10 best cats for apartments??

You are going to see lots of articles on the Internet about the best cat breeds for apartment living. They are all baloney if we are honest. It's all mumbo-jumbo. Believe me. Don't believe them. There might be one or two cat breeds which are slightly better predisposed to living in a confined space for their lives such as the Ragdoll or British Shorthair but by-and-large the confident statements by these authors are simply misplaced.

Young British Shorthair. Photo: atquintessence.

Here is a cat breed selector I made years ago. My research then pointed to the British Shorthair as the best for apartment living but that's not to say they are fine with apartment living. I don't think any domestic cat is, purebred or non-purebred. It is too unnatural. Too confined. I am not criticising. Just saying it the way I see it.

Cat breeders don't create cats for apartment living. They create domestic cats of a certain breed. And all domestic cats have the same fundamental attributes. They are a barely domesticated wildcat. The wildcat persona is just below the surface.

Selective breeding for character??

Certainly, selective breeding over many generations can create cats with a predisposition to a certain sort of character. But that said, cat breeders focus on the appearance of their cats not their character.

The character is somewhat incidental in their breeding programs. Authors who write about cat breeds like to try and distinguish the personalities of the cat breeds, one from another. But they struggle to do this. Their language is rather gray and vague because what they are describing is a domestic cat.

One of the great difficulties in creating new cat breeds is creating one which can be distinguished visually clearly from another. There is not enough space left in the spectrum of cat breeds to create a new one!

The Persian is another cat which might be somewhat suited to apartment living because they been described as bits of furniture. They are kind of decorative. But they are nervous and can sometimes have litter box problems. I don't see them as any more suitable to apartment living as any other breed of cat or non-purebred cat.

Adaptable

In fact, you might do better with a non-purebred cat, a rescue cat, a moggy who has adapted to apartment living. This is the point. Domestic cats are adaptable. If they are forced to live in an apartment, they will object to it initially. They will meow and complain but eventually they will give up and learn to live within this confined space.

They will entertain themselves by looking out of the window. They will snooze and sleep most of the time. That's why you read another improbability which is that domestic cats sleep for 20 hours a day and this sort of thing. If they do snooze but not sleep for long periods it is because they are bored and have nothing to do.

They are snoozing for survival. Some cat caregivers think that domestic cats like to snooze all day long but they don't. They would rather be out exploring, hunting, chasing wildlife. Yes, I know that's not particularly popular and we can't condone the hunting of small mammals by domestic cats but that is what we have achieved in domesticating the wildcat.

Rescue cat adapted to apartment living

If you want to adopt a cat for apartment dwelling you will have to adopt a cat with a suitable personality. Each cat is different. If you are fortunate enough to find a rescue cat adapted to apartment dwelling and who has a personality suited to apartment dwelling then you've got your cat. I would ask your local cat shelter about this. Seek their advice.

But I don't think you can with great confidence say that that a particular breed such as an American Shorthair or Burmese or Birman will be great for apartment living. You can't. Don't be fooled by these authors and these websites. Be more critical. Dig around. But be critical and inquisitive. Find a good rescue cat who has lived in an apartment before. That's my advice.

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.

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.

Pictures of cats: cinnamon British Shorthair

I have decided that this amazing looking cat is a Russian bred, cinnamon British Shorthair registered with The International Cat Association (TICA). I have speculated big time after carrying out a bit of research to reassure myself that this cat association accepts this colour of cat.The cat might also be registered under the World Cat Federation (WCF) which also no doubt allow cinnamon as a coat colour. The CFA does not. I must say it's a fantastic colour for a domestic cat. It is completely standout.

Cinnamon British Shorthair cat. Photo in the public domain on Pinterest

If a visitor came to your home and saw this cat they would be astounded because it's so rare to see a colour like this. Especially because the British Shorthair is really known for its grey coat which is described as "blue" in the cat fancy. We do see lots of blue British shorthair cats all of which are outstanding but cinnamon is unusual. This can also is very much in line with the breed standard in terms of its stocky i.e. cobby appearance, and the eye colour is the same as the coat colour which once again complies exactly with the breed standard. All in all I would expect this cat to do very well at competition. I would love a cat fancy expert or breeder to comment on this post to add some more detail to it if possible. I don't even mind if you disagree with me completely because I enjoy learning!

