What colours do British Shorthair cats come in?

The British Shorthair is shown in all colours and all divisions of the traditional category. The original British Shorthair was grey and was called the British Blue. It was the only colour the cat was shown in. Apparently, even today, some organisations still recognise blue as the only accepted colour. They say that blue British SHs have a thicker coat than black-and-white British Shorthairs, for instance. I have provided details for the 3 premier cat associations.

Cinnamon British shorthair. Photo: Pinterest.

GCCF (British)

Below are the accepted colour colours and types for the British Shorthair under the GCCF (UK cat association). Within these categories there are subdivisions relating to the various colours and types. You can see these in more detail if you click on this link which takes you to the GCCF breed standard for the British Shorthair.

Self British Shorthairs (solid colours), tabby, spotted, ticked tabby, tortoiseshell, tortoiseshell and white, bicolour, van-pattern bicolour, van pattern tortoiseshell and white, smoke, tipped, colour pointed, colour pointed and white.

Top 3 photos copyright Helmi Flick. Bottom: TICA Best British Shorthair Alter of the Year.

CFA (American)

The CFA's breed standard states that the following colours are accepted for the British Shorthair: white, black, blue, red, cream, smoke, shaded silver, shaded golden, chinchilla silver, chinchilla golden, shell cameo, classic tabby, mackerel tabby, spotted tabby, silver tabby, silver patched tabby, silver patched tabby and white, red tabby, brown tabby, brown patched tabby, brown patch tabby and white, blue tabby, blue patched tabby, blue patched tabby and white, cream tabby, tabby and white, van tabby and white, tortoiseshell, calico, dilute calico, van calico, van dilute calico, blue cream, bicolour, van bicolour, Other British Shorthair Colours (OBSHC).

TICA (International)

TICA's breed standard is very short as they don't list, item by item, the various colours that are acceptable for this breed. They say that this cat breed is shown in all traditional and pointed categories, all divisions, all colours with no permissible outcrosses. They state that the coat is so dense that it is difficult to see the skin when parting the hair. A cross-eyed British Shorthair will be disqualified in competition. Lockets result in all awards being withheld.