What kind of Norwegian Forest Cat wins cat shows?

The picture on this page shows you the kind of Norwegian Forest Cat that wins cat shows. 

What kind of Norwegian Forest Cat wins cat shows? This kind. Photo: Channan.

It is interesting to know what kind of Norwegian Forest Cat (NFC) wins cat shows. The photograph on this page is of an individual cat who is a winner. He has that classic tabby-and-white rural, natural coat which I think goes so well with this breed. And the CFA want their winning Norwegian Forest Cats to look sturdy and be solid and substantial.

This is one of the larger domestic cat breeds. It is not as large as the Maine Coon but not far behind. And they are very similar in many respects to the Maine Coon (MC) except there are two distinguishing features. The Norwegian Forest cat's ears are more 'normal' in size and also with regard to "ear furnishings" than the Maine Coon's and the muzzle of the NFC is quite pointed in comparison to that of the MC.

As you can see in the photograph, they are a very solid albeit elegant cat. And perhaps what's outstanding about this cat is the coat. It looks very lush, thick and quite long. The breed standard demands that it is a double coat "consisting of a dense undercoat, covered by long, glassy and smooth water-resistant guard hairs hanging down the sides!"

In cat fancy language they have a 'bib' which is longer hair at the front and "side mutton chops" and a "frontal ruff". And the NFC has full 'britches' on the hind legs! There's a lot of cat fancy language in describing this cat. If you want to know, what britches are you can click on the link below but I am sure that you can guess.

RELATED: What are britches on a cat?

The CFA says that the "type and quality of coat is of primary importance; colour and pattern are secondary". I'm guessing, but I think that for the CFA administrators the coat is important because it is an integral part of this cat coming from Norway. This is Norway's domestic cat. In Norway, it is colder than most other countries and therefore you expect their domestic cat to have evolved to deal with those kinds of temperatures and climate.

The CFA want their refined version of the NFC to retain that naturalness. I think that that is a good idea. It should truly reflect what the original NFC looked like.

Although the picture you see the classic tabby-and-white coat, "every colour and pattern is allowable" for this cat breed "with the exception of those showing hybridisation resulting in colours: chocolate, stable, lavender, lilac, cinnamon, form, point-restricted or those colours with white."

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the CFA say that they would disqualify NFCs at cat show competitions which, for example, have a cobby body, crossed eyes, delicate bone structure or a square muzzle. The last item is exactly what you expect to see on a Maine Coon but on the NFC, it would disqualify the cat in competition.

I feel that this is because the cat associations must ensure that the NFC is distinguishable from the MC. They are similar as mentioned and therefore there has to be some distinguishing areas which separates these two popular breeds.