 Name: Ali Ross
Location: Chingford, London
Breed(s): Norwegian Forest Cats
Breeding since:
I had
my first litter at the end of May 2005, so I’m still a newbie really!Photos
courtesy of Ali Ross (right, with Blue Boo Balu Katt), except Anya,
which is by Bob Fox
Tell us a bit about you:
My name is Ali Ross and I live in London with my
partner Steve and our wonderful cats, although both Steve and I come
from South Wales originally.
I
was a School Nurse and a District Nurse
until 2008 when I gave up both jobs to devote my time to caring for
our beloved disabled 2-year-old daughter Carys (pictured bottom
left, with a kitten). She was a little star who shone very
brightly; she adored our cats, and they in turn adored Carys.
Very sadly, Carys passed away on 28th May 2009 and is badly missed by
her human and feline family and all her many friends.
Our Norwegian Forest Cats and housecats have given me so much love and
affection and my friends in the cat world have supported both Steve
and I through this awful time and given us a reason to keep going.
Breeding Norwegians as a hobby has been a joy and keeps me very busy -
I’ve always been cat mad and have had cats all my life even when I
lived for a time in Greece.
 Why did you choose your breed(s)?
Steve and I had gone to look at a Maine Coon kitten
in 2003 as a pet, and the breeder had one beautiful Solid Blue
Norwegian Forest Cat (one of the first brought into the country). For
Steve it was love at first sight and we decided to look for a
Norwegian Forest Cat instead, although I still admire Maine Coons. We
brought home Forestdancer Ellwood
(left), a Blue Silver Blotched Tabby
with White. His breeder suggested that I show him and when he won his
first Open Class at a GCCF show - I was hooked. Ellwood did me proud
- he is a GCCF Premier and when he was about 3 I started showing with
FIFe and he is now Grand International Premier. I can’t show him any
longer as one of his ears was damaged after a scrap.
Norwegian Forest Cats are a wonderful and natural breed of cat that
has few health problems and is fabulous to live with. They are
intelligent, affectionate, playful and very very addictive - you can’t
have just one! I love the fact that they are skilled hunters and could
survive in the wild should they have to.
 Why/how did you start breeding?
After I’d been showing my male neuters for a couple
of years, it was suggested to me by some friends who bred that I might
think about breeding Norwegian Forest Cats myself. Steve still
maintains to this day that I didn’t discuss it with him, but I thought
that I could have the joy of perpetuating the Norwegian Forest Cat in
this country. Steve has found a new skill in building cat gardens, so
we’ve both learned a lot in the past few years.
Originally, I’d planned just to have a couple of girls, and I brought
my first breeding girl Buffy (right) home in June 2004.
However, as aforementioned, NFCs are very addictive and I soon found
myself with 4 girls. Then I bred Greebo my
stud cat … and it’s just snowballed from there!
 Why did you choose your prefix?
A lot of Norwegian Forest Cat breeders have
Norwegian names as a part of the prefix, which is great - but I could
never get my tongue around them properly! I wanted one that I could
pronounce, and after much thinking, I thought “Norsk” for Norwegian
and “Wood” for “Forest” was nice and simple and easy to say. I
registered it first with the GCCF and then with FIFe.
When
were your most memorable occasions as a breeder?
I went to the Viking Cat Club Norwegian Forest Cat
Special in 2007 and was over the moon when one of my 3rd
litter Norskwood Harvey (left - who is a beloved pet) won Best
Norwegian Forest Kitten. There have been several moments like that
since, and I’m always so proud of my offspring regardless.
 It
was also amazing when Harvey’s litter brother Greebo (right), who I kept as my
stud cat, did so well at the same show the following year 2008 - he
won Best Norwegian Male and Best in Show Male. He was also Best in
Show Male and Overall Best in Show at the Aristocats Show in Market
Harborough in April 2008, and that was especially memorable because I
was stewarding for the Best in Show Female when Greebo was
announced the Overall Best in Show. I was so proud I almost burst
into tears!
Who were/are the most memorable cats you've had?
I shall start off with Misha who was my
childhood cat. Misha was a very handsome solid Blue and White boy and
he had a huge character. He used to visit all our neighbours at
certain times of the day - times when he knew there would be a little
food set aside just for him. Although he was very friendly and
sociable he was very much my cat and we just adored each other.
 Ellwood is the love of my life, my first Norwegian and the one
who started me off with the breed.
Ruby (left) is my British Shorthair and she was our first pedigree
cat. She has a big purrsonality and makes all visitors to our house
very welcome.
Anya below right) is the girl I kept from my 2nd litter. In
fact, she was the entire 2nd litter and she’s my “little
kittie” despite the fact that she’s actually quite a stout girl!
And I
can’t leave out Greebo my first (and currently only) stud cat
who was from my 3rd litter. He has been a fantastic
ambassador for the breed because he is so laid back and affectionate,
plus of course he has done me proud on the show bench with both the
GCCF and mostly with FIFe. I couldn’t have asked for more - he
attained FIFe Supreme Champion in straight shows at the age of 2 years and
8 months.
 To
be honest, all of my cats have been memorable whether they were rescue
cats or pedigree.
What are your hopes for the future of your breed/your breeding
programme?
I hope to continue to breed big, healthy, happy
Norwegian Forest Cats with excellent temperaments. I’m not keen on
the more extreme Norwegians that are sometimes seen and so will aim to
breed a more balanced cat. I would like to keep good coat quality and
boning and improve on ear size a little (although, like many
exhibitors, I often feel that judges have slightly unreal expectations
of ear size!).
I
intend to import a stud cat with new lines to enlarge the gene pool in
the UK, but will wait until the right one comes along - I’m in no
rush.
 In
the meantime we’re very excited because at
the end of October 2009 we’re going to be bringing home a Solid Blue
girl from Adele Mills of Snowrock and a Solid Blue boy from Gary
Chodkiewicz of Mountain Spirit and will hopefully be moving towards
having more Blues and Solids. Steve has been waiting for a Solid
Blue for a very long time!
Norwegian Forest Cats are fast becoming one of the most popular breeds
in the UK and I’d love to make a good lasting contribution to the
breed.
Left - our late disabled daughter, Carys, with one of our kittens
Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
For me, our cats are part of our family. Greebo
has his own quarters but often visits in the house (he doesn’t spray
very often) and the girls live in the house with access to the cat
garden. To be honest, I think I love them all too much and they get
away with murder but they have helped me to get through some terrible
times.
And I’d really like to thank all the many friends
I’ve met through the cats. It’s important to have support when you’re
breeding as I’ve found that I’m constantly learning and often need to
seek advice from my friends.
Ali Ross
www.norskwood.co.uk
November 2009 |
