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The Norwegian Forest Cat
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Something about the cats
Pr Alfheim's Bilbo
We bought our first Norwegian Forest cat
in 1985, and bred our first litter the following year - and we've been
hooked on this breed ever since. Their size, their looks, their rock-solid
tempers, their great adaptability to almost all the changes of life, and
their ability to maintain the typical independent outlook of a real cat
makes them the ideal friends and companions for us. Sharing this joy with
others through breeding kittens and showing our cats is an added pleasure.
We have always thought of the breed as a 'natural' breed,
not a man-made one, and we have regarded it as our job to help preserve this breed
a close to its original looks and temper as possible under the artificial
conditions of life for the cats and ourselves in modern society. Therefore
we have never believed that we should try to add other characteristics, or to
try and change it in any way. The most important aspect for a 'natural'
breed must be health and temper, everything else, especially colour, must
be secondary.
We have bred all colours except dominant white
and ticked tabby. White may cause hearing defects, and ticked tabby is
known to come from Abyssinians or Somalis, and is not naturally occurring
in the northern hemisphere. We have never wanted to breed the new amber varieties either.
We have always believed that the best way to breed cats
for the living room is to have the cats in the living room, i.e. we do
not keep our cats in pens, runs, or separate rooms. Their quality of life
is our responsibility, and it is our first priority to make sure that our
cats are happy and healthy, and that the kittens coming from our cattery
have every chance of becoming happy, healthy, mentally robust cats who
will fit into almost any family. If the kitten is properly socialized from
birth, the Norwegian Forest cat is incredibly adaptable.
Our cats and the dog have the run of the
house, and the patio fenced in for their protection.
To see them run races out there or stalk each other, or a bird outside the wire - these
are some of the many joys they give us. It has been one of the joys of our lives
to be able to share our lives with the cats, both indoors and out of doors.
Our cats and dog have shared our lives in every
way, living through all the upsets of our daily life, including our visitors.
Though we have had no children, our cats are quite used to being tossed around
by our friends' children, just as they are used to occasional visits from
well-bred dogs.
Having our cats and kittens around us at
all times we have regarded as the best possible training we could give our kittens
for a future as family cats - and the best proof we have been able to give of their
tempers and ability to adapt to the varying demands of family life.
This philosophy has put one limitation on our
cattery: Our studs only stay entire as long as we can agree on the odour
indoors. If they start spraying in earnest, they will join our group of
neuters as soon as they can get an appointment with the vet!