 1973,
Carl Frederic Nordane and his wife Helen, both breeders and board members of
the “Norsk Rasekattklubbers Riksforbund (NRR)”, and Edel Runas (also a
breeder) requested all owners of Forest- or similar cats to get in touch
with them. Thanks to a Persian breeder (Sonya Borgel) they found Egil and
Else Nylund, whose cats fit best their ideal of the Norwegian Forest Cat.
Among those cats was a male – Pans Trul – who eventually became the
progenitor of the breed “Norwegian Forest Cat”.
Things now sped up considerably: in 1974, Pans Trul
and a female cat of Edel Runas had a first litter. Shortly after, the
pioneers
mentioned above started promotion for the official
recognition of this breed. In 1975, the first association for Norwegian
Forest Cats was founded under the Norwegian umberella organisation: The
Norsk Skogkattring. Edel Runas and Mr. and Mrs. Nylund were – for obvious
reasons – founding members.
The
selection of breeding-cats was rigorous, and only very few cats were
recognized as Norwegian Forest Cats by judges at cat shows. Still they
managed pure breeding in three generations as required by Fifé in order to
recognize a new breed. Finally, in 1977, the breed was fully recognized at
the Fifé General Assembly in Paris. And – not surprisingly – Pans Trul was
registered as the first Norwegian Forest Cat.
Quelle: Buch Ihr Hobby Norwegische Waldkatzen Kieselbach / Walz
Buchtips:
Waldkatzen von Ortrun Wagner
Norwegische Waldkatzen von Tanja Ehrhardt
Ihr Hobby Norwegische Waldkatze von Dominik Kieselbach und Elvira Walz