British Shorthair Personality

Independent, relaxed and affectionate, these are some of the personality characteristics of the British Shorthair cat. They are also curious and without wishing to be sexist in anyway, it is said that male is particularly friendly towards their human companion. Can anyone confirm that? The British Shorthair is quiet (I can confirm that!). They have silent voices. They are also "unflappable" and have no-nonsense personalities. These characteristics make this breed suitable for life in a flat (apartment)⁴.

Classic Blue Brit SH - beautiful cat - Photo by jans canon
This breed has wide range of colors and types

Dr. Clark says that this cat breed is like "its British heritage". He says that the British Shorthair is reserved and quiescent. They sleep a lot and don't require a lot of attention. They are probably ideal for senior people who wish to care for a cat. They are considered to have good temperaments².

They are also considered to be independent yet affectionate¹. In practice this means that they can be left alone to do their own thing but will need some attention.

Dr. Fogle implies that they are happy, nice and friendly. They have a relaxed nature³.

These are all attractive characteristics which is why the British Shorthair is very popular cat. It is as popular as the American Shorthair its counterpart.

One last point of note is that this cat breed has a plush, dense coat. It is a delight to stroke but the ambient temperature at home should take that into account. Sometimes cats look for a bit of cool air. They don't all like to lie in the sun or over a radiator.

---

Sources:

(1) The Cat, Its Behavior, Nutrition & Health ISBN 978-0-8138-0331-9

(2) Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats ISBN 0-9634124-0-X

(3) The Encyclopedia of the Cat ISBN 978-1-4053-2149-5

(4) Legacy of the Cat 2nd Ed. ISBN 0-8118-2910-3

United Kingdom Cat Breeds

Blue British SH
Photo by information overload

What are the United Kingdom cat breeds? This is actually a slightly tricky question because it could be argued that cat breeds are really universal and no longer associated with one particular country. This is because cats that were originally of one country were then developed in another country. The United Kingdom comprises: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It is well known that the British Shorthair is a United Kingdom cat breed. This cat started out as a standard moggie dating back originally to Roman times. It was developed into a cat breed during the latter part of the 19th century in the UK (specifically England) and then exported to other countries where it was developed through selective breeding in slightly different directions. The longhaired version of this cat, the British Longhair,  is also a UK cat breed.

The other United Kingdom cat breeds are: Devon Rex, Cornish Rex, Scottish Fold, Seychellois. The Manx cat comes from the Isle of Man, which is not part of the United Kingdom. The Devon Rex originates from the county of Devon (Southwest England). The Cornish Rex originates from the county of Cornwall (Southwest England). The Scottish Fold comes from Coupar Angus, Scotland.

As far as I am aware (and remember!), there are no other cat breeds that have originated in the UK (Great Britain). Although some cat breeds were first developed in the UK if we are to believe the historical accounts. The Abyssinian was first imported from India via Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in the 19th century. The Turkish Angora was first imported into the UK from Turkey - or was it?. These are two examples.

Most breeds were started in the North America. These include the Munchkin, the Ragdoll, RagaMuffin, LaPerm, Don Sphynx, Sphynx, American Bobtail, Pixie-bob, Maine Coon, California Spangled, Selkirk Rex, Savannah, Bengal, American Wirehair and Shorthair and American Ringtail.....and more.....

Choosing a Pet Cat

Matching a pet with the owner's personality can be quite important in minimizing the risk of abandonment.  Incidentally, I don't like the terms, "pet" and "owner". I prefer "animal companion" and "cat caretaker" or "cat guardian" (if the animal is a cat).

There are too many cats and dogs being abandoned.  Doris Day once said that there were 12 million cats and dogs put to sleep each year in the USA. Whatever the number is, it is high, very high and a shock. I am sure there are similar percentages of domestic animals euthanized in Europe. It is just not spoken about so much.

People need to reflect more on their reasons for adopting a companion animal before proceeding. The reasons should be legitimate meaning not frivolous. You don't get a pet to match the decor of the house or as a Christmas present for the children.

People should also swot up on companion animal care and the costs. There should almost be an obligatory cooling off period between saying, "let's get a pet!" and actually getting it. That simple act would save millions of cats and dogs I suspect.

