British Shorthair History

The British Shorthairs of today are said to be the descendants of domestic cats brought to Britain by Caesar and the conquering Roman Legions. During the 400 years that Rome ruled Britain, these house cats mated, with the local European cats to create a hardy breed.

The Ideal British Shorthair has been described as being “THE TEDDY BEAR OF CATS” Their coat is short and plush. Well compact, balanced and powerful, Having a muscular, cobby shape body with short, sturdy legs. The tail is short and thick with a rounded tip. The head should be massive and nicely rounded (like a soccer ball) with small ears set wide apart. The face should have round full cheeks with a short straight nose and a firm chin. The neck is short, strong and well developed. Eyes should be big and round and solid in Colour. Ranging, from gold to deep copper reveal that this is an animal with "inner strength" and a calm composure which enables it to handle most situations. Females are less massive in all respects than the males, with the males in particular, having larger jowls.

The classic and best known British Shorthair is the British Blue with the lovely deep copper coloured eyes. However, the British now come in ALL colours, including black, white, red, cream, chocolate, lilac, blue/cream, tortoiseshell and patterned (like the very popular Silver tabby/spotted - yes like the whiskers ad!). Careful and selective breeding since the 19th century has produced shorthaired cats which conform to a set standard. The best of their characteristics were maintained so that they are now a very hardy cat, which has not changed much, until more recent years, except to add a variety of different colours to the breed.

Harrison Weir, who wrote the first comprehensive book on cats in 1889, gave this breed the most prominent place in his book. He so loved the British, Ally/Street cat that he almost single handedly began, a breeding program using the best specimens he could find.
Until the turn of the 20th century, the British Shorthair Cat was the most popular breed of cat at the Crystal Palace cat show in London. Then the exotic Persians and Siamese landed on English shores and so captured the nation’s cat lovers. It was not until the 1930's that the popularity of the British Shorthair regained some lost ground.

World War II had a severe effect on the cat fancy with an almost fatal one on the British Shorthair. Breeders found it almost impossible to find suitable Studs for their Queens and so the idea of out-crossing with the Persian cat to save the breed from oblivion was conceived.
Crossing the British with the Himalayan created the very striking colourpoint British shorthair cat which has lovely BLUE eyes, not the copper eyes of its more well known counterpart.

With today's hectic lifestyle, many people find the British Shorthair to be a perfect addition to their household. And has a calm, quite, easy going lazy nature, who appreciates quality time with you, without demanding too much of your attention.