British shorthair cats: breed features, color variations and keeping rules
The domestic cat is a favorite animal of billions of people, in some cultures it was even revered as a symbol of some local deity. Moreover, in each region, "local" cats look different, which depends on the characteristics of the wild species that was domesticated here, and on climatic conditions, and on a certain natural selection, and nowadays - even on selection.The British Shorthair cat is considered one of the most recognizable - it is a regal individual with a well-defined aristocratic appearance.
Origin story
Contrary to the direct link to Britain, the ancestors of this breed came to the islands from the outside - scientists even know an approximate answer to questions about when and how this happened. For two thousand years, modern England was a colony of the Roman Empire, and in the metropolis then cats were highly valued as useful hunters with excellent physical characteristics and the ability to get used to any conditions of detention.
In the south of Europe, where Rome is located, such animals did not need thick fur, because they were smooth-haired.
It is difficult to say whether by that time there were local domesticated cats in Britain, but the Romans who lived here preferred to take pets from the south - by that time they had already relatively formed into an attractive breed.
At the same time, at first, in these small animals, it was not the appearance that was valued above all, but the outstanding instinct of the hunter. It is proved that the ancestors of the modern "British" for centuries lived not in houses, but on the streets and in barns, where they fulfilled the purpose for which they were domesticated - they chased mice and rats. At the same time, the popularization of the breed as something aesthetically beautiful began only in the 19th century thanks to Harrison Weir, who was very fond of these pussies and specially selected kittens for breeding work for many years.
Through his efforts, local mustachioed tetrapods, previously considered a purely working class, got to the cat exhibition in London's Crystal Palace, after which people looked at them from a different angle.
In 1871, the Breed Standard was even released, after which these animals began to be massively bred for sale.
Despite the great popularity of the breed, after the Second World War it almost disappeared - during the war years there was simply no one to engage in professional breeding of thoroughbred animals. Because of this, it was decided to allow the crossing of the remaining representatives of the breed with Persian cats and chartreuse. Because of this, modern British shorthairs are somewhat different from the classical idea of them - today they stand out for their calmness, as well as a larger head with a rounded muzzle, although earlier all these features were not inherent in them.
Description
The basic information about this breed is probably known to every avid cat lover, however, for an inexperienced person, the information below may be useful.
British shorthairs are fairly large animals, for an adult male the normal weight is 4-8 kg, and for a female - 3-5.5 kg.
In this case, a castrated animal can be fattened even up to 12 kilograms, while a cat is usually not heavier than 7 kilograms. Such animals become mature at about 3-5 years of age.
The large size of such cats is not expressed in significant height - they are just considered short, they just differ in roundness and generally resemble a densely stuffed plush toy. The similarity is further enhanced by the very soft and thick coat, which, indeed, resembles a plush. The coat is so soft and docile that even when stroking against the coat, the cover does not ruffle, as is usually the case, but is, as it were, combed backwards.
In most cases, modern British Shorthair cats have a bluish color - the presence of Persian and French impurities, which had to be resorted to after the Second World War, affects.
In this case, the color can be some other - for example, completely black individuals, and gray-blue, and even lilac come across.
The two-tone color is very popular, especially when combined in a smoky or tortoiseshell pattern.
It is not too correct to attribute human facial expressions to an animal, but in general it looks as if it is always smiling - at least there is practically no “displeased” expression on a cat's face. Combined with a calm personality and typical "plush" appearance, this makes the breed a very popular pet due to its "positive" character.
Character traits
A characteristic feature of the representatives of this breed is that they are distinguished by calmness and poise. Such an animal is completely imperturbable, while it is devoid of the aggression typical of a predator and usually does not resist the will of a person.
Moreover, such a "plush" cat is distinguished not only by its stunning appearance, but also behaves accordingly. Unlike many other cats, this breed is capable of becoming attached to the owner or to family members that the four-legged pet trusts.
Such a cat is distinguished by an affectionate character, she is sympathetic to children's pranks and does not respond to them with aggression. The "British" are good because they have no "favorites" in the host's family - they treat everyone at home exactly.
Short-haired cats from England love to accompany their owner around the apartment, they usually choose for their pastime the same room where the person is now. They are not against the manifestations of affection from the owners, but at the same time they are not too annoying - in particular, they do not ask for hands and, in general, do not really like to be there. Such an animal is not devoid of a certain degree of its own independence, it will understand if you do not have time for it, and will not suffer from it.
Such a cat does not need to be constantly entertained - he normally perceives the everyday life and does not look for special adventures.
Shorthaired "Britons" are often chosen by those people who generally love animals and do not want to be limited to cats alone. The fact is that this breed, due to its innate calmness, reacts normally to most other species of living creatures, therefore it does not provoke conflicts with dogs, and also does not seek to attack rabbits or poultry.
Strangers will not embarrass the "Briton", she understands that they are her guests, and not vice versa. The animal will behave in their presence in the same way as usual.
It is striking that the cat does not treat all guests the same way - she is cold to someone, but more kind to others.
At the same time, there will definitely not be open hostility on her part in any case.
