Blue British Shorthair kitten consoles crying boy and wipes away his tears

The boy's mum scolded him for not doing his homework. It looks like she videoed him at the same time! 😉 It's a bit sick to scold your boy and make him cry and video the whole thing for social media. Anyway, his mom said "Don't cry!". They live in the Suqian in Jiangsu Province. The video was made in November 17, 2021. Below is a screenshot from the video. This is one of the cutest kittens that I have seen and I've seen tens of thousands. The kitten reaches out to his boy companion and touches the boy below the left eye as if to wipe away a tear.

The family adopted the blue British Shorthair from a friend about a month ago and since then the kitten has kept the boy company as he does him homework. 

There seems to be a bond there that will go a long way. Let's hope so.

I can't embed the video on this page. I am afraid that you'll have to click on the following link to see it. Sorry. Click this link to see the video. The link takes you to Newsflare.

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.

Blue British Shorthair pirouettes in delight on entering a simple cardboard box

The video confirms what we know, namely, that cardboard boxes are one of a domestic cat's favourite objects. They are useful in all sorts of sizes as hiding places, play objects, and sleeping quarters as is the case in this video. 

It is remarkable that such a simple and short video has garnered over 10 million views. And its success is a result of the 'pirouette', as I have called it, by this attractive purebred cat after he decided that he liked his new "sleeping quarters".

Blue British Shorthair pirouettes in delight on entering a simple cardboard box. Screenshot.

It's more a twist and a rollover but I prefer the word "pirouette". I must say that he looks bored and I think the pirouette is a result of that boredom. It's just a way of entertaining himself. He did not have to do it. Perhaps he knew he was being videoed! He's showing off to the camera.

His inspection of the box takes about three seconds and then he pirouettes back to face the exterior with this bored expression on his face. I know what I would do with this boy; I would play with him for 15 minutes, tire him out. 

British Shorthair cats are considered to be, in general, laid back. The experts say that they are "independent yet affectionate, relaxed yet curious". They also say that they are unflappable and no-nonsense. The breed is suited to apartment life provided that it is not too warm because they have very dense coats which are particularly pleasant stroke. That's great for full-time indoor living but even with those qualities they need to be challenged from time to time.

Please note that the video is from Instagram and it is embedded on this website. there is quite a good possibility that eventually this video will stop playing over time. As it is successful it is likely to be in place for a long time to come.

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Pictures of Blue British Shorthair cats with extreme features

The three pictures of blue British Shorthair cats on this page show cats that have been bred to an extreme appearance. They probably come from Russia where they are very good at this. But I'm going to refer to The International Cat Association (TICA) breed standard for the British Shorthair to point out how breeders end up magnifying a particular feature of a cat because the breed standard specifies it. How far they go down that road is up to the breeder because the cat associations don't prevent them breeding to extreme although they should because sometimes it creates inherently unhealthy cats which goes against the cat associations' policies.

Extreme bred British Shorthair to emphasis the cheeks and to make the cat look very cobby and rounded per the breed standard. Picture in public domain.

So, the head shape of the British Shorthair under the TICA beach standard demands that a show cat should have "full round chubby cheeks. Broad, wide cheekbones with smooth transition to muzzle". It is self-explanatory. The outstanding feature of the cats that you see on this page is that they have enormous, chubby cheeks. It's as if they are giant hamsters. They been bred like this. It's called selective breeding. 

The breeders start off with foundation cats which have slightly chubby cheeks and they breed offspring back to their parents to gradually magnify this aspect of their anatomy (inbreeding). They select those offspring whose cheeks are particularly chubby! They select the cat hence the phrase "selective breeding". It is not letting nature take its course. It is an intervention by a person which is why you end up with an abnormal looking cat. A cat that nature would not create if left to its own devices.

Another British SH bred to extreme. Picture in the public domain.

I'm not being particularly critical. I don't really care. I just want to write something about these cats and it has to be about their cheeks! Because they stare you in the face as if something is wrong. But the breeders like it. No doubt these cats have done well. They probably sell very well. However, the classic British Shorthair does not look like these cats. They look fairly normal with slightlyflat faces and slightly shortened muzzles. These cats are extreme in other areas of their appearance as well, such as being extremely cobby (stocky and rounded) for the same reason.

British Shorthair. Picture in public domain.

P.S. There is a current craze for 'chonky' cats - big, robust male cats. These cats follow that trend.

Extreme British SH. Photo in public domain.

Blue British Shorthair Show Cat

Yep..another blue British Shorthair at a cat show it seems to me. He looks so smooth. His coat is crackling with crispness! The coat of the British Shorthair should be dense and the best cat coat of all to stroke.

Blue Brit SH - Photo quatre mains on Flickr

Large Blue British Shorthair Cat

This is a great picture of a blue British Shorthair cat because the cat is gorgeous and a blue British Shorthair show cat and secondly the photo allows us to scale this cat because he is being held by a person.

Large Blue British Shorthair Cat - Photo byTomi Tapio

This is a large Brit SH. Not all Brit SHs are this large. This leads me to the subject of how difficult it can be to provide information on the weights and sizes of cat breeds.

I have a page on that subject: Largest Domestic Cat Breed, but at least one person has challenged my information.

The truth is that there will be breeders who breed large versions of a breed and in some countries the size might be smaller and there are differences between individual cats naturally.

Then there is the natural difference between male and female cats. It becomes complicated. All I know is that this boy is big and beautiful.

