History of the British Shorthair
The British Shorthair, a cat breed of Egyptian origin, is accounted as one of the oldest cat breeds in the world, and the reason for this is believed to be in ancient Egyptian times.
Discovered by Roman soldiers during the occupation of Egypt, this species was first brought by many immigrants to the borders of the Roman Empire and then to the borders of England.
This breed of cat, which thus received its name, was later taken to a competition in England in the 19th century by a person named Harrison Weir, the exact date is not known. By winning first place in this competition, it managed to become a well-known and interesting cat breed all over the world. Thanks to this competition many people got to know this cat breed and adopted it, which led to the spread of this breed in England and even in the world.
Characteristics of the British Shorthair
The British Shorthair cat breed, which has an extremely cute facial structure, is also a very patient and calm cat breed. Due to their short hair, they are easy to care for indoors. British’s generally like to live in a warm environment. Especially in winter they prefer to live in heating cores or warm areas of the house. Cats have it in their genes to love warm environments. They like to live in a warm environment because their hair is short. With children, this cat breed, which has the shape of a friend, is very popular. It also loves children very much.
The British Shorthair cat breed does not only have a calm nature, but is also very willing to be stroked. When he wants to be petted, he knows how to get his owner to do it by coming very calmly to his owner. There are also moments when he does not want to be petted and wants to be alone. In such cases, he prefers to remain silent by retreating to his corner. He has a way of not liking strangers. Especially they do not like at all that strangers take them on their laps and stroke them like that.
Positive characteristics
The British Shorthair cat breed has generally won the admiration of all people with its appearance. With its noble bearing and leader-like build, it resembles the lion statues in the pyramid tombs in Egypt, just as it was in its origin. It is clever, docile and has no problem staying at home. This breed of cat can easily be left at home for hours at a time, so the consequences of great mischief do not occur. The main reason why it is preferred is that it gets along very well with families with children and other family members.
In addition, the fact that it matures extremely late and takes a long time to grow up can be seen as the main reason why it is preferred by people who want kittens. This very playful cat can adapt to all the behaviours of its owner. In addition, the fact that their hair is single layered is an advantage for the person taking in this breed of cat. This is important because the cat does not need to be groomed too often and does not lose hair all over the house due to shedding. Finally, it has been observed that the British Shorthair cat breed gets along very well with different species or different types of animals at home or outside.
Negative characteristics
It is an almost perfect cat breed that does not have many negative traits. Many people may worry about their prices. This is because this species, whose prices are quite high, also has a mouth structure that is very prone to gingivitis. For this reason, it is recommended to perform oral care continuously and without interruption. If you want to buy this cat breed for breeding, it is advisable to think twice about it. Cats need to mature in order to reproduce. This cat breed has a very late maturing structure.
Known as attention-seeking cats, this cat breed can become depressed due to lack of attention if it does not receive enough attention. This can cause the cat to become ill. Finally, they have little appetite for being hugged or petted by strangers who come into the house. Situations like this will not please this breed of cat at all.
Physical characteristics of the British Shorthair
The coat of this cat breed is single layered, short and thick. However, the cat breed British Shorthair, which has a very soft hair structure, has a generally round face. The eye structure, however, has a round and rather large shape corresponding to the face structure. The cat breed British Shorthair, which has a very strong posture, has short legs and a muscular and extremely strong paw, leg and shoulder structure in direct proportion to their posture.
Due to their physical structure they are very similar to the Scottish Fold cat breed. The only difference between these two cat breeds is that the ears of Scottish Fold cats have a curved structure. The ear structures of British Shorthair are flat, medium sized, wide and their ear tips have a rounded structure. Apart from this, as mentioned in the previous title, their physical development works very slowly. It is generally observed that they reach maturity in 3 to 5 years.
Health characteristics of the British Shorthair
This is one of the most preferred reasons for the British Shorthair breed not having a genetic disease. Generally, the diseases that have occurred are curable and can be treated without passing them on to their offspring. This breed, which mainly suffers from gingivitis, also suffers from cardiomyopathy, a disease that leads to heart failure. In addition, this species, which also suffers from eye discharge, has a very problematic structure in its intestine. Because of this susceptibility of its gut to disease, it is a species that should be given special attention to its diet.
British Shorthair care and diet
You do not have to do anything special when caring for the British Shorthair cat breed. It is sufficient to comb it once or at most twice a week, as it may already have short and thick hair. The bathing problem is very small. A bath is rather rarely recommended. Apart from that, as mentioned in the previous title, it is extremely important to brush your teeth almost every day to avoid gingivitis.
Your nails, on the other hand, need to get used to being trimmed in their youthful state. Therefore, although it takes a long time to mature, it should not be bothered by having its nails trimmed as it matures and it should not cause any problems. In addition, it is recommended that the cat litter be kept dry and clean at all times, otherwise this breed of British Shorthair may not wish to lie in this sand again.
Breeding information on the British Shorthair
The cat breed British Shorthair gives birth to at least 3 or 4 kittens in each breeding season. At the same time, female species are often overly involved in mothering.
They have a maternal nature that loves to play and joke with their pups. At the same time, puppies are also very attached to their mothers and their families. For this reason, they almost never want to be separated from each other until maturity. When they are separated, the offspring that go to another home are very attached to the new home. Generally their mates are Scottish cat breeds for mating.
COLOURS OF THE BRITISH SHORTHAIR
In Turkey, the colour of this breed is generally known as grey. We can call grey colour as the most widely accepted colour, but it has different colours. We will try to share some colour information with you below.
Grey colour; It is one of the most preferred and recorded colours. There are different shades of grey, we can give examples of colours like light grey, smoky grey.
Golden colour; This breed, which has a golden colour, usually has the colours of show cats and registered cats. Especially this colour is very popular in Russia. It is a colour that can often be seen in beauty contests.
Silver colour; This silver colour with some black spots on the feather tips is very rare. You can often see this colour at beauty contests.
Blue spot colour; The eyes of this breed, which has grey colours on the white coat texture, are blue. Coat colours and eye colour are quite striking.
White colour; White is a very common colour. White cats usually have a feature on the head.
Breed characteristics
Adaptation
Suitability for flat living
Suitable for inexperienced owners
Suitable for cold weather conditions
Suitable for hot weather conditions
Friendship
Love in the family
Interaction with children
Friendship with other dogs or pets
Friendship with strangers
Health and grooming
Saliva
Hair loss
Simple grooming
Potential for weight gain
Size
Trainability
Ease of upbringing
Intelligence
Hunting potential
Nibbling habit
Suitable for travelling
Physical
Energy level
Exercise needs
Play needs
Source: https://petyasam.com/kedi-irklari/british-shorthair-irk-ozellikleri-ve-karakteri/