There aren’t many cats that start with N. Actually there is only 3 cat breeds beginning with N: Napoleon Cat, Nebelung and Norwegian Forest Cat.
The names of the cats that start with N may give you the idea that all of these cat breeds originate from Europe but the truth is only one of them is from Europe and the other two are bred in U.S. Also as it happens to be, the one from Europe is a natural breed while U.S. cats are human-bred breeds. Can you guess which of these three breeds are from U.S.?
Let’s find out without wasting time…
1 – Napoleon Cat
You may know Napoleon Cat with another name which is Minuet Cat. Still sounds French? Well, it is an American cat! When Joseph B. Smith who is an American Kennel Club judge and a Basset Hound breeder chose to breed cats using Munchkin cats and Persians as parents in 1996, a new cat breed was born. Although TICA recognized the breed in registration only status in 2002, it wasn’t until 2011 that it was recognized as a preliminary new breed.
The name comes from a funny place. Since one of the parent cats is a Munchkin, Napoleon cat has short legs and considering all the jokes on the height on the famous French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, those who named the breed thought it was only appropriate to name it Napoleon.
Napoleon is a loving, social, easygoing and friendly cat that is good with kids, too which makes it a great choice as a family cat. It is also an active cat which loves playing and spending time their humans. They don’t like staying alone for long hours and prefer the company of a human or another pet.
If you like an affectionate, sweet, gentle, people-oriented, curious and playful cat breeds, Napoleon Cat (Minuet Cat) can be just the right one for you.
2 – Nebelung Cat
German? Wrong again! Nebelung, too is an American breed. The foundation for this breed was two cats named Sigfried and Brunhilde that were both blue-gray cat with semi-long coats. Cora Cobb who was the human of the cats was so impressed with her cats that she contacted a geneticist from American Cat Association, Solveig Pfleuger when she wanted to start a breeding program for her cats. Pfleuger informed her that these cats could be categorized as Russian Blue cats with semi-long coats.
Russian Blue breeders from The International Cat Association (TICA) objected to categorizing this new breed as Russian Blue because this coat length was not an original Russian Blue coat length so it was categorized as a new, unique breed by TICA in 1987.
Although Nebelung is a new cat breed, it is recognized by TICA, American Cat Fanciers’ Association (ACFA), the World Cat Federation (WCF) and Livre Officiel des Origines Félines (LOOF) as well as several independent cat associations around Europe. There are breeders in America, Canada, Russia, and Europe but it is still a rare breed that is hard to come by.
Nebelungs are affectionate, intelligent and good-natured felines. They are loyal cats who prefer to bond with and stay close to a number of select individuals for life and stay away from strangers. Although they enjoy the company of other individuals in the family including other pets, they tend to spend time with their favorite humans.
Nebelung is a good communicator and tells its humans about what it wants clearly. Since it can be really picky about the cleanliness of its litter or food type, this communication skill is very useful. It also has dog-like traits such as being easily trained to walk on a leash, play fetch or bring toys to their humans when it wants to play.
3 – Norwegian Forest Cat
The only European cat in our list of cats that start with N is the Norwegian Forest cat. This large kitty is a very old breed that is thought to be dating as old as 1000 AD and generally associated with the Vikings of the time. What is interesting about the history of the Norwegian Forest cat is that it nearly went extinct during World War II. Thanks to the efforts of a group of people called the Norwegian Forest Cat Club, an official breeding program was established and these beautiful cats are still among us with a great popularity in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and France.
Norwegian Forest Cat is a strongly built, larger than average cats that are very sturdy against cold weather. While adult females of the breed weigh about 8 – 18 lbs (3.6 – 8 kg), males tend to weigh around 10 – 20 lbs (4.5 to 9 kg). But don’t let this weight fool you, they are very good climbers due to their strong claws and can even climb rocks just like wild cats.
Norwegian Forest Cats are very friendly kitties that are energetic, playful and love being a part of family activities. They are known to vocalize a high-pitched chirping voice but are known to be quiet cats in general. Since they are social and affectionate felines and are generally good with people of all ages including kids, they make a great family cats.