Shorthaired cats are not very similar to the rest of their relatives in the sense that they do not have the typical feline flexibility - such a "stuffed toy" is relatively awkward. The animal compensates for a small physical disability with a developed mind and excellent memory - for example, an individual who once managed to open the door on its own will understand the value of such a skill and remember the entire sequence of actions, later repeatedly resorting to the knowledge gained as needed. Accordingly, such a quadruped lends itself well to training, it can be trained to a tray in a short time.
"British" youth are distinguished by their playful disposition, they will be happy to get involved in the game proposed by the owner, but this is a characteristic especially for a certain age.
The one-year-old animal is already distinguished by a much more serious attitude to life, it does not seek adventure and prefers to stay at home.
Restrained habits even consist in the fact that the cat does not seek to spoil the furniture, and in general behaves like a real English aristocrat.
This breed will not interfere with the neighbors from below, not only by stomping their paws, but also by meowing - these animals resort to it quite rarely, with their voice they attract attention only if they need something from a person. At the same time, their meowing is relatively quiet, therefore it is convenient to keep such a calm and balanced predator even in a multi-storey building.
Life span
On average, British Shorthair cats live about 14-16 years old, provided that all the necessary conditions have been created for them, and the animal does not lack anything... At the same time, there are cases when individual specimens survived even up to 20 years old, so such a pet is serious and for a long time.
At the same time, one should not believe the widespread opinion that one cat's year is supposedly equal to seven human years.
Felinologists, that is, experts on these animals, say that The one-year-old British Shorthair cat is developed at about the same level as a person at 15 years old. By the age of seven, the animal reaches the level of a 45-year-old human, and from that moment on, the aging of the cat begins little by little. If it is possible to make the animal live to 20 years, then decrepit it will be at the level of a typical 95-year old man.
At the same time, most of the owners still want their pet to become a real feline long-liver, because over the years of breeding, certain criteria were even developed for the conditions under which the animal must live as long as possible. Of course, we need normal conditions of detention, which will be discussed below in a separate section. At the same time, the innate calmness of the cat should not be disturbed by stress and excessive physical exertion.
The breed is distinguished by a reduced number of ailments of genetic origin and increased resistance to cancer.
Sterilization and castration usually slightly extend the life span, but at the same time representatives of this breed should not be overly patronized - let the animal live the way it wants, and it will appreciate it.
Coat color options
Despite the fact that most breeds have very specific characteristics regarding external data, short-haired "British" women do not have strict requirements for a specific color - the fact that they were mixed with other breeds affects.
There is a register that includes as many as two hundred color options recognized as "normal" for this breed.
At the same time, the vast majority of the population is blue, but it is worth highlighting some other colors that are in great demand. For inexperienced cat lovers, some of the terms in the description of the animal may be incomprehensible, therefore, we will consider at least the main thing.
- Solid, or solid color, assumes not only one tone for all the ends of the coat, but also uniform dyeing of the entire length of the hairs together with the undercoat in one shade. Usually they are blue, marbled and silver gray, black, as well as brown and ginger cats.
- Bicolor Is a combination of two colors, one of which is white.
- Turtle called a tricolor color, while the colors included in the palette do not have to be fundamentally different, but at least a clear difference between similar shades should be visible.
- Colorpoint - This is an imitation of the color of Siamese cats. Such animals almost always have a characteristic blue eye color, although for British shorthair cats, eye color in tone with the main color is considered the norm.
- Smoky coloration assumes that the hair in the root half is colored white, while the visible part is different and forms the "basic" tone of the animal.
- Chinchilla color on the principle it resembles smoky, but here only the tips of the hairs are painted in the basic tone, while the entire undercoat is white.
- Tabby - a term describing a large number of color varieties, when, with the main gold or silver shade, the animal is decorated with any complex pattern from striped to more intricate.
Feeding
The aristocratic nature of this breed does not allow feeding such an animal with anything.
In fact, the owner is obliged to monitor the diet of his ward, not only in order to give him only the best and most useful, but also in order not to allow him to eat everything in unlimited quantities.
The fact is that the measured lifestyle of this slightly lazy predator greatly increases the likelihood of animal obesity, and this, as you know, negatively affects the overall health of the pet. For this reason, overfeeding a pet is unacceptable, it is undesirable to feed it with "human" food, especially fatty, flour or sweets.
Most of the owners of these aristocratic cats prefer not to engage in independent food preparation, but to trust the producers of pet food. For "Britons", both dry (always with plenty of water for drinking) and soft mixtures will be a good solution, while they often write that a premium quality class is needed.
Mixing different brands of feed with each other is undesirable, just as it is not worth making a mix from supposedly the same feed from different companies.
Taking care of consumers, manufacturers usually indicate on the box how much food the animal needs per day - this helps to calculate the number of boxes before the next visit to the store, and not to overfeed the four-legged friend. At the same time, babies under six months are usually fed three times a day, while adults undergo a similar pleasant procedure only twice. At the same time, other sources insist that babies need to be fed 4-5 times a day, and adults - three times, but the daily rate does not change from this in any case.
Some owners of British short-haired cats do not trust the food producers too much and prefer to independently form the diet of their pets from "understandable" products that can be eaten by the person himself.
