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Cats - The British Shorthair by Liz Canham
#21 - 11 - 0 - Cats - The British Shorthair by Liz Canham
[ 2008-02-28 08:31:34 ] - lizc
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Although the Brishish Shorthair is actually a recognised breed, if you own a cat of uncertain pedigree, then it will almost certainly be given this label.
The British Shorthair breed is a descendant of, what we British lovingly call the "moggy", in other words the normal farm and domestic cats of Britain. These cats love to hunt so if you have a problem with rats or mice, this is the breed for you. Unfortunately, they also like to hunt butterflies, birds and voles and will bring them home to you as presents, but that goes with the territory.
The actual breed was founded in the eighteen hundreds but nearly became extinct in the middle of the nineteen hundres due to the competition from a wide range of other breeds. Fortunately, some British Shorthair enthusiasts managed to ensure the survival of the breed and later on, it was exported to the USA where it became extremely fashionable.
The British Shorthair comes in most colours including white, cream, cinnamon, fawn, chocolate, red, black and lilac and in varied patterns such as tabby, colourpoint, bicolour and tortoiseshell. However, the most popular seems to be be blue, which even warrants its own name - the British Blue. This colour nearly vanished in the twentieth century but some devoted breeders bred those that remained with Blue Persians in order to strengthen the genes and save the breed.
The cat can have blue or orange eyes and is quite large, usually four to eight kilos in weight with a short, wide tail, a round head and a very thick quite short coat.
The British Shorthair is a pretty relaxed sort of a cat but isn't particularly cuddly although they do enjoy some human attention. They are quite independent and therefore ideal if you spend a lot of time out of the house but as with any cat, they do need regular feeding.
This cat doesn't need too much by way of grooming as the hair is short and thick, but as with most cats, a weekly combing will remove loose hair and help to prevent fur balls.
The breed doesn't have any genetic diseases or health conditions but it can have the rare B blood type, unlike most cats which are usually type A. It is therefore a good idea to ascertain the cat's blood type and make sure that your vet keeps a record of it, in the unlikely event that your cat needs a transfusion as a result of a road accident or a surgical procedure.
If you want a cat which will keep the local rodent population at bay, is easy to care for and undemanding then the British Shorthair could be the perfect choice.
of three cats and is webmistress of The Cat Lover.
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Breeding Cats not Producing Them by Liz Canham
