History of occurrence
The Romans introduced large numbers of cats to the United Kingdom as working cats to help reduce the rodent population. These cats interbred with the native wild cats of Great Britain to produce the native domestic shorthaired cat. The accepted date of origin of the British Shorthair as we know it today is 1870. Despite being popular at the Crystal Palace cat show of 1871, by the end of World War II, along with many other British cat breeds, the British Shorthair numbers were devastated. A number of careful breeders worked to recreate and restore numbers using a combination of British Shorthairs, Persians, Russian Blues, Burmese and other pedigree and non-pedigree shorthair varieties. It was a British Shorthair - a blue male named Brynbuboo Little Monarch - that was the first adult of any breed to gain the GCCF title Grand Champion. Virtually every British Shorthair today can track its ancestry back to this cat due to his use at stud and to the selling of his progeny.
General form
The British cat is compact, well balanced and powerful, showing good depth of body, a full broad chest, short strong legs, rounded paws, tail thick at base with rounded tip. The head is round with a good width between small ears, round cheeks, firm chin, large round and well- opened eyes and a short broad nose. The coat is short and dense. A muscular cat with an alert appearance and in perfect physical condition.
Отличительная особенность породы Brazilian Shorthair
Head: Round face with full cheeks and good breadth of skull with round underlying bone structure. The head should be set on a short thick neck.
Nose: The nose itself should be short, broad and straight. In profile, a rounded forehead should lead to a short, straight nose with a nose break which is neither too pronounced nor too shallow.
Chin: A strong, firm and deep chin is essential. The bite MUST be level, the tip of the chin to line up with the tip of the nose in the same vertical plane.
Ears: Small, rounded at the tips. Set far apart fitting into (without distorting) the rounded contour of the head. External ear to be well covered with fur, internal furnishings not to be excessive.
Eyes: Large, round and well-opened. Set wide apart with no tendency to Oriental shape. No squint.
Body: Cobby type with short level back. Low on legs with deep chest. Equally massive across the shoulders and the rump. Medium to large, but not rangy.
Legs and paws: Short, strong legs. Paws round and firm. Toes carried close, five on each forefoot (including dew claw) and four on each back foot.
Tail: Should be thick and of medium length, thicker at the base with rounded tip.
Coat is short and glossy and close lying to the body. It has a silky texture and no undercoat.
Character
The Brazilian Shorthair is an affectionate cat, so much so that it is often referred to as clingy. Its best match is an owner who will shower it with attention and love while involving it in the activities of the house. Unlike some breeds, which are typically one-man cats, the Brazilian Shorthair is also open to bonding with, and enjoying the companionship, of everyone in the household. If its demands for affection are not met, this frisky, light-hearted cat's temperament can become suspicious and irritable. It may even seek a friendlier owner. Because the Brazilian Shorthair is intelligent, it's a fast learner. An active and playful cat, it is also known for its proud characteristic as an accomplished hunter.
Maintenance care
The British is a fairly easy cat to manage. As they are slow to mature, the British kitten should be fed kitten foods for at least the first year of age whilst bone is being laid down. Unless you are showing your British, the coat will not need regular shampooing but will require grooming during the moulting seasons to remove loose hairs from the dense coat. As the cat ages and becomes less able to groom itself, it may be that the coat will need attention to prevent mats from forming. Unlike the domestic shorthair breeds, the British is a noticeably sexually dimorphic breed.
Lifespan — 14-22 years.
Dignity
Good with children, good with household cats and dogs, low shedding, high sociability with strangers.
Difficulty keeping
Distrustful cats.
Diseases
The British cat has a slow metabolism; whilst a healthy mature British will have a well-padded muscular body, we must be careful not to let this padding turn from muscle to excess fat. PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease), once a problem within the breed, is now under control thanks to the common use of available DNA tests by responsible breeders. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be a problem in the breed. There are no DNA tests yet available for HCM in the British breed. However, responsible breeders will take measures to ensure that any affected animals are not used in ongoing breeding programmes.
