Hotchoclate

The British Shorthaired cat is one of the largest  shorthaired breed.

They are stocky and muscular in appearance, with short strong legs, broad chest and large head. 

 

They have a lovely short dense coat and resemble a plush "Teddy Bear"

above, 2 year old blue male  

 son of champion Hotchoclate Charms

Why we like the British

British Shorthairs make ideal family pets, they are intelligent, loyal and laid back.

They are not known to be vocal, hyperactive or a destructive breed.

A male British Shorthair can take up to 4 years of age to mature and  have

the look of a teddy bear once  they get their cheeks, they enjoy playing  and can be easily trained and have

 been a favourite with many animal trainers for adverts and films etc.

 

With age they do need some encouragement as they can become couch potatoes

and suffer obesity if not careful. Toys and a cat post should always be available what ever the

 age and should be left out at all times.

 to keep them interested in toys and to increase your bond with your cat have a  special box of toys that

only come out when you are ready to interact/play with him/her.

 

They seem to fit into any normal household environment, given enough items to keep them amused,

they can quite happily live indoors, but with the British, you do get back what you put in,

given plenty of love and affection they will re-pay you many times over.

 

The British do enjoy company, even though they are quite independent,

they could be sat on the other side of the room to you for a few hours having one

 of their 'thinking about things' times but your company is appreciated this is why it

is kinder to have two kittens together if the new owner is away from the home for most of the day.

 

 

The breed was developed in Europe going back as far as Roman times where they used them to guard their food stores

and keep out vermin, as well as being domestic companions but it was Harrison Weir who almost single handedly

developed the British breed and he organised the first British cat show in 1871, when the British Blue

 was the only colour available then.

British shorthairs also come in longhair, these are known as variants, they cannot be shown but make wonderful pets,

 they  are useful for the outcross breeding programe to the new breed known as the selkirk rex.

The British now come in a variety of a colours  Black, Cream, White, Blue, Red, Chocolate, Lilac, Tortoiseshell's come in

 Black tortie, blue-cream, Lilac-cream. the latest colours are cinnamon & fawn.

When white is added they become bi & tri colours. 

 colours above are available in the colourpointed also, and not forgetting the silvers, smokes, blue tabby.

these are only to name a few as the list continues to grow.

 

A british shorthair is the most popular breed of cat to date!

The new cat breed called selkirk rex is a cat i have taken a fancy to and trust me i have had several in the last 20 years, is

very similar in character to the British, with the curly coat I think they look even more like teddies, if you love the British

 and you like the curls then you will love this new breed,  Beautiful dense plush coat with none matting curls that give

the beautiful appearce that will get all your visitors staring at the selkirk known as the cat in sheep's clothing. 

     

 

*~*~* The cat in sheeps clothing*~*~*   The Selkirk Rex is a curly coated breed which originated in the USA. The Selkirk arrived in the uk in 2002 The selkirk rex originated from a non pedigree cat found in a shelter in Montana, this cat was named Miss depesto "Pest" and was given to a persian breeder called Jeri Newman who took an interest in Pest because of her curly hair. Jeri bred her to a black persian and miss dePesto produced the curly gene,  proving that unlike the devon rex and cornish rex that this was a new mutation and Pest did have a dominant gene for curl's. Curly cats can also produce kittens without curls and these are known as selkirk rex variants. "straight haired" Selkirks may be outcrossed to British shorthair, British Longhair, Persians and Exotic Shorthair, the Selkirk Rex may be Curly Longhaired or Curly shorthaired. The Selkirk Rex is very laid back, placid and not a vocal breed, very similar to the british Shorthairs, they are patient with children and extremly gentle in playing. they are always keen to greet your visitors and show off their super curls.   The Selkirk Rex has a very plush non mating coat, people will always want to stroke your cat as they will be amazed by the coat. like stroking a soft baby lamb. Owning a Selkirk rex is like having a teddy bear that you want to hug and take everywhere. Selkirk gallery click here