fellfolioShorthair cat · Great Britain
British Shorthair
British Shorthairs have a round face, a dense coat and a generally quiet temperament. They enjoy company but often prefer sitting beside their owners to curling up on a lap.
At a glance
- Size
- Medium
- Weight
- 3.2 to 7.7 kg
- Lifespan
- 12 to 20 years
- Activity
- Moderate
- Care needs
- Moderate
- Enrichment
- Play at their own pace
- Owner experience
- First cat with preparation
Quiet company, close by
When visitors arrive, a British Shorthair may watch from a little distance at first. Visitors should wait for the cat to approach, and a quiet place to retreat to should remain within reach. Many British Shorthairs also dislike being carried for long.
Some take their time studying a toy before joining in with a game. Moving it slowly across the floor and pausing now and then gives your cat time to stalk it before pouncing. Your cat should also be able to catch and hold the toy during play. Young cats are often livelier than adults.
Play and enrichment
Several short play sessions a day add variety and exercise to your cat’s routine. Your cat might enjoy chasing a ball, stalking a wand toy or searching for hidden food. For a food search, you could hide a few pieces of your cat’s usual dry food in places it can easily reach, changing the hiding places from time to time.
Your cat should have raised resting places for climbing and watching what is happening, suitable scratching surfaces and a quiet place to retreat to. You should put wand toys and toys with strings away after you have finished playing together, as your cat could become tangled in them when playing alone.
For practical play, food searches and quiet retreats, read Indoor Cat Enrichment: Play, Food Puzzles and Safe Retreats ↗
Grooming and weight
You should comb the short, dense coat about once a week with a wide-toothed metal comb. More frequent combing may be needed during shedding seasons to remove loose hair. Older cats sometimes need extra help with grooming if they can no longer clean their coat thoroughly and it begins to mat.
Extra weight can be hard to spot beneath a dense coat. Regular weighing can help you notice weight gain. Your vet can also show you how to feel your cat’s ribs and assess its body shape. Treats and food used for games should be included in the daily food allowance.
A sturdy build that develops slowly
The British Shorthair’s sturdy build develops slowly. Reaching full physical maturity can take up to five years. Males grow considerably heavier than females. The UK’s Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) gives weights of 4.1 to 7.7 kg for males and 3.2 to 5.4 kg for females.
The blue-grey variety, known as the British Blue, is particularly familiar. The breed also comes in many other colours and patterns, including cream, black and tabby patterns with stripes or spots. Bicolour coats combine two colours.
PKD testing and heart screening
An inherited form of polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, occurs in British Shorthairs. It causes fluid-filled sacs to develop in the kidneys. As these grow, they can crowd out healthy kidney tissue. A DNA test can detect the known genetic variant that causes this form of the disease. When choosing a kitten, you should ask to see and discuss both parents’ written test results.
Another condition affecting the breed is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. It causes the heart muscle to thicken, making it harder for the heart to fill with blood. Many affected cats show no visible signs at first. A heart ultrasound, also called an echocardiogram, can detect these changes. You should ask for both parents’ heart scan reports too, including the date of each examination.
HCM can develop even if an earlier heart scan looked normal. You can discuss with your vet whether and when a heart scan would be useful for your cat. If it struggles to breathe, breathes with its mouth open or suddenly cannot move its hind legs, you should call an emergency vet straight away.
Is a British Shorthair right for you?
Could work well if …
- You enjoy a generally quiet cat that likes being nearby.
- You provide daily play and climbing opportunities for an indoor cat.
Before you bring one home
- You expect a cat that enjoys being picked up and carried.
- You want a highly energetic cat that often initiates play.
Compare this breed in detail
British Shorthair or Ragdoll: How Do They Differ at Home? Bengal or British Shorthair: Which Fits Your Home?Meet other cat breeds.
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Sources and photograph credit
- Indoor cats
Used in this profile for: Everyday life
- Cats and play
Used in this profile for: Temperament, Everyday life
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Used in this profile for: Health
- Polycystic Kidney Disease
Used in this profile for: Health
- British Shorthair: breed, care and health
Used in this profile for: Size / Weight, Temperament, Day-to-day care, A sturdy build that develops slowly, Health, Could this breed fit your life?
- British Shorthair
Used in this profile for: Size / Weight, Temperament, Day-to-day care, A sturdy build that develops slowly, Health, Lifespan, Could this breed fit your life?
Photo credits
Portrait · Berra · Pexels License
In action · Oscar Fickel · Unsplash License
Kitten · 12 Week Old White British Shorthair Kitten · Takipoint123 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Body shape · British Shorthair Cat · Martin Hedegaard · CC BY 2.0 · Edited
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