This approach is acceptable if you know which foods will be useful for the animal and will not harm its health.
The daily requirement of a pet is about 70 kilocalories per kilogram of weight, on the basis of which the amount of food is calculated. Important ingredients in such a menu are cereals, vegetables, dairy products and, of course, meat. Lean beef is best suited for the role of the latter, which, for the sake of the convenience of a non-bloodthirsty animal, is best cut into small pieces ahead of time. Alternatively, you can also give a bird, and once or twice a week - boiled sea fish.
It is important to remember that fermented milk products are given to your pet once or twice a week, but it should not be fresh milk, since it often provokes disruptions in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Boiled egg yolk in a cat's diet is allowed, but they shouldn't get too carried away either - it is also given only 1-2 times a week.
If feeding is still carried out according to the schedule, then the animal may want to drink at any time, because he must have access to clean and fresh water at all times. This is especially important if the basis of the diet is dry food, otherwise the cat will be uncomfortable.
Conditions of detention
British shorthair cats, despite their aristocratic appearance and the same habits, are not particularly whimsical in grooming, therefore it is quite simple to care for them.At the same time, you should not completely ignore caring for an animal, otherwise it may lose its trademark plush appeal or even get sick.
Despite the fact that the "British" are short-haired breeds, it is important to take care of the wool - so that it does not accumulate throughout the apartment, the animal must be regularly combed out.
During the molting period, this will have to be done daily, but the rest of the time it will be enough to carry out the procedure on a weekly basis. To complete the task, arm yourself with a special rubber-toothed brush, which is sold at any pet supply store. They scratch such a cat with careful movements, first against the fur, and then vice versa. A peaceful animal not only does not resist such events, but usually perceives them very favorably and even with some joy.
Every week it is necessary to wipe the animal's ears, which will also be taken quite calmly.
A much more vivid negative reaction will be caused by brushing your teeth, which needs to be done not just weekly, but at least once during this period, then as often as possible. If you ignore this need, the animal may face diseases of the oral cavity, and treatment will be more difficult and costly than prevention. An alternative solution could be special food of a special consistency, which provides a cleansing effect - at least, you do not have to torment the animal with unpleasant procedures.
The claws interfere with the animal, but they need to be cut as needed - on average, the need for such a procedure arises every 2-3 weeks. At the same time, the cat itself can partially solve this problem, if a scratching post is specially bought for it - however, because of its calm disposition, these four-legged animals can be interested in it to the same extent as in furniture, that is, simply ignore it.
Bathing the animal is usually not required - it is quite clean and diligently looks after itself.
Water procedures threaten such a cat only if the pet is somewhere heavily soiled with ingesting pollutants; in all other cases, the minimum cleanliness can be maintained with dry shampoo.
Not that the British Shorthair cat is too afraid of unusual conditions, but for its good health and longevity it is desirable to make the living conditions in the house comfortable.
The animal does not like either cold or excessive heat, and it also dislikes too dry and waterlogged air. The room in which the cat lives should be regularly ventilated.
Although the "British" and are distinguished by calmness and aristocratic morals, they sometimes also need to frolic, at least to maintain normal physical shape. You should not force the pet if he clearly does not want to play, but in general, he must be provided with such an opportunity. To do this, make sure that the cat has space to play. And also do not spare money for interesting toys and time - for a joint pastime with your pet.
Sitting within four walls all day long, a short-haired animal may not receive any vitamins or minerals that it would find in the wild. For pets, special vitamin and mineral complexes are produced, which must be included in the daily diet in the recommended amounts.
Health
Among all their relatives, British Shorthair cats stand out for their good health - we have already said above that they are not "taken" by either cancer or many other typical feline diseases.
Of the serious diseases, this breed is threatened only by polycystic disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but they are diagnosed very rarely and in most cases do not concern the pet. However, this does not mean that you should not worry about the health of your four-legged friend.
First of all you need to periodically visit the veterinarian for preventive examinations... As with humans, any disease detected early in development can be cured with less time, money, and effort. In addition, in a veterinary clinic, you can get vaccinated, thanks to which the animal will acquire immunity in advance to many potential diseases - then you can not worry about their occurrence at all.
Despite the fact that the animal mainly lives at home, eating only what the owners give it, a certain risk of helminths appearing in its body still persists. The solution to this problem is deworming done on time, for which you will also have to contact a veterinarian.
A specific problem, which was already mentioned above, is the propensity of representatives of this breed to obesity, which, in turn, can provoke many more serious problems. Castrated and neutered individuals, whose body no longer expends energy to maintain the basic instinct, gain weight even faster, and therefore are at increased risk.
Such animals are even less mobile than their "ordinary" relatives, so the owners should even more closely monitor the amount and quality of food eaten by the pet.
Despite the fact that British Shorthair cats do not like excessive activity and often perceive it as unnecessary stress, such individuals should be specially involved in games and interested in toys, since with a sedentary lifestyle, even a balanced diet can provoke excess weight gain.
At the same time, adherence to simple rules of care and the creation of proper living conditions for the pet allows you to avoid the development of most diseases and significantly prolongs the longevity of the pet.
For general information on British Shorthair cats see below.
