Recognized as the oldest English breed, the British Shorthair cat can be traced back to the domestic cat of Rome. These cats were brought to Britain by the Romans and later interbred with wild native cats. To thicken the cat’s coat, they were then crossbreed with Persian cats. Defined as British Shorthairs in the 19th century, the breed was first shown in 1871 at a cat show in the Crystal Palace, a glass and cast-iron building originally built in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibitions of 1851. http://www.findakitten.co.uk/bsh.html

The 1940’s saw a decline in the breed’s popularity, but after World War II, the breed rebounded and began to grow again. A stocky cat, the British Shorthair resembles a teddy bear. Their bodies are large and muscular, with very dense coats. The head is round with large round, wide-set copper or gold eyes and full chubby cheeks, small ears with a rounded tip, set far apart, and a snub nose and rounded chin. The British Shorthair has a broad chest, shoulders and hips, short legs with round paws and a plush tail.

Brits are large at birth, averaging 4-5 kittens per litter. The kitten’s eyes open in about a week and it can eat solid foods in about 3 weeks. This breed takes a full 3-5 years to reach full maturity. The males grow to about 9-12 pounds, but the females are small at 6-9 pounds. The lifespan is around 14-20 years.

Brits come in many colors, the most common being the British Blue. However, there are black, white, red, cream, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn. These colors can be solid or come in a tortoiseshell pattern of mix colors.

The British Shorthairs is a very sweet easygoing breed. They are great for apartment living, love attention but are not over demanding. They like to saddle up beside you or follow their owners around, but do fine on their own, and rather keep all four paws on the ground instead of being picked up. If you work long hours this may be the cat for you. Happy to tell you of their needs this cat will meow, but is not very vocal.

British Shorthairs require little grooming, but should be brushed occasionally due to shedding. A favorite of animal trainer because of their ability to learn tricks, these cats have made appearances in Hollywood films. The British Shorthair has been given Championship Status and in 1996 was ranked 20th out of 36 breed by the Cat Fanciers Association, CFA.

http://www.findakitten.co.uk/bsh.html http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/standards/british.pdf http://www.ouachitabritishshorthair.com/history.htm http://www.scattycats.com/British_Shorthair.html

Some famous British Shorthairs are:

• The Whiskas cat food brand uses a British Shorthair silver tabby
• Sheba cat food brand uses a British Blue in its ads
• The Cheshire cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderlandis a British Shorthair
• Toby, in the ABC drama Desperate Housewives, is a British Shorthair.

A very strong breed, British Shorthairs have few health problems. Breeding practices and a vast gene pool has helped insure this breeds good health. In the 1970’s, Dr. Jean Dodds, an expert in feline blood disorders eliminated a case of hemophilia found in a litter. British Shorthairs contain two blood types, A and B. They are prone to obesity, but this can be handled with a good diet and exercise. http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/articles/british-shorthair.html