Editing Norwegian Forest Cat (section)

==History and adaption==
[[File:Dalaja Doll-norvegien ambre-blotched-tabby-blanc-neige2009b (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Amber tabby and white adult female in snow]]
The Norwegian Forest Cat is adapted to survive [[Norway]]'s cold weather.<ref>{{cite web|title=Accueil - chat norvegien - chat des forets norvegiennes|url=http://skogkatt-norvegien.org/entree.php|publisher=Kogkatt-norvegien.org|access-date=5 March 2011|language=fr|quote=D'un aspect mi-chat, mi-lynx. Contrairement à d'autres races, le "Norvégien" n'est pas le résultat d'une reproduction planifiée mais la conséquence de l'évolution d'un chat placé dans des conditions de survie particulièrement difficiles: le rigoureux climat de la Norvège.|archive-date=7 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207221654/http://skogkatt-norvegien.org/entree.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Rousselet-Blanc|first=Pie|title=Encyclopedie Active Le Cha|year=1992|publisher=Larousse Kingfisher Chambers|isbn=2-03-517402-3|page=174}}</ref> Its ancestors may include cold-adapted black and white [[British Shorthair]] cats brought to Norway from Great Britain some time after 1000 AD by the [[Viking]]s, and [[Turkish Angora|longhaired]] cats brought to Norway by [[Crusaders]] around the 14th century. These cats could have reproduced with farm and feral stock and may have eventually evolved into the modern-day Norwegian Forest breed.<ref name=ASPCA>{{cite book|last=Richards|first=James|title=ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats: Everything You Need to Know About Choosing and Caring for Your Pet|year=1999|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|location=[[San Francisco]]|isbn=978-0-8118-1929-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/aspcacompletegui00rich/page/128 128–129]|url=https://archive.org/details/aspcacompletegui00rich/page/128}}</ref><ref name="The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health">{{cite book|last=Case|first=Linda|title=The Cat: Its Behavior, Nutrition and Health|year=2003|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|location=[[Ames, Iowa]]|isbn=978-0-8138-0331-9|edition=1|page=26}}</ref><ref name="ultimate">{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=David|title=Ultimate Cat Book: A Unique Photographic Guide to More Than 100 International Breeds and Variations|url=https://archive.org/details/ultimatecatbook00tayl|url-access=limited|year=1989|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|location=[[New York City]]|isbn=978-0-671-68649-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ultimatecatbook00tayl/page/76 76]–77|edition=1|author-link=David Taylor (veterinarian)}}</ref> The Siberian and the Turkish Angora, longhaired cats from Russia and Turkey, respectively, are also possible ancestors of the breed.<ref name=ASPCA/>

[[Norsemen|Norse]] [[Norse mythology|legends]] refer to the {{lang|no|skogkatt}} as a "mountain-dwelling fairy cat with an ability to climb sheer rock faces that other cats could not manage."<ref name="Complete Guide to the Cat"/> Since the Norwegian Forest Cat is a very adept climber,<ref>{{cite book|last=Caravan|first=Jill|title=An Identification Guide to Cat Breeds|year=1998|publisher=Hertfordshire: Eagle Editions|isbn=978-1-902328-00-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/identificationgu0000cara_i5q3/page/88 88–89]|url=https://archive.org/details/identificationgu0000cara_i5q3/page/88}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vetstreet.com/cats/norwegian-forest-cat|title=Norwegian Forest Cat Breed Information|work=Vetstreet|access-date=25 September 2017|language=en-US}}</ref> author Claire Bessant believes that the {{lang|no|skogkatt}} folktale could be about the ancestor of the modern Norwegian Forest breed.<ref name="Complete Guide to the Cat">{{cite book|last=Bessant|first=Claire|title=The Complete Guide to the Cat (Complete Animal Guides)|year=1999|publisher=[[Barron's Educational Series]]|location=[[Hauppauge, New York]]|isbn=978-0-7641-5203-0|edition=1 (US & CA)|author2=Cutts, Paddy |page=181}}</ref> The name ''Norse'' {{lang|no|skogkatt}} is used by some breeders and fancier organizations for the modern breed.

