British shorthair

The Romans introduced large numbers of cats to the United Kingdom as working cats which then interbred with the native wild cats of Great Britain to produce the native domestic shorthaired cat. The British Shorthair breed originated in 1870 and was very popular at the Crystal Palace cat show of 1871. However after World War II the British Shorthair numbers were devastated and breeders carefully restored the numbers using a variety of other cat breeds to maintain the health of the breed.

British Shorthairs are a very easygoing breed of cat. They have a stable character and take well to being kept as indoor-only cats, making them ideal for apartment living. They are not terribly demanding of attention, though they will let you know if they feel like playing. They are not hyperactive preferring to sit close to you rather than on you.

They like attention and enjoy being petted. They are not a very vocal breed but will meow to communicate. They do like to follow you from room to room, as they often wish to be with you and see what is going on. Some do not mind being cuddled, but most prefer to keep four paws on the ground and be patted rather than picked up.

British Shorthairs are very healthy and long lived. You can expect a British to live from 14 to 20 years.

The breed standard details; "The British cat is compact, well balanced and powerful, showing good depth of body, a full broad chest, short strong legs, rounded paws, tail thick at base with rounded tip. The head is round with a good width between small ears, round cheeks, firm chin, large round and well opened eyes and a broad short nose. The coat is short and dense. A muscular cat with an alert appearance and in perfect physical condition."

The British Shorthair Cat Club details; "The British Shorthair is one of the largest breeds of cat. It is chunky and substantial; the male is much larger than the female. The face is round with full cheeks and the nose is short and broad. The chin is deep and strong. The ears are small and rounded and set so as to blend with the round contour of the head. The eyes are large and round. The head is set on a short thick neck. The body is cobby with a short level back. The chest is deep and the shoulders are strong. The legs are short and strong with round paws. The tail is thick and of medium length."

British Shorthair's come in a large variety of colours and patterns. The genetics around these we find extremely interesting but it takes quite a bit of reading to get an understanding of how the genes work together to produce cats with differing appearances.

Trying to keep it very simple and therefore not genetically accurate the colors are: black, chocolate, cinnamon, red, white, blue, lilac, fawn, cream and silver. With regards to patterns the British Shorthair can be either one solid colour, tabby (mackerel, classic, spotted, silver), colourpointed, smoke, tipped, bi-colour and tortoiseshell.

The British Shorthair comes with four distinct eye colours: orange/gold/copper, green, blue and colourpointed blue. Kittens are always born with blue eyes with the final eye colour developing between 6 and 7 weeks of age. However, it will be at least three or four months before you can see the final colour.

The male is noticeably larger, broader and rounder than the female, with weights ranging between 6-7 kg. But the female is also a big cat with weight between 5-6 kg.

Although you should groom them occasionally their semi-longhair coats do not require a lot of grooming, and their fur does not tangle or mat easily.