British Shorthair cats: breed features, color variations and keeping rules

A 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 have been domesticated here, on climatic conditions, and on a certain natural selection, and today even on selection. The British Shorthair cat is considered one of the most recognizable - it is a royal individual with a prominent aristocratic appearance.

Contrary to direct attachment to Britain, the ancestors of this breed came to islands from the outside - scientists even know a rough answer to questions about when and how it happened. For two thousand years, modern England was a colony of the Roman Empire, and in the metropolis then cats were very much valued as useful hunters with excellent physical characteristics and the ability to get used to any conditions of detention.

It is difficult to say whether at 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 become relatively attractive in breed.

At the same time, at first, in these small animals, what was valued above all was not appearance, 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 the barns, where they fulfilled the purpose for which they were domesticated - they drove 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 loved these furry dogs very much and specially selected kittens for selection work for many years.

In 1871, the Breed Standard was even released, after which these animals were massively bred for sale.

Despite the great popularity of the breed, after the Second World War it almost disappeared - in 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 remaining representatives of the breed to cross with Persian cats and chartreuse. Because of this, the modern British shorthair is somewhat different from the classical idea of ​​them - today they stand out with calmness, as well as with a larger head with a rounded muzzle, although before all these features were not inherent in them.

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.

At the same time, a neutered animal can be fattened even up to 12 kilos, while a cat is usually not heavier than 7 kilograms. Such animals become mature at about 3-5 years of age.

The large sizes of such cats are not expressed in significant height - they are just considered to be stunted, they just differ in round shapes and generally resemble a tightly stuffed plush toy. The similarity is further enhanced by a very soft and thick coat of wool, which, indeed, resembles plush. The coat is so soft and obedient that even when stroking against the coat, the coat is not tousled, as is usually the case, but as if combed in the opposite direction.

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.

Two-tone color is very popular, especially if it is combined in a smoky or tortoise pattern.

It is not too true to attribute human facial expressions to an animal, but on the whole it looks like it always smiles - at least there is practically no “displeased” expression of a muzzle on a cat. In combination with a calm character and a typical "plush" appearance, this makes the representatives of the breed a very popular pet because of its "positive".

A characteristic feature of the representatives of this breed is that they are distinguished by calm and poise. Such an animal is completely equanimous, while it is devoid of aggression typical of a predator and usually does not resist the will of man.

Moreover, such a “plush” cat is not only notable for its stunning appearance, but also behaves accordingly. Unlike many other cats, this breed is able to become attached to the owner or to family members whom the four-legged pet trusts.

Such a cat is distinguished by an affectionate character, it is sympathetic to children's pranks and does not respond to them with aggression. The "British" are good because they do not have "favorites" in the owner's family - they are equal to all home.

Shorthair cats from England love to accompany their owner around the apartment; they usually choose the same room for their stay, where the person is now. They are not against manifestations of affection on the part of the owners, but at the same time they are not too annoying - in particular, they do not ask for their hands and, in general, do not really like to be there. Such an animal is not without a certain degree of its own independence, it will understand if you do not have time for it, and will not suffer from it.

Shorthair "British" are often chosen by those people who generally love animals and do not want to be limited to cats only. The fact is that this breed, due to its innate calmness, normally reacts to most other species of animals, therefore it does not provoke conflicts with dogs, nor does it seek to attack rabbits or poultry.

Outsiders will not confuse the “British”, she understands that they are her guests, and not vice versa. The animal will behave in their presence as usual.

At the same time, there will definitely not be open hostility on her part in any case.

Shorthair cats are not very similar to their other relatives in that they do not have typical cat flexibility - such a "plush toy" is relatively clumsy. The animal compensates for a small physical handicap with a developed mind and excellent memory - for example, an individual who once managed to open the door on her own will understand the value of such a skill and will remember the whole sequence of actions, subsequently resorting to acquired knowledge many times as necessary. Accordingly, such a four-legged dog lends itself well to training; it can be trained in a tray in a short time.

The "British" youth is characterized by a playful disposition, they are happy to get involved in the game proposed by the owner, but this characteristic is purely for a certain age.

Restrained habits consist even in the fact that the cat does not seek to spoil furniture, and as a whole behaves like a real English aristocrat.

This breed will not interfere with neighbors from below, not only with the clatter of paws, but also with meowing - these animals resort to it quite rarely, by voice they attract attention only if they need something from a person. At the same time, their meow is relatively quiet, therefore it is convenient to keep such a calm and balanced predator even in a multi-storey building.

British shorthair cats live on average 14-16 years old, provided that all the necessary conditions are created for them, and the animal does not lack anything. In this case, cases are known when individual specimens survived even up to 20 years old, so such a pet is serious and for a long time.

Felinologists, that is, experts on these animals, say that a one-year-old British shorthair cat is developed at about the same level as a man in his 15 years. By the age of seven feline years, the animal reaches the level of a 45-year-old man, and from that moment on, the aging of the cat gradually begins. If it is possible to make the beast live to be 20 years old, then it will be decrepit at the level of a typical 95-year-old man.

At the same time, most owners still want their pet to become a real feline longevity, because over the years of breeding, certain criteria have been 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 inborn calm of a cat should not be disturbed by stress and excessive physical exertion.

Sterilization and castration usually extend life expectancy a little, but representatives of this breed should not be overly patronized - let the animal live as he wants, and it will appreciate it.

Despite the fact that most breeds have very specific characteristics regarding external data, the Shorthair “British” has no strict requirements for a specific color - it affects the fact that they were mixed with other breeds.

