British Shorthair

The British Shorthair is the pedigree version of the British domestic cat, with a stocky, muscular body, a thick coat and a broad, rounded face. It is a large, powerful-looking cat with a broad chest, sturdy legs and round paws. The tail is medium in length and thick at the base, tapering to a rounded tip.

The coat is very dense, straight and even, with a plush, crisp feel rather than a woolly or fluffy one. The best-known colour is the British Blue, a solid grey-blue with deep copper-orange eyes. The breed also comes in many other colours and patterns, including white, black, red, cream, tabby, tortoiseshell and colourpoint.

British Shorthairs are noticeably different in size between the sexes: males average 4-8 kg and females 3-5 kg. They mature slowly, reaching full physical development at around three years old. A longhaired version, the British Longhair, is identical apart from its longer, denser coat.

Nobody knows exactly how the first cats reached the British Isles, but housecats seem to have arrived before the Roman invasion. They interbred with the local European wildcat population, and over the centuries their isolated descendants became large, robust cats with a short but very thick coat suited to island conditions. Going by artists' pictures, the modern British Shorthair is unchanged from that early type.

Selective breeding began in the nineteenth century, with a focus on the blue-grey variant known as the British Blue or English type. Harrison Weir is credited by some sources with the idea of standardising the breed. The British Shorthair featured at the first-ever cat show, organised by Weir at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871, and was hugely popular at first.

By the 1900s, newly imported Persians and other longhaired breeds had pushed it out of favour, and breeding stock was critically rare by World War I. Breeders mixed in Persian, Russian Blue, Burmese and Chartreux bloodlines. A shortage returned by World War II, when Persian and Russian Blue were used again. By the late 1970s the breed had full recognition from all major cat registries.

The British Shorthair is known for a relatively calm temperament. This has made it a frequent media star, and it is famously the inspiration for John Tenniel's illustration of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland.

The Cat Fanciers' Association profile says that when the breed is seen being ungraceful, it is duly embarrassed and quickly recovers with a Cheshire cat smile.

A UK study of veterinary records found a life expectancy of 9.58 years for British Shorthairs and British Longhairs, compared with 11.74 years for cats overall. Swedish insurance data gives a median lifespan of more than 12.5 years, with 82% living to 10 or more and 54% to 12.5 or more.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition, can be a problem in the breed. A Danish study found it in 20.4% of males and 2.1% of females. The breed is also thought to be at high risk of polycystic kidney disease.

On a brighter note, a large study of English patient records found British Shorthairs less than half as likely to develop diabetes mellitus as other cats: 0.24% compared with 0.58%.

This is general awareness only, not veterinary advice. Always consult a vet about your pet's health.

Is the British Shorthair a pedigree cat?

Yes. It is the pedigree version of the British domestic cat landrace. It is one of the oldest known cat landraces and one of the first pedigreed breeds.

How long do British Shorthairs live?

Figures vary. A UK veterinary records study found a life expectancy of 9.58 years, while Swedish insurance data gives a median of more than 12.5 years.

Is the British Shorthair a popular cat in the UK?

Very. About half of all kittens registered with the GCCF each year are British Shorthairs, making it the UK's most popular pedigree cat.

How big do British Shorthairs get?

They are large cats. Males average 4-8 kg and females 3-5 kg, and they reach full development at around three years.

Are all British Shorthairs blue?

No. Blue is the most familiar colour, but the breed also comes in white, black, red, cream, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon and fawn, in solid, tabby, smoke, shaded, tipped, bicolour and tortoiseshell forms.

The first-ever cat show, at the Crystal Palace in London in 1871, featured the British Shorthair, and it stayed the premier pedigree at shows until 1895.

In the breed, eye shape is considered more important than eye colour.

The British Shorthair was one of eight cats featured on a series of Royal Mail postage stamps in 2022.

The French Chartreux looks very similar to the British Blue, yet the two are genetically unrelated.