07/17/2020
The British Shorthair originated with cats imported from Egypt by when they invaded Great Britain. The breed helped protect Romans food supplies from rodents. One of the first breeds, they have changed little over the centuries. As the breed developed, crosses were made with the Persian between 1914 and 1918 introducing the longhair gene. Cats with short coats were part of the British Shorthair and cats with went into the Persian breeding programs.
Food shortages during World War II reduced the breeding stock and British Shorthair lines were all but lost. Breeders revived the breed by crossing with domestic shorthairs, Russian Blues, and Persians among others. The British Shorthair has grown in popularity since then and gained championship status in BSH Cat Breeder in June 1979. While longhair kittens sometimes appeared in litters, they languished in obscurity as a breed. Today, the imposing British Longhair is a fitting companion breed to the British Shorthair resembling the Persians and Angoras of the early 1900s, obtaining championship status in BSH Cat Breeder effective May 2014.