Choosing a pet cat begs the question whether you would like a purebred cat or a moggie. Purebreds are relatively rare. Moggies are relatively abundant. If you want to help get a moggie. And get a black one as they live longer.

Some individual cats are more passive and more able to cope with being alone. Some are more able to deal with full-time indoor living and living in small spaces. You will find that some breeders say that the Persian must be a full-time indoor cat. The fur is too long to go out in the mud! The Russian Blue is a delicate, reserved cat that likes the security of a home. The Sphynx is without clothes so needs to be in the warm and out of the sun to avoid the risk of skin problems. This is also a smart cat so will interact well if you like that.

The Ragdoll is laid back. More active cats are the wild cat hybrids, Bengal and Savannah. You'll need to be around for these cats and provide input. Actually all cats require input. It is a fallacy to think that cats are independent. They are self-contained but dependent on us for just about everything.

If you don't like noisy cats don't acquire a Siamese or associated cat breed e.g. Oriental SH. They are known for their vocal skills. The British Shorthair has an almost silent voice.

I think, though that you will find some individual cats of any breed or no-breed more cautious and reserved than others. If you want a cat that is fairly static and happy to curl up,  a more cautious cat will oblige. The more confident male cat is more likely to be unhappy with a lack of space and input from us. He is more likely to want to go out and get into trouble.

Associated page: Choosing a cat breed.

British Shorthair

At London cats show 2008

One of the original cat fancy cat breeds, the British Shorthair is a purebred cat of singular appearance that has been developed over one and a half centuries of selective breeding from the British moggie (random bred cat), which itself goes back to the Romans.

Although I say selectively bred it should be noted that after the second world war there was a need to cross bred with other cat breeds to keep the breed alive (why wasn't it crossbred with British street moggies?). This has taken the Brit SH away from its origins. Even earlier in the early 1900s the breed was crossed with Persians. Personally I don't find this so much "selective" breeding and reckless breeding.

Robinson's Genetics says that the breed originates in the UK in the 1870s. The first cat show was at the Crystal Palace London in 1871. I have a page on the history of the British Shorthair.

"Sky" - blue Brit SH.

By the way, "British" in this context means a cat of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (the UK) and including: the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and the British overseas territories. So Britain is bigger than the UK. And bearing that in mind I think it would be more accurate to say that this cat is more the English Shorthair as at the outset it would have been developed from cats in the south of England. Although as mentioned it was outcrossed. I find this bizarre. Why couldn't we just keep the original cat? Is the Brit SH actually a hybrid cat breed  - it looks like that. There appears to be nothing pure about it, sadly. Sorry if that sounds a bit tough but...

The Brit SH is a popular cat ranked 8th out of over 100 cat breeds on my long standing poll.



British Shorthair Cat Facts

A short bulleted list of facts of British Shorthair breed information:

• Date of origin: 1870s.
• Place of origin: Great Britain (Britain).
• Ancestry: British moggie and then crossbred.
• Weight: 4 - 8 kg or 9 - 18 lbs.  
• Temperament: relaxed and gentle.
• Cat Associations: GCCF, FiFe, CFA, TICA, AACE, ACFA, ACF, CCA (as expected completely accepted by all cat registries.
• Colours: All colours and all divisions of the traditional category (ref: legacy of the cat - taken from breed standards.
• Breed Standard: See CFA breed standard.

British Shorthair Temperament

Undemanding and gentle. They are famous for their silent voice. The mouth opens and nothing comes out! Or the sound is very gentle and quiet. Apparently they don't like being handled that much. They have been described as "unflappable".

British Shorthair Health

There is a health screening test for this cat breed for hip dysplasia, indicating that there is a possibility of inheriting a predisposition to this condition. This cat has a low incidence of inherited diseases on my assessment and this page mentions two. The coat is dense. It is suggested that the home should not be too warm.

British Shorthair Photos and Pics

Classic chubby cheeky face by nick@

You can see from Helmi's wonderful photos below that this is a sturdy, semi-cobby, medium to large cat. The face has been developed to look chubby and cheeky! It is slightly flattened but far short of the excessively bred flat faced Persian.

This cat is strong, muscular and heavy. The most outstanding feature is probably the coat  - dense and springy, it is a pleasure to put your fingers through it.

