British Shorthair Breed Profile

Text by courtesy of Maggie Whiteley. Photographs by courtesy of Paddy Cutts. Copyright: Animals Unlimited

The British cat derives its ancestry almost exclusively from the domestic shorthair, the ‘moggy’ that we all know so well. Over the past century careful selection has resulted in a clearly identifiable breed. The British Shorthair should be a cobby cat with short, strong legs, a round head with well-rounded eyes and a tail broad at the base and rounded at the tip. The coat should be short and dense. The general impression should be that of a compact, alert, fit and healthy cat.

British Shorthairs come in a great range of varieties: Self, Tabby, Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Smoke, Tipped, Colourpointed and Manx.

The plain-coloured cats are known as Selfs, and these may be White, Black, Blue, Red or Cream, or one of the newer colours such as Lilac or Chocolate.

There are patterned cats, for example Tabbies or Spotteds in various colours with or without the Silver gene; this latter gene has the effect of producing a silver undercoat.

There is a range of colours in Tortoiseshell cats, and these colours are mirrored in their Tortie and White variations.

The Bi-Colours combine the various Self colours with the addition of white.

The Smokes exhibit the Silver gene, giving them a silver undercoat, the remainder showing a Self-colour or Tortie pattern.

Then there are the Tipped; these too carry the Silver gene which has the effect of making their coats appear white almost to the ends where they show tipping of various colours, most commonly Black.

The Colourpointed cats have British type with a Siamese pattern; their faces, ears, legs and tails are of a contrasting colour to that of their bodies.

What is much more important than the list rehearsed above is that British cats are generally hardy and healthy creatures. Their idiosyncracies do not usually make them difficult to live with and they are delightful companions. Enquire of their besotted owners