Shorthair felines, British Shorthairs belong to Britain. The cats evolved centuries ago when Romans brought cats from their homeland and those cats mated with wild cats of Britain. With time the British Shorthairs came to being. However, it was not until the later half of nineteenth century that these felines started appearing in cat shows and began to be formally recognized.

British Shorthairs are somewhat large sized with a muscular physique. They have strong chest, shoulders and legs and are known to possess significant strength relative to their size. Body is stout overall. Head is round with chubby cheeks, big round eyes that are usually copper to golden in color, and short widely set ears. Well developed whisker pads give rise to a very sweet ”smiling” facial expression. Tail is tapering at its end and paws are rounded. Apart from blue, which is the most common color, other colors and patterns include black, chocolate, cinnamon, fawn, lilac, red, white, bicolor, colorpoint, tabby and tortoiseshell.

British Shorthairs are healthy and sturdy felines. They don’t suffer from any persisting health ailment in their lines. They are relatively heavy as a breed and not very agile. They are active though and have been reported throughout history to be quite capable hunters in their natural environment.

Easy going and calm, British Shorthair cats have a very good temperament. They are independent and playful and not very demanding. Their lustrous coat doesn’t shed nor require daily grooming. As kittens they are quite playful. As they age, taking nearly four years to reach their full size, they become relatively sedentary and overweight in some cases. Still they maintain their loyalty and affection towards humans.

The Persian cat is one of the oldest cat breeds in history. Other names for it include “Persian Longhair” or “Longhair”. The ancestors of today’s Persian cats were brought into Europe in the 1600s. Traders would come from Persia and Iran with jewels, spices and occasionally a longhaired cat. This is where they get the name Persian. However, there are even hieroglyphic references to these cats that date as early as 1684 B.C. During the 1800s, this cat became a symbol for wealth and prosperity among the Europeans. The Persian was also one of the first cats to be in competitions and to be registered. They were not called Persians until 1960; before that they were just called Longhairs.

Even though the white Persian is the color that is usually photographed and seen on television, Persians come in uncountable numbers of colors. For competition the colors are divided into seven divisions, which are the solid color division, the silver and golden division, the shaded and smoke division, the tabby division, the particolor division, the bicolor division and the Himalayan division. Their coat is very long and flowing.

This cat should be kept inside or their coat will quickly become damaged. Persian cats need to be combed every day with a metal comb. If they are not brushed regularly, the coat will quickly become tangled and develop hairballs. To keep the coat as clean as possible, it is also recommended that you give an occasional bath. Try to start bathing the cat while they are young so that they can get used to it. This will keep the coat healthy, clean and beautiful. Please remember that this cat cannot maintain their fur by themselves; it is too long and dense. It needs to have daily grooming.

These cats are extremely sweet and gentle. They adapt easily into even the most boisterous households. Persian cats have a beautiful melodious voice that is very pleasant to hear. They communicate very well with their owners using their voice and their enormously expressive eyes. Persian cats are playful but not overly demanding of their owners. They seem to love to pose and look like they are trying to be beautiful. This cat absolutely loves to be admired and pampered. They are also not destructive cats. They don’t like to climb and jump very much like other cats do, because of their short legs and mass. Most of the time they just like to show off how beautiful they are!