British Shorthair
The iconic British Blue and its many colours: a calm, stocky, and ancient pedigree.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: British Shorthair · see source
The breed's calm temperament made it the inspiration for John Tenniel's famous illustration of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.[1]
Quick Facts
- Origin
- British Isles
- Breed type
- pedigreed cat
- First cat show
- 1871, Crystal Palace, London
- Most familiar variant
- British Blue
- Popularity (uk)
- most popular pedigree cat, half of GCCF registrations
- Popularity (us)
- 6th most popular cat breed as of 2023
- Life expectancy
- 9.58 years (UK study)
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
Researchers are not sure how cats first reached the British Isles.[2] They are a noticeably sexually dimorphic breed, with males averaging 9–17 lb and females 7–12 lb.[3][4] After many generations, the naturally separated offspring evolved into a noticeably large, sturdy cat with a short, extremely dense coat.[5] This breed is a substantial, strong-looking feline, characterized by a wide chest, solid legs, and round feet.[6]
Its cranium is sizable and notably round, featuring a brief muzzle and plump cheeks.[6] The fur is extremely thick and lies flat, offering a soft, dense feel that visibly parts across the cat's frame when it walks.[7]
What the specialist sources record
The GCCF states that the British Shorthair traces its ancestry back to European domestic cats brought into Britain by the invading Romans in the first century AD.[8] The GCCF notes that Harrison Weir drew up the first standards and developed the British Shorthair into a cat of distinct type through selective breeding.[8] The GCCF describes the British coat as having more fur per square inch than any other breed, with a short, plush coat described as crisp or cracking.[8] The GCCF reports that the British Blue is the flagship of the breed, with almost half the breed registrations being the self colours.[8]
PetMD describes the British Shorthair as the teddy bear of cat breeds, originating in ancient Egypt and migrating with humans to Rome and later to Great Britain.[4] PetMD states that the average lifespan of the British Shorthair is 12–20 years.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "British Shorthair" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Geyer, "When Cats Reigned Like Kings: On the Trail of the Sacred Cats", Transaction Publishers, p. 219 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "British Shorthair" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Driscoll, "The Taming of the Cat", Scientific American, 1 June 2009, p. 68–75 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "British Shorthair" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "CFA: Introduction to the British Shorthair", cfainc.org; "British Shorthair", The International Cat Association (TICA), 31 July 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "British Shorthair Cats", PetMD. facts only, no text reused. petmd.com
- Wikipedia, "British Shorthair" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "British Shorthair", The International Cat Association (TICA) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "British Shorthair" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "British Shorthair Breed Standard", cfainc.org; "British Breed Group (BS/BL): British Breed Group Standard", The International Cat Association (TICA), 25 May 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "British Shorthair" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "British Breed Group (BS/BL): British Breed Group Standard", The International Cat Association (TICA), 25 May 2015; "British Shorthair", The International Cat Association (TICA); "British Shorthair Breed Standard", cfainc.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "British", Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF). facts only, no text reused. gccfcats.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article British Shorthair (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Cat Breeds
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: British Shorthair (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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