Chartreux versus British Blue

Chartreux vs British Shorthair (Blue) - Photos copyright Helmi Flick

The Chartreux looks like a blue British Shorthair. Sometimes people mix up the two and I can see why. On close inspection they do look different though.

The Chartreux is a separate cat breed and a French cat breed. The only color allowed for the Chartreux is blue while the British Shorthair can have a wide range of colors and patterns according to the breed standard.

The breed standard for the Chartreux differs from the breed standard for the British Shorthair.

For the Chartreux the ears are slightly larger and slightly more erect on the head, which is less round and more angular (reverse triangular shape).

The Chartreux is said to have skinny legs and smiling face. It has a long history as has the British SH.

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Bicolor British Shorthair

The bicolor British Shorthair should be one third to one half white. The remainder of the coat should be colored. The colored areas are on top and the white fur is underneath. The picture below by the celebrated Helmi Flick shows two blue British Shorthairs on the outside and two blue bicolor kittens in the middle:

Blue and Bicolor British Shorthair Cats
Photo copyright Helmi Flick

The photo on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

Symmetry in the coat is an ideal. The classic inverted "V" in white on the face is an example of this symmetry. This can be seen in the kittens in the photo.

The colored areas can be solid color (called "self" in cat fancy language) or tabby patterned. The colored areas can also be in more than one color. These cats are called "patched" coats. These are called "calico" cats in the USA (tortoiseshell and white). The patches of color are on the top of the cat.

Max 10 month old Blue British Shorthair

Max at 10 months, a photo by petercooperuk on Flickr.

I like this photo from a technical point of view in relation to the appearance of Max!

He is a classic blue Brit SH. The coat looks dense and a nice cool blue/grey.

The breed standard says that the coat is "hort, very dense, well bodied and firm to the touch. Not double coated or woolly." That is a direct quote for accuracy. I am sure the CFA won't mind. Max has a coat that probably pretty nicely matches the breed standard.

The eyes are a nice orange/copper color.  This is the classic color with the blue coat. The breed standard does not specify color.

Harrison Weir's British Shorthair Cats

Harrison Weir 1889 - Wikimedia Commons

Harrison Weir a distinguished looking fellow with a beard lived between 1824 and 1906. He organised the world's first cat show. It took place in 1871 at the Crystal Palace. The Crystal Palace was a unique and rare metal and glass structure designed and built for the Great Exhibition of 185. It was moved from Hyde Park to Sydenham, South London. Mr Weir is considered "The Father of the Cat Fancy" because of his early important involvement.

Harrison Weir was also a cat show judge, artist and author. He loved his British Shorthair cats. He was patriotic it seems because he disliked the fact that they were being bred with cats from the east, such as Persians. Persian cats were also one of the first cat breeds of the cat fancy and were in the early stages of the cat fancy beginning to dominate. Mr Weir did not like that either.

At the first cat show a cat that was imported from Persia caught people's eye apparently. The Siamese and Manx were also on display. These too are early cat breeds.

Classic Blue British Shorthair - photo by jans canon

The above cat is gorgeous. Blue is the best known color for this breed. This cat in the picture above is not bred to extremes in my opinion, which I like a lot.

British Shorthair Cat

Tabby British SH cat. Photo: copyright Helmi Flick.

This page is a bit about the genetics behind the Brit SH coat. Here is a great photograph of a great looking British Shorthair Cat, a show cat. The photograph is by Helmi Flick, the best cat photographer. His name is Krystofer, a Cream Mackerel Tabby British Shorthair male kitten. Krystofer is standing on his back legs with a great expression and full of life. Fantastic capture Helmi.

The great positioning has been organized/teased out by the best cat wrangler, Ken Flick, who is holding a "tease" over his head and Krystopher is very interested and dying to get to it; look at his outstretched claws ready to grab the tease.

Krystofer,  the cat at the top of the page is a mackerel tabby cat. The term "mackerel" comes from the appearance of a mackerel fish. Other tabby markings are the classic (blotchy) and spotted (think Bengal cat and Savannah cats as good examples). See a full description and some great examples of tabby cat coats on a wide range of cat breeds.

Cream is a beautiful color. It is a dilute color. Krystofer is actually a red (orange in layperson language) cat but the red color has been diluted by the presence of a dilution gene in homozygous form. This is symbolized by the lower case letters dd. This gene is positioned on the chromosome on what is called the "maltese locus". The process is also called "maltesing". This is because blue cats imported into Britain in the early days of the cat fancy were called "maltese cats. Blue is a dilution of black.

The genes dd washes out the original color (in this case red) by affecting the production of color pigment when the hair is growing for the first time. Parts of the hair are sparsely pigmented if at all.

If another gene is present, a gene called a dilute modifier (signified by letters Dm or dm) double dilution occurs and the color cream becomes apricot. Krystofer looks a bit apricot or am I seeing things?

The red color comes by way of the O gene. This is a sex linked gene and carried by the X chromosome. The presence of this gene changes the production of black pigmentation (the substance is called eumelanin) to orange pigment (a substance called phaeomelanin). The full genotype of the cream cat is ddOOdmdm.

A classic color for the British Shorthair cat is gray or in cat fancy language "blue" meaning blue/gray. Two of the kittens below are blue British Shorthair cats. The two in the middle are blue and white or have solid and white cat coats. The blue color is a dilution of of black. The full genotype of the blue cat is aaBBdd dmdm, where aa is the recessive non-agouti gene, represents the Browning gene, Bdd is homozygous dilution genes and dm the modifier

Above: British Shorthair kittens - photograph copyright Helmi Flick. To see this image in very large format please click this link: British Shorthair cats kittens or the image.

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