All the photos and text on this page are protected by copyright © except where indicated. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

"Nox" lives with the Flicks. Photo: copyright Helmi Flick

Blue and fawn (?) coloured British Shorthair cats
Photo: copyright Helmi Flick

Nox (above) is all black. He has the most gorgeously dense and even coat. It is a pleasure to stroke. He is a nice balanced and pleasant cat. What more do you require in a domestic cat?

The British Blue is the original show cat colour. The two cats/kittens below on the outside are British Blues as is the cat on the left in the photo above.

This page has a bit about the genetics behind the coat colours. And this page discusses the differences between the Brit, American and European SHs.

British Shorthair Bicolor

The 2 in the middle are solid blue and white bicolor Britis Shorthairs
Photo copyright Helmi Flick

British Shorthair Kittens For Sale

Always visit the breeder. You can check out facilities and ask direct face to face questions. Watch out for overbreeding. My sister bought two British Shorthairs. She eventually gave them back to the breeder (or someone else) as they were stupid - yes, inbred to the point where the cat was affected mentally. I have seen before in Burmese. Not sure how prevalent it is but in any case you want the cat to choose you and you can only do that in the presence of the cat before purchase. Helmi Flick highly recommends visiting the breeder.

The cat clubs, Yahoo Groups and major cat associations are good sources of cat breeder listings. A Google search will list the best established cat breeder high up in the search results.

In the USA, TICA list seven breeders, all in the USA except for one Canadian. The CFA list twelve. They are all in the USA as the CFA is a US cat association. You can do your own breeder search on their website by going to this page.

In the UK the British Shorthair Cat Club has a very long list of breeders. You won't need to look any further.

This page: Yahoo Groups for British Shorthair has quite a nice list of groups. I recommend these groups as it is a good networking resource for info about a cat breed and they are easy to join and get started.

British Shorthair Rescue

Rescue is best of course but purebred cats don't usually need rescuing. Nico needed rescuing though.

The UK club for this cat breed have a rescue section. There is a page on PoC about purebred cat rescue too. And there is a website dedicated to purebred cat rescue. Finally Yahoo groups are a good source for cats that need a home. I would therefore refer you to the link above.

British Shorthair Link Exchange

If you would like to exchange links with me please leave a comment. You can get my code from this page.

British Shorthair Gifts

Amzon.com do a lot of gifts based on this breed. Here is a selection:





Allevatori British Shorthair

The word "allevatori" is Italian for farmers according to Google translation. In this instance I am guessing that it means breeders. Italians are also fond of this cat breed.

Le British Shorthair & Chats British Shorthair

This heading is a reference to the search phrases people make. In this case it must be French people who are demonstrating an interest in this long established cat breed.  I hope this page helps.  The all French Chartreux is similar to the British SH blue with a similarly long history. French people wanting to buy a Bristish Shorthair are probably better off jumping on the Eurostar (train direct from France to England) to visit English cat breeders (see links above).

American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats

American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats are discussed as a group here. The origin of these breeds and indeed the South American cat the Brazilian Shorthair are all in the same cat, the European Shorthair and I include the British Shorthair under that description.

As an outsider to the cat fancy you might think that the three cats above are similar because the names are similar. You might also think that they are the same cat breed but just bred in different parts of the world. That is not quite the case, however.

European Shorthair cat

I have already written about the American Shorthair cat and the British Shorthair cats. They are similar looking cats. They are nice sensible looking cats and when they are show cats they can be seriously glamorous too. The 2008 TICA best kitten is an American Shorthair called KELLOGGS LOVE ECHOES ON - glamor on four legs.. He is a classic silver tabby (see another American Shorthair tabby - this page also shows another silver tabby show cat, you'll be impressed by). They are meant to have calm personalities, which helps in the show ring, all that competitive competition you know, it gets quite nerve racking for us show cats.

This is an American SH:

Photo: Helmi Flick with her permission.

This is a British SH:

Photo: Helmi Flick with her permission.

Recognition

But what of the European Shorthair cat? How does this cat breed fit into the scene, with these two well know breeds occupying a lot of space in the cat fancy already? The first thing to do is a comparison of the associations to see which ones recognize which breed. This is what I found, but it may not, despite considerable care, be complete:

American Shorthair
Recognized by all the North American cat associations. TICA, which is international, also recognizes this breed

British Shorthair
Recognized by all North American cat associations and the GCCF in the UK. TICA, which is international, also recognizes this breed

European Shorthair
Recognized by the Europe located cat association FIFe

This tells us right away about the differences in American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats. The European Shorthair is a lot less established, in terms of formal recognition, than the other two shorthair cats. The history (below) tells a different story.

