Norwegian Forest Cat in the Wild

norwegian forest cat
Originally uploaded by gari.baldi

This picture of a Norwegian Forest cat in the wild makes my mind soar to a time hundreds and thousands of years ago when this was normal, when all domestic cats were semi-feral (barn cats). They lived outside. There was no commercial cat food and there were no full-time indoor cats. In American many millions are full-time indoor cats. I understand why but dislike it.

Of course this cat is probably a domestic cat and not a feral cat and the stream is probably about 50 feet from the back door of a house!

I don't care, it looks like the way it was all that time ago and it is more natural and I love it when things are natural because only then are we in harmony with nature and our true selves.

The Norwegian Forest cat was a forest dweller in Norway before becoming a purebred show cat in Germany in the 1930s. Until then it got along fine as a moggie cat (random bred cat) in Norway superbly adapted to the climate and environment.

Norwegian Forest Cats are good climbers, a legacy of their forest dwelling days. Many wild cats are forest dwellers and fantastic climbers. The clouded leopard and margay come to mind but there are more.

This boy cat (I am sure it is a male) has a brown tabby coat that looks very functional. I like that. He might not be purebred. He likes water. Maine Coons also like water. The Maine Coon is similar to the Norwegian Forest Cat and there just may be a common origin with the Vikings bringing over long haired cats (the precursor to the NFC) from Norway to the American continent about 1000 years ago. Some may have evolved into Maine Coons.

It is a fallacy to think that cats don't like water. Some do and some don't on an individual level. And in some breeds there are a greater than average number of individuals who like water. Another breed that fancies water is the Bengal cat. This is a hand down from the wild cat parent, the Asian leopard cat which lives a lot of the time on and around water course where there is more suitable prey. The Turkish Van is a good swimmer and its origins are around lake Van in Turkey.

So, a Norwegian Forest cat in the wild gets my imagination going, thinking about the natural world, a world we have long lost.

See Norwegian Forest Cat for more.