The British Shorthair has a long history, but it was not until the early 20th century that it became a favorite. The cat has a round and fat body, with a medium to large appearance. Its skeleton and muscles are well developed, with a short, fat neck and broad, flat shoulders. The head is round and broad, the body is thick and short and developed, the coat is short and dense, the head is large and the face is round, and the large and round eyes are of various colors depending on the coat. The biggest feature is that the distance between the branching ears is very close to the body. The cat is gentle and calm, friendly to people, and easy to keep.
The ancestors of the British Shorthair can be said to be “war heroes”, as early as 2000 years ago during the Roman Empire, they followed Julius Caesar to fight everywhere. In the war, they relied on the superb ability to catch rats, to protect the Roman army’s food and grass from being stolen by rats, fully guarantee the stability of the military rear. Since then, these cats have gained a high status in people’s hearts. It was at that time that they were brought to the territory of Britain and gradually evolved into the indigenous cat of Britain by their extremely strong adaptability. Not only was it recognized as a master mouse catcher, but its handsome appearance was also loved by many people.
At the end of the 19th century, British breeders selected the most beautiful cats among these indigenous cats and began a long breeding process, which eventually led to the birth of the breed known as the British Shorthair. Later, as their offspring became more and more alike, they were not even distinguishable from each other. So FIFE (the largest cat loving association in the UK) decided to merge these two breeds into one. After the Second World War, more British Shorthair cats were recognized by cat societies in various countries, and they entered thousands of households and became companions in people’s lives.
- British Shorthair morphological characteristics
The British Shorthair is a compact, well-proportioned and strong cat with a thick body, a full, broad chest, thick legs of short to medium length, rounded paws, and a thick, rounded tail with a blunt tip. The head is round, the ears are widely spaced, the cheeks are rounded, the chin is strong, the ears are medium in size, the large, round eyes are wide open, and the nose is medium in width. The coat is short and very dense. The male cat has more developed cheeks than the female cat and is larger in all respects than the female cat. It takes three to five years for this breed to reach full maturity. Cats should exhibit overall proportion and balance and should not overemphasize a particular characteristic that may induce neglect or extremes in the breeding process.
Head: Round and thick and sturdy. A round face and skull with a thick and short neck. The forehead should be rounded and the top of the head slightly flat. There should be no sloping forehead.
Nose: Medium length, wide. From the side, there is a slight undercurrent.
Chin: firm, well developed and in line with the nose and upper lip.
Muzzle: Distinctive, well developed, with a clear demarcation at the periphery of the large, rounded whisker flesh.
Ears: Ear placement is important. Medium sized, with a wide ear root and rounded ear tips. The ears are positioned far apart and blend into the rounded contour of the head in an appropriate manner (not biased).
Eyes: Large, round and wide open. Both eyes are wide and flat.
Body: Medium to large in size. Compact, strong and powerful. The back is flat and has a broad chest.
Legs: Short to medium in length, well developed and strong and sturdy in bone. In proportion to the body, the front legs are straight.
Paws: Round and strong. The number of toes is five in front and four at the back.
Tail: medium length and proportional to the body, with a thicker tail root and a slightly rounded tip.
Coat: Short, very dense, very well set off the body shape, feel textured. There is no double coat or fleece.
Color: Shaded tiger stripes appearing in solid, smoke, shaded, shaded gold, bi-color, and tri-color kittens is not bad.
- British Shorthair character traits
The British Shorthair cat is bold and curious, but very gentle and adaptable, will not change because of the change of environment, nor will it lose its temper, nor will it make a lot of noise, it will only try to climb to a higher place, lower its head and stare down at you with big round eyes and a smile, just like the cat called “Lewis” mentioned in Alice in Wonderland. Louis” cat mentioned in “Alice in Wonderland”, without words, only with the cute facial expressions will capture your heart, and can never change your love for it.
The British Shorthair cat has always been known for its curiosity, and will carefully check every corner of the aggravation. Although the British Shorthair cat is bold and curious, it is very gentle and adaptable, and will not change because of the change of environment, nor will it lose its temper, nor will it make a lot of noise, it will only try to climb to a higher place and stare down at you with its big round eyes with a smile. Because they are easy-going and intelligent, so they are often domesticated to shoot Hollywood movies and commercial television.
- British Shorthair cat care knowledge
It is important to give the British shorthair a comfortable space. It is recommended to buy a few more scratching boards and put one in the place where the cat usually sleeps, cats have the habit of grinding and scratching when they get up. And also to give meow a little more where it can hide. Spend some time with your own cat every day to play with it can improve the relationship.
A British Shorthair cat care will make you feel amazingly simple, because these little guys are born beautiful, short coat never tangled, you just need to use a comb to comb its whole body every day is enough, if it is in the shedding period, the owner can moderate more combing a few times. For British Shorthair cats, cleaning is much more important than grooming because their coats are dense and soft, and dust can easily stay there. Although the cats will often use its prickly little tongue to comb the coat, it does not completely remove the underlying dust, so giving it a bath once or twice a month will help it clean the dirt well, and the coat is clean and the cat is naturally happy. Here, still need to remind the owner to pay attention to the hair ball thing, cats have the habit of self-cleaning with their tongues, but at the same time will eat a lot of hair, so regularly feed it a little spit hair ball cream, can timely clean the hair ball in the intestine, but also help them care for the intestines.
The cat’s claw is a tool for catching mice, climbing and self-defense. If the owner has a cat for mouse hunting, of course the claws should not be trimmed. If the owner has a cat as a companion animal, the cat’s claws should be trimmed frequently to avoid scratching people, clothes, furniture, floors, etc. The claw trimming should start at a young age, once a month or so.
Hold the British Shorthair cat in your arms, grab one of the cat’s feet with your left hand and squeeze it slightly with your thumb, index finger and middle finger to extend the claws. Then use the nail clipper in the right hand to carefully cut the transparent part of the front of the foot claw, and then use the small file on the nail clipper to polish the foot claw. When trimming, do not cut too much to avoid hurting the British Shorthair’s feet. Then cut and polish the other claws in turn.
- British Shorthair cat feeding requirements
Feeding the British Shorthair should be noted that the British Shorthair’s nose is a short nose, the cat food bowl must not be too deep, canned food is best fed in a dish and cleaned up immediately after each cat eats. 2-3 meals per day, adhere to the amount of less frequent. Canned food is fed one can per day, and dry food and canned food are best not mixed together. Remember to feed regularly and quantitatively, and water must be changed every day. About feeding the cat food, my advice is to feed the high-grade on the recommended Royal Canin, this cat food has a very good effect on the cat’s digestive system and oral hygiene.
Cat food preservation: it is important to preserve their cat food, cat food can not be in contact with the air for a long time, dry food should usually be saved in a sealed box, there are special storage cat food sealed boxes online to buy, this must be needed. Cats eat the rest of the can also need to be saved, with a pet can cover first, and then sealed in a sealed box and then put in the refrigerator. When feeding again must be heated, a can opened even in the refrigerator can only be stored for up to two days. Nutrition: usually also to give their own British short hair some nutritional supplements, the most important is spit hair cream. I will also often feed some hair care and clean mouth snacks, and a few times a month to feed vitamin cream. Fresh food: It is highly recommended to feed the British short hair fresh canned cat food, the nutritional value is much higher than ordinary, preservation should be more careful, the can must be eaten in one day after opening the can, cat food should be eaten within 7 days.
