Norwegian Forest Cat's head should be an 'equilateral triangle'

The terminology of the breed standards of the purebred cats can be slightly mystifying to outsiders. I know that when I first read the cat association breed standards they looked a bit odd to me. I'm now used to reading them. The breed standard of the Norwegian Forest Cat (NFC) states quite unequivocally that the head should be an equilateral triangle "where all sides are of equal length as measured from the outside of the base of the ear to the point of the chin". 

In that vein, I have superimposed a red equilateral triangle over the face of an NFC to illustrate what this means.

Norwegian Forest Cat head should be an equilateral triangle. Illustration: MikeB based on an image in the public domain.

In case you were wondering, an "equilateral triangle" means a triangle in which all three sides are of equal length.

I think this aspect of this cat's face is very important. It is a factor which distinguishes it from a similar-looking purebred cat, the Maine Coon. If you want to distinguish these two cat breeds from each other, look to their muzzles. The equilateral triangle definition points to a muzzle in the NFC which is more pointed than the square, pronounced muzzle of the Maine Coon. See below:

Maine Coon's square muzzle as per the CFA breed standard. Illustration: MikeB based on an image in the public domain.