British Shorthair

Origin
British shorthair cats were bred around 1870 in Great Britain out of beautiful house cats. Crossings with Persian cats caused the massive, stocky shape and the round head. As the name might indicate, this breed has a short fur. British shorthair cats must be distinguished from European short-haired cats which especially occur in Scandinavia. Those cats have a more shiny fur, longer paws, a longer snout and larger ears. American Short-haired cats also exist. There is also a relationship with the Exotic short-haired cat, but their fur texture resembles the texture of Persian cats. Unfortunately blue British shorthair cats are often, wrongly, confused with Karthuizers (Chartreux), but they originally come from France and have a more trapezial head, almond-shaped eyes and ears which are located on the far end of the head.    

Character
The British shorthair kittens are very playful. As they grow they become quiet and friendly cats with a very even-tempered character. They can amuse themselves well, love to sleep, but also like to be cuddled and stroked. They love to play and they are lovely cuddly toys. In general they can get along well with children, dogs and other cats. They can be kept in a flat or apartment, but they also love a terrace or garden.

Appearance
The British shorthair cat is a medium-sized – large cat, in any case short and stocky, with a wide chest and muscled back and neck. His paws are short, with solid round feet. His tail is medium-sized – short, with a round point. The cat has an elastic, thick fur, which feels strongly. The hair must be standing on end and not be located against the body. The head is round, with a wide skull, thick cheeks (especially the tomcats) and small ears which aren’t located close to each other. The eyes must be large and round with a color which depends on the fur. The nose is short and straight, without stop.

The chin must be very developed. The eyes are in principle copper-colored/orange-colored, but the white British shorthair cat may have two or one (odd-eyed: blue and gold) blue eyes. Only Silver tabbies may have green eyes. Color points have blue eyes.

Fur colors
The classic color is blue (just like the Karthuizer), but many colors are possible: white, black, blue, red, cream, chocolate and lilac. White hairs may not occur in the fur (except with uniform white and bi-colors) and a tabby marking may not be visible, except during a short period with kittens. Parti-colors have a partial white fur (ghost marking) (however not more than a third) and occur in several varieties: as bi-colors (combination with uniform color) or as tri-colors (combination with a tortoise pattern).  Tortoise means that the cat has two colors in his fur and is in principle female (tortoise tom cats are rare and sterile).    

The small color spots must melt into each other in a subtly way. The main color may be black, blue, chocolate or lilac, the other color is always red or cream.

Fur patterns
There are four different tabby patterns: ticked (dotted), mackerel (striped), spotted and blotched (marbled). If British have a silvery white undercoat, they are called silver tabbies, but the golden tabbies occur more and more, especially in black, blue and red. Chinchilla British have a silver white undercoat. Depending on the color pigment quantity in their hair points, they have different names.
If the pigment is black or blue, than they are called smoke (the upper half of the hair is colored), shaded (one third pigmented) or tipped (very few pigment in the hair points).

If the pigment is red or cream, they are called cameo’s (one third of the hair is colored) or shells (very few pigment in the hair points). Color points have a marking just like the Siamese have: darker colored eyes, snout, paws and tail.

The varieties are usually derived from existing Persian color combinations. The colors of the points can be seal (black), blue, chocolate, lilac, red or cream. Combinations with all fur colors and patterns are possible.

Care
British cats like company from people or from other pets. They appreciate their daily attention as much as their food and water. However, it will not be hard for anyone to cuddle this cat and to talk to him. The care consists of weekly brushing and cutting the nail points regularly with a good nail clipper. You must check the inside of the auricles and if necessary clean them. It is further important to, just like with other cats, have them vaccinated (against cat disease and cat flu) yearly and (especially in summer) you must protect them against flees and have them wormed regularly. 
    
Purchase
You must definitely learn a lot about this fantastic breed, before you purchase a kitten or adult British. You can find a lot about them in cat books. Practical information can be obtained from breeders and owners of British shorthair cats. They usually love to talk about their beloved breed. An appointment with a breeder doesn’t mean you have to purchase such a cat. Don’t purchase directly, take your time to think about it.
Pay attention to it, before purchase, that the animal is healthy, looks good and makes a social impression. Look around in the cattery: Is it clean, do the cats live in a homely surrounding and does the breeder make a (n) (animal-) friendly impression? Visit the kitten you wish to purchase a couple of times before you take it home. Nowadays the kittens may only be taken home when they are 13 weeks old (unless there are very good reasons to change this). At that time they must have been vaccinated twice, so that they are well protected and will need a new vaccination only one year later. In Holland there are two huge British shorthair clubs, each with an own club newsletter which contains many interesting pieces of information. Besides, these clubs both take care of the mediation of British shorthair kittens and older cats.

Breedinformation & pictures provided by cattery http://www.dgrasmayer.nl