Norwegian Forest Cat

Independent and happy to be near

Many Norwegian Forest Cats like to stay near their people without needing constant contact. Many watch the household from a high perch. They enjoy play and often make themselves heard with soft trills or short meows. A cat settling on the back of the sofa instead of your lap may still want your company. Let it choose when to come closer for a stroke.

A double coat with a seasonal change

The dense double coat has a woolly undercoat beneath longer, water-resistant guard hairs. One thorough combing session a week is usually enough. Lift the outer coat and check under the front legs, along the belly and around the hind legs for tangles. Work small knots apart gently with your fingers rather than pulling a comb through them. In spring, some of the thick winter undercoat sheds and the cat needs more frequent combing. Softer coat textures may tangle more readily outside the shedding season, too.

Inherited conditions and heart checks

Two inherited metabolic conditions matter in Norwegian Forest Cat breeding. In glycogen storage disease type IV (GSD IV), cells build an abnormal form of glycogen, the body’s sugar store. Affected kittens can become seriously ill very early in life. In pyruvate kinase deficiency, an enzyme needed by red blood cells does not work well enough. The cells break down too soon, which can cause anaemia. DNA tests are available for both. Ask for both parents’ written GSD IV and PK deficiency results. If the mother and father each carry the same disease-causing variant, affected kittens are possible. Ask the breeder or your vet to explain what the results mean for this particular pairing.

Heart disease needs a different check. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) thickens the heart muscle. There is currently no breed-specific HCM DNA test for Norwegian Forest Cats. An ultrasound scan of the heart, called an echocardiogram, assesses the heart itself. TICA recommends repeat scans for breeding cats. Ask for the date and result of each parent’s most recent scan.

A cat already living with you can develop heart disease even after appearing well. Ask your vet whether and when a heart scan is appropriate for your cat. If it struggles to breathe, breathes with its mouth open or suddenly cannot use its hind legs, call an emergency vet immediately.

Could a Norwegian Forest Cat suit you?