Creation

When were the three breeds, American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats, created? The American SH began in 1966, the British SH in the 1870s and the European SH 1982 (formally).

I have used the date of formal recognition of the European Shorthair as the date of creation in this instance. Although this is misleading. The European Shorthair is the latest of the these three shorthair cat breeds on the block in respect of recognition by the major associations (it seems to me). However, the European Shorthair as a cat breed began at a similar time to the British Shorthair. While the British Shorthair was being "created" from domestic shorthaired mixed breed cats in the England at the beginning of the 1900s the Europeans were doing the same thing on the continent and importing British Shorthairs from England to improve their blood lines.

Sweden were also developing a shorthaired cat from imported British Shorthairs. These were crossed with sturdy local cats. The Swedes did not cross the imported British Shorthairs with Persian cats as was the case in England. Through following different breeding programs in the UK, Sweden and Continental Europe, whilst retaining the same breed standard it was time eventually to regularise the situation which meant the creation of the European Shorthair cat as distinct breed from the British SH.

The concept of creating a purebred and pedigreed cat from a mixed breed domestic cat is commonly encountered particularly early on in the history of the cat fancy. For example it happened to the Norwegian Forest cat . The Egytpian Mau is still a feral cat in Egypt and a glamorous show cat in the West. As discussed it also happened to the British Shorthair cat in the late 1800s in England. In theory any type of cat can become a purebred cat provided the cat associations agree and the rules applied.

As to the American Shorthair cat this breed also has its foundations in the British SH as the first American SHs were created from the decendents of Brit SHs imported into north America in the 1600s with the European settlers. The development of the American SH in the 1900s would have followed a different but similar course to the Brit SHs.

Breeding/appearance

As mentioned, in England the British Shorthair cat was outcrossed with the cobby Persian so the cat is more cobby than the European SH. This is apparent in the photographs. The British SH was also referred to as a European Shorthair cat, causing confusion. In contrast, there was and is a desire to keep the European SH as pure as possible. Yet it has to be accepted that the breed's origins are in mixed-breed cats (meaning impure). Perhaps it is more accurate that the formal breeding programs of this cat (c.f. informal breeding of non-purebred cats) are such that the original appearance and character is being retained. Finland also produces high quality European SHs apparently. The European SH is not cobby (due to the Persian influence) but is muscular and strongly built nonetheless.

As I have written about the American and the British SHs (see links above) I won't repeat it here. I'll be building a page on the European in due course. But in brief the European SH has 58 colors and the classic tabby is the favorite (see cat coats tabby). As this is also a Scandinavian cat the coats are more suited to that climate and the European SH is thought to be the part of the history of the Norwegian Forest cat and other breeds (Siberian ? Chartreux for example).

A very quick outline look at the breed standards give clues as to the difference between the American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats:

American Shorthair
The CFA breed standard for this cat is I believe, in a general sense, somewhere between the British (cobby) and the European (balanced). The CFA say that this is a "working cat". No part of the anatomy should be exaggerated. Although the cat should be strongly built.

British Shorthair
The CFA says that this cat should be compact with medium to short legs and a rounded head (round and massive). That right away gives us the clue as to the general shape of this cat breed. The original British Shorthaired domestic cats from which this breed was developed are very similar to the modern Brit SHs except less cobby and less rounded. The breeding of the cat over the past century has created that more rounded appearance.

European Shorthair
I am going to simply refer to the opening paragraph of the FIFe standard in which they say that this breed "can be compared to any kind of domestic cat". In other words this is like the Moggie mixed bred cat that can by the way compete at championship shows and has its own class (see Household Pets - Mixed breed cats). It also means that the European Shorthair cat is truer to the original appearance of the original British SHs before they became purebred cats.

American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats - Source for European SH - Finnish European Shorthair Cat Club.

Note:

Picture of European Shorthair cat is published under Wikimedia® commons license - Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License. Author is Ba'Gamnan. See Wikipedia license generally.

From American Shorthair, British Shorthair, and European Shorthair cats to Home page