On average, the Norwegian Forest Cat (NFC) is smaller than the Maine Coon but there are exceptions and this is one of them. Not all MCs are larger than NFCs. This TikTok video illustrates the point. This NFC is very classic in terms of 'type' meaning desired appearance as per the breed standard. Super appearance. Huge Norwegian Forest Cat the size of a large Maine Coon. Image: MikeB from screenshots. Here is the video. For me it is a bit irritating because of the soundtrack. Horrible for me. But the point is made about size. This is a great NFC. A classic in terms of coat: a grey tabby-and-white. It is his size which is untypical for this breed although they are one of the largest domestic cat breeds challenging the supremacy of the Maine Coon sometimes .
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Familial cardiomyopathy (inherited heart disease) in Norwegian Forest cats
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A study published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery with the title of the title to this article, states that "Pedigree data analysis of 871 NFCs was supportive of a familial cardiomyopathy in this breed."
NFC. Image: quatre mains
In other words, this breed like some other breeds in the cat fancy has this devastating disease within its breeding lines leading to the inheritance of this heart disease in many Norwegian Forest cats.
The study states that the breed is "often listed as a breed predisposed to cardiomyopathy". They wanted to describe the characteristics of the disease in this breed. They examined 53 NFCs.
They found no murmur or left ventricle outflow tract obstruction in any of the screen cats. They found mild left-ventricular hypertrophy was present in 13 out of the 53 cats, representing 25%. The left ventricle is one of four heart chambers. It receives oxygenated blood from the left atrium and pumps it into the systemic circulation via the aorta. The word "hypertrophy" means the enlargement of an organ which in this case refers to the left ventricle chamber.
They conducted pathology tests and histopathological sections on eight of the cats. "Histopathological sections" refers to examining slices of tissue under the microscope. Six of these cats had died of a cardiac cause i.e. a heart disease.
In 7 out of 8 of the cats they detected myocyte hypertrophy (hypertrophy of a muscle cell known as the myocyte), myofiber disarray (this describes a non-parallel arrangement of cardiac muscle cells indicating that they are in disarray), and interstitial fibrosis which contributes to left ventricle dysfunction leading to a development of heart failure. It is a hallmark of several cardiac diseases which is linked to progression of heart failure.
In the same cats they found endomyocardial fibrosis which is "suggestive of restrictive cardiomyopathy". Interestingly, endomyocardial fibrosis is, in humans, a disease of rural poverty. The word "fibrosis" means a thickening or scarring of heart tissue in this instance.
Interestingly, also, my book on medical and inherited diseases of purebred cats does not list familial cardiomyopathy as one of those diseases for this cat breed. The book was published some time ago in 1992 and therefore this information has come to light since.
Or perhaps the breeding of the Norwegian Forest cat has deteriorated over the years to the point where this is an inherited disease and whereas it might not have been in the past.
I have illustrated this post about Norwegian Forest cat history with some photographs including those of white Norwegian Forest Cats (see below) taken by their guardian/owner. She labels the photographs "Noé et Oracio des Fines Terres". Fine Terres is her breeding cattery. "Noé" is apparently French for "Noah". They are beautiful cats and the photographs are reproduced here under a creative commons license for which I thank her. ULRIC — Huge Norwegian Forest Cat. Photo: Laura Dale BNPS The Norwegian Forest Cat history is long and distinguished. I love this cat for its naturalness and established origins in the cold landscape of Norway. This is a truly natural cat until the cat fancy got involved in the middle of the 20th century. This cat breed is a part of Norway's history and is mentioned in mythological tales. It is said that cats arrived in Norway around AD 1000, over 1000 years ago by way of the Vikings who had trade routes with Byzantium.
He is magnificent especially when outdoors in a forest. The forest backdrop clinches it for me. Such a beautiful cat. The Norwegian Forest Cat (aka NFC - easier to type) look similar to the Maine Coon . Aslan has a ruff (called a 'bib' in the breed CFA breed standard) like a Maine Coon but his ears don't have the classic tufts of hair at the tips (lynx-tipped ears) and the muzzle is more pointed. The square muzzle of the Maine Coon is an identifier for that cat breed. Aslan, a tabby-and-white Norwegian Forest Cat in the right setting - a forest. Photo: Pinterest. The breed standard of the NFC states 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'. Yes a triangular face. The muzzle should be 'part of the straight line'. You probably know this: the NFC was a standard but beautiful moggy in Norway until breeders thought they'd create a new
The owner of this Norwegian Forest cat (NFC) tells us that it is rare for this individual cat to squeak. Let's just say it's another form of vocalisation of a domestic cat and it is certainly very cute.The NFC comes in a very wide range of coat types under the breed standard. Perhaps the best coat type for this breed is the tabby-and-white because it has a natural look about it. Or a full tabby NFC looks great too. But here we have a black-and-white NFC (tuxedo in fact) and I think she's female. The owner and video maker implies that NFCs are very quiet. And therefore the squeak or any form of vocalisation is rare. I'm not sure she is correct. Correction: she is correct! NFCs are said to be "usually very quiet, so it may be difficult to know when the female is in season". This quote comes from Gloria Stephens in her book "Legacy of the Cat". Perhaps a more interesting aspect of this video is how this sweet cat is provoked into kneading the duvet b
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