British Shorthair Breed Information

If you are looking for British Shorthair breed information you can do worse than read this site (which is expanding as at the date of this post) and this single page on the Brit SH plus if you just want key facts, this page is for you.

British Shorthair Cat Key Facts

Blue British Shorthair Cat - Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Date of Origin: 1880s

Place of Origin: Britain (UK) specifically England.

Ancestry: Roman British Isles, moggie cats (random bred cats), street cats and farm cats.

Weight range: 4-8 kg or 9-18 lbs.

Temperament: laid back, relaxed, solid reliable.

Breed Colors:

Self (solid) and Tortie: black, chocolate, red, blue, lilac, cream, tortie, chocolate tortie, blue tortie, lilac tortie, white, (blue, odd and orange eyes).

Smoke and tipped: as for self and tortie colors above and golden tipped.

Tabby: Classic (blotchy), spotted and mackerel (striped) - brown, chocolate, red, blue, lilac, cream, tortie, chocolate tortie, blue tortie and lilac tortie.

Silver tabby: as for tabbies above.

Bicolors: as for self and  tortie colors with white.

Colorpointed: All self, tortie and tabby colors.

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Bengal Cat Key Facts

Seal Sepia Spotted Bengal Cat
Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Date of Origin: 1983 (Encyclopedia of the Cat) but Robinson's Genetics says that this cat breed started in 1963. The discrepancy is probably due to the fact that there was a false start by Jean Mill. In other words she created the breed, stopped and restarted. Hence the two dates.

Place of Origin: The United States of America. This is very definitely a USA invention. Americans like the wildcat but unfortunately they like to either own it or shoot it! That is too harsh but there are a lot of pet wildcats in the USA and it is largely unregulated. Massachusetts is a state that is a notable exception.

Ancestry: The wildcat parent is the Asian leopard cat. This is a small wildcat. Sometimes people tame and domesticate the Asian leopard cat but it is not advisable in my opinion. The original leopard cat parent for this breed was being used in medical research! Jean Mill got hold of it and mated it with a domestic cat. Bingo: the first Bengal cat. Since then there has been lots of selective cat breeding that some might argue has gone to far as there are some Bengal cat health issues. Also there are not enough foundation cats resulting in a small gene pool.

Outcross Breeds: None - should this be changed? Has it been changed?

Names: Once also called the Leopardette.

Weight Range: 5.5-10 kg or 12-22 lbs (note: weights of cat breeds are not that reliable).

Temperament: Active, interactive, intelligent and a desire to use his or her athleticism.

Cat Associations: TICA, GCCF and FiFé (note: the CFA refuse to recognise wildcat hybrids).

Colors: This is a tabby cat. You will see brown, and silver backgrounds and rosettes, spots, twirls and blotches as forms of tabby cat coats. There are snow Bengals too. See Bengal Cat Coat for lots more detail.

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Siamese Cat Key Facts

Date of Origin: we don't know! This cat breed probably goes back a thousand years. Another cat in Asia, the Japanese Bobtail goes back over 1000 years it is said so it is likely that the Siamese cat has a similar timeline.

Place of Origin: Thailand - was called Siam. Thailand is in Asia as you probably know.

Ancestry: Moggies in Siam but they were probably what I call a "de facto cat breed" although there were no cat associations at that time to record pedigree etc. What I mean is that they were in all  but name a cat breed at that time.

Names: Was called the Royal Cat of Siam (came from the King of Siam originally).

Outcross breeds: None.

Weight range: 2.5-5.5 kg or 6-12 lbs.

Temperament: Energetic, vocal and loyal.

Cat associations: GCCF, FiFe, CFA, TICA (and more lesser associations).

Colors: CFA accept traditional colors of seal, blue, lilac and chocolate pointing. TICA have a wider range including tabby and tortie pointing etc.