Turkish Angora and Norwegian Forest cats often get mixed up because they are both long-haired. You’ll see that, with a few tips, telling the two breeds apart is easy!

Disclaimer: The following tips will only help you to identify the two breeds based on visual cues. However, the only way to know for sure if a cat is a Norwegian Forest cat or a Turkish Angora is to check the cat’s pedigree!
So, if your cat matches some of the following criteria, it does not necessarily make it a Norwegian Forest cat or a Turkish Angora. For example, just because your cat is long-haired, it doesn’t necessarily make it a Turkish Angora, or that it has Turkish Angora ancestors! It needs to have a pedigree that proves its breed.
If you are hesitating between acquiring a Norwegian Forest cat or a Turkish Angora kitten, I highly recommend that you read about ethical breeding.

On the left a Turkish Angora from Cattery Flamboya and on the right a Norwegian Forest cat from Cattery Caladan

Breed History

First, let’s start with a bit of history.

The origins of the Turkish Angora

The origins of this breed are there, in plain sight: its name clearly (and doubly) suggests where the breed comes from! In fact, Angora is the old name of the Turkish city Ankara.
They are the first longhair cats that have been introduced in Europe, mentioned since at least the 17th century, and they are potentially the ancestors of all longhair cats. Turkish Angora cats were used to create the Persian breed, which blurred the distinction between the two breeds. Subsequently, because of the success of the Persian breed, the Turkish Angora almost disappeared.
In the 20th century, in order to preserve the breed, the zoo of Ankara (Atatürk Forest Farm and Zoo) started a breeding program of white Turkish Angora or–as they are called in Turkey– “Ankara Kedisi”.

A Turkish Angora imported from the zoo of Ankara from Cattery CadiKedisi

A Turkish Angora couple was exported from the zoo of Ankara in 1962 to the USA and has been used as the foundation of the modern Turkish Angora breed. The breed was then recognized by most cat fancies such as the CFA, TICA, and Fifé.
While the name of this breed is well known, the breed in itself isn’t that popular and remains pretty rare. On top of that, the term “angora” almost became a synonym of longhair. People often wrongly think that any longhair cat is an Angora or can be called Angora, which contributes to the misunderstanding of this breed.

A Turkish Angora imported from Turkey from Cattery CadiKedisi

Note

This article refers to the modern version of the Turkish Angora.
The traditional version found in Turkey has some slight physical differences: mainly, their type is less extreme.
However, breeders have been importing cats directly from Turkey to improve the genetic diversity of the modern Turkish Angora.

a Norwegian Forest cat from Cattery Caladan

The origins of the Norwegian

Similar to the Turkish Angora, the Norwegian name suggests the origins of this breed: the Norwegian forest cat comes indeed from Scandinavia. It is very likely that the ancestors of the Norwegians were semi-longhair cats from the Middle East, maybe even Turkish Angora. They arrived in Scandinavia around the Middle Age with the Vikings’ boats as mousers.
Through the centuries, they evolved with a strong body and a thick coat to stand up to Norway’s climate. Also called “Skogkatt”, the Norwegian forest cat is part of the Nordic mythology, in which the goddess Freya’s chariot was drawn by longhair cats.
The breed almost disappeared in the 20th century, but breeding plans started in the 1930s to save and protect it. The plans were interrupted during World War II. However, they made a comeback in the 60s, the breed started to be recognized by official associations in the 1970s, and King Olaf designated it as the official cat of Norway.

Physical Features

Having discussed their history and similarities, let’s now dive into some of the physical features that characterize the two breeds.

On the left a Turkish Angora from Cattery Sirin and on the right a Norwegian Forest cat from Cattery Caladan

Head shape

The Turkish Angora has a small to medium-size head and it’s shaped like a wedge. The nose is of medium length and gently curved. The head is tapering toward the chin.
The Norwegian has an almost equilateral triangular head. The profile is long and straight from the tip of the nose to the slightly rounded forehead.
Overall, the head shape of these two breeds may look similar, but the Norwegian has a long and straight profile, while the Turkish Angora has a tapered jaw.
They both have large eyes, almond-shaped, set slightly oblique.

On the left a Turkish Angora from Cattery CadiKedisi and on the right a Norwegian Forest cat from Cattery Caladan

Ear shape

They both have large and wide ears at the base, slightly pointed.
The Turkish Angora’s ears are set high on the head, close to each other and vertical.
The Norwegian ears’ outer line follows the triangular line of the face and chin, preferably with lynx tips.

Body shape

The Turkish Angora’s body is well proportioned and graceful. It gives an impression of flowing motion. The Turkish Angora is finely boned.
The Norwegian has a long, strong, and muscular body. It needs to give an impression of strength. The Norwegian has a strong boning.
They both have long legs, with the hind ones slightly higher than the front legs.

Several Turkish Angora from Cattery Sirin

Fur

They both have semi-long fur.
The Turkish Angora’s fur is silky and sleek. It doesn’t have an undercoat. The coat is longer on the tail and the ruff.
The Norwegian’s fur has a woolly undercoat and a water-repellent upper coat. The Norwegian must have a mane.

Size

The Turkish Angora is a medium-sized breed, while the Norwegian is a large breed.
Turkish Angora: They weigh around 2.5-5 kg (5-10 lb). The males are a bit bigger than the females.
Norwegian: males are around 6-9 kg (12-20 lb) and females are 4-6 kg (8-13 lb).

Color

They can both have all color varieties, except for pointed patterns, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, and fawn. The amber category does not exist in the Turkish Angora breed.
The emblematic color of the Turkish Angora is white with blue eyes, or with odd eyes. However, to avoid deafness related to the dominant white gene, it’s strongly recommended not to breed two white cats together.

Turkish Angora cats in many different colors

Top left: from Cattery Eden Angora
Top right: from Cattery Flamboya
Bottom left: from Cattery Sirin
Bottom right: from Cattery Sirin

Character

I won’t talk of the character differences, because while it’s true that cats of the same breed can have similar traits, each cat has its own personality. That’s why I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to compare the characters of the two breeds.

Norwegian Forest cats in many different colors

Top left, top right, bottom left: from Cattery Caladan
Bottom right: Praline my cat

To summarize, Norwegian forest cats are bigger and sturdier than Turkish Angora, which have an elegant figure.
I hope this article was helpful and that you will now be able to recognize these two breeds.

Sources

Title picture: On the left, a Turkish Angora from Cattery Eden Angora and on the right a Norwegian Forest cat from Cattery Caladan
Standard LOOF
Standard FIFé
Standard TICA

Turkish Angora vs Norwegian forest cats