The ancestors of the Norwegian Forest Cat most likely served as [[ships' cats]] (mousers) on [[Viking ship]]s.<ref name=cfainc>{{cite web|title=Breed Profile: The Norwegian Forest Cat|url=http://www.cfainc.org/Breeds/BreedsKthruR/NorwegianForestCat.aspx|work=[[Cat Fanciers' Association]]|access-date=10 September 2014}}</ref> The original [[landrace]] lived in the Norwegian forests for many centuries, but were later prized for their hunting skills and were used on Norwegian farms,<ref name="Furstinger">{{cite book|last=Furstinger|first=Nancy|title=Norwegian Forest Cats|year=2005|location=Edina, Minnesota|publisher=Abdo Publishing|isbn=978-1-59679-267-8|page=6}}</ref> until they were discovered in the early 20th century by cat enthusiasts.<ref>{{cite book|last=Duno|first=Steve|title=Be the Cat: Secrets of the Natural Cat Owner|year=2008|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]]|location=New York City|isbn=978-1-4027-5278-0|page=22}}</ref>
[[File:Gaïa (17381345).jpeg|thumb|right|Blue tabby female kitten]]
In 1938 the first organization devoted to the breed, the Norwegian Forest Cat Club, was formed in [[Oslo]], Norway.<ref name="oslo">{{cite web|title=Lost Woods Norwegian Forest Cats|url=http://www.lostwoodswegies.com/breed_info.htm|access-date=10 September 2014|year=2009}}</ref> The club's movement to preserve the breed was interrupted by [[World War II]]. Owing to [[Crossbreed|cross-breeding]] with free-ranging domestic cats during the war, the Norwegian Forest Cat became endangered and nearly extinct until the Norwegian Forest Cat Club helped the breed make a comeback by developing an official breeding program.<ref>{{cite book|last=Richards|first=Dorothy Silkstone|title=Cat: Selection, Care, Training, Nutrition, Health, Breeding, Showing|year=1996|location=London|publisher=Salamander Books|isbn=978-0-86101-703-4|page=56|edition=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and Veterinarians|year=1999|publisher=[[Butterworth–Heinemann]]|location=[[Oxford]]|isbn=978-0-7506-4069-5|pages=xi–xii|author1=Carolyn M. Vella |author2=Lorraine M. Shelton |author3=John J. McGonagle |author4=Terry W. Stanglein |edition=4th|type=Hardcover}}</ref> 

In the 1950s, [[Olav V of Norway|King Olav V]] declared them the official cat of Norway.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Origami Chess: Cats Vs. Dogs|last=Diaz|first=Roman|publisher=Thunder Bay Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1626861718}}</ref> Since the cat did not leave Norway until the 1970s, it was not registered as a breed in the [[Fédération Internationale Féline]] (FIFe), the pan-European federation of [[Cat registry|cat registries]], until Carl-Fredrik Nordane, a Norwegian cat fancier, took notice of the breed, and made efforts to register it.<ref name="oslo" /> The breed was registered in Europe by the 1970s, and in the [[American Cat Fanciers Association]] in 1994.<ref name="Cat Lover's Daily Companion">{{cite book|title=Cat Lover's Daily Companion: 365 Days of Insight and Guidance for Living a Joyful Life with Your Cat|year=2009|location=Beverly, Mass.|publisher=Quarry Books|isbn=978-1-59253-591-0|author1=Kristen Hampshire |author2=Iris Bass |author3=Lori Paximadis |edition=1  }}</ref> In 1978, it was recognized in [[Sweden]] as an official breed,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sverak.se/SVERAK/Om_katt/index_raser.htm |title=Kattförbundet Sverak |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415145128/http://www.sverak.se/SVERAK/Om_katt/index_raser.htm |archive-date=15 April 2009 }} (in French). Sverak. Retrieved 20 March 2011.</ref> In 1989, they were accepted as a breed in the [[United Kingdom]] by the Norwegian Cat Club of Britain.<ref>{{cite book|last=McGreevy|first=Paul|title=Cats (Home Reference Library)|year=2002|publisher=Fog City Press|location=[[San Francisco]]|isbn=978-1-876778-75-0|page=249|type=Hardcover}}</ref>

The Norwegian Forest breed is very popular in Norway and Sweden. Since 2003, it has been the fifth most popular cat breed in France, where there are about 400 to 500 births per year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aniwa.com/fr/chat/document/fr/chat/magazine/tendances/le-chat-de-race-en-angleterre---les-grandes-evolutions/index.htm |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110223150518/http://www.aniwa.com/fr/chat/document/fr/chat/magazine/tendances/le-chat-de-race-en-angleterre---les-grandes-evolutions/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 February 2011 |title=Pour l'Angleterre |publisher=Aniwa.com |language=fr |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aniwa.com/fr/chat/document/fr/chat/magazine/tendances/le-sphynx---haut-dans-les-c-urs-du-classement-cfa-/index.htm |title=Le Sphynx: Haut dans les cœurs du classement CFA |language=French |website=Aniwa |access-date=6 December 2010 |archive-date=23 February 2011 |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110223150518/http://www.aniwa.com/fr/chat/document/fr/chat/magazine/tendances/le-sphynx---haut-dans-les-c-urs-du-classement-cfa-/index.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306122657/http://www.umes-enva.com/ |title=Bienvenue sur le site de l'Unité de Médecine de l'Elevage et du Sport de l'Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort |language=French |website=UMES |url=http://www.umes-enva.com/ |access-date=12 March 2011|archive-date=2007-03-06 }}</ref>