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 people, some of the terms in the description of the animal may be incomprehensible, therefore we will consider at least the main thing.

• Solid, or plain color, involves not just one tone for all ends of the hair, but also uniform coloring of the entire length of the hairs with the undercoat in one shade. Usually it is blue, marble and silver gray, black, as well as brown and red cats.

• Bicolor Is a combination of two colors, one of which is white.

• Cherepakhov they call a three-color 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 differ in the characteristic blue color of their eyes, although for British shorthair cats, eye color in tone to the basic color is considered the norm.

• Smoky color suggests that the wool in the basal half is colored white, while the visible part is different and forms the “main” tone of the animal.

• Chinchilla color in principle it resembles a smoky one, but here only the ends of the hairs are painted in the main tone, while the entire undercoat is white.

• Tabby - A term that describes a large number of varieties of colors, when the main gold or silver shade, the animal is decorated with any complex pattern from striped to more intricate.

The aristocracy of this breed does not allow to feed such an animal with anything.

The fact is that the measured lifestyle of this slightly lazy predator greatly increases the likelihood of obesity of the animal, and this, as you know, negatively affects the general health of the pet. For this reason, overfeeding a pet is unacceptable, it is undesirable to feed him and "human" food, especially fatty, flour or sweets.

Most owners of these aristocratic cats prefer not to engage in self-compilation of the diet, but to trust the manufacturers of pet food. For the “British”, both dry (always with a plentiful amount of drinking water) and soft mixes will turn out to be a good solution, while it is often written that a premium quality class is needed.

Caring for consumers, manufacturers usually indicate on the box how much food the animal needs per day - this helps to calculate the number of boxes until the next visit to the store, and not overfeed the four-legged friend.At the same time, babies under six months of age 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 should be fed 4-5 times a day, and adults three times, but the daily norm does not change in this case.

Some owners of British shorthair cats do not trust food manufacturers too much and prefer to independently form their pets ’diet from“ understandable ”products that can be consumed by humans themselves.

The daily need of a pet is about 70 kilocalories per kilogram of weight, on the basis of which the calculation of the number of products is done. Important ingredients in such a menu are cereals, vegetables, dairy products and, of course, meat. The role of the latter is best suited for lean beef, 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.

Boiled egg yolk in the cat's diet is allowed, but they also can not be very carried away - it is also given only 1-2 times a week.

If feeding is still on schedule, then the animal may want to drink at any time, because he should have access to clean and fresh water all the time. This is especially important if the diet is based on dry food, otherwise the cat is uncomfortable.

British shorthair cats, despite their aristocratic appearance and the same habits, are not particularly whimsical in their care, therefore, it is quite easy to care for them. At the same time, caring for an animal should not be completely ignored, otherwise it may lose its signature plush appeal or even become ill.

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, you should arm yourself with a special brush with rubber teeth, which is sold in any store of goods for animals. This cat is scratched with careful movements, first against the coat, and then vice versa. A peace-loving animal not only does not resist such events, but usually perceives them very favorably and even with some joy.

Weekly, you need to wipe the animal's ears, which will also be taken quite calmly.

A much brighter negative reaction will be caused by brushing, which must 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 encounter diseases of the oral cavity, and treatment will be more complicated and costly than prevention. An alternative solution could be a special feed of a special consistency, which provides a cleaning 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 necessary - on average, the need for such a procedure occurs every 2-3 weeks. At the same time, the cat itself can partially solve this problem, if a claw-point is specially bought for it - however, because of the calm disposition, these four-legged animals may be interested in it to the same extent as furniture, that is, simply ignored.

Bathing an animal is usually not required - it is quite neat and carefully watches over itself.

Not that the British Shorthair is too afraid of unusual conditions, but for her good health and longevity it is advisable to make the living conditions in the house comfortable.

Although the "British" are distinguished by their calm and aristocratic customs, they sometimes also need to frolic, at least to maintain a normal physical form. You should not force a pet if he clearly does not want to play, but in general he needs to provide such an opportunity. To do this, make sure that the cat has space for games. And also do not spare money for interesting toys and time - for spending time together with your pet.

Sitting all day in four walls, a short-haired beast may not receive any vitamins or minerals that it would find in the wild. For pets, special vitamin-mineral complexes are produced, which must be included in the daily diet in recommended amounts.

Among all their relatives, British shorthair cats stand out in good health - we have already said that neither cancer diseases nor many other typical cat diseases “take them”.

Primarily you need to visit your veterinarian periodically for preventive examinations. As in the case of humans, any disease detected at an early stage of development can be cured with less time, money and effort. In addition, in the veterinary clinic you can get vaccinated, thanks to which the animal will get immunity to many potential diseases in advance - then you can not worry about their occurrence.

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 remains. The solution to this problem is deworming done on time, for which you will also have to consult a specialist veterinarian.

A certain problem, which was mentioned above, is the tendency of representatives of this breed to obesity, which, in turn, can provoke many more serious problems. Castrated and sterilized individuals, the body of which no longer spends energy on maintaining the basic instinct, gain weight even faster, and therefore are at high risk.

Despite the fact that British Shorthair cats do not like excessive activity and often perceive it as unnecessary stress, such individuals should be specifically involved in games and be interested in toys, because with a sedentary lifestyle, even a balanced diet can provoke weight gain.

At the same time, compliance with simple care rules and the creation of proper conditions for a pet to live can avoid the development of most diseases and significantly prolongs the pet’s longevity.

For general information on British Shorthair cats, see below.