British longhair

The British Longhair is a relatively recently recognized breed. Previously it was considered a variant of the British Shorthair but with the exception of having a semi-longhair coat. Therefore they appeal in a similar way to the British Shorthair, with their temperament and beauty which is all about balance, size and roundness, balanced by strength and physical health. With their hair only being semi-longhair it is very easy to manage; we groom our British Longhair cats as frequently as our British Shorthair cats.

They make excellent pets, enjoy being indoors and are a perfect cat choice for people who have to go out to work, the elderly, or people living in apartments.

The British Longhair is a relatively recently recognized breed. Previously it was considered a variant of the British Shorthair but with the exception of having a semi-longhair coat.

British Longhairs are a very easygoing breed of cat. They have a stable character and take well to being kept as indoor-only cats, making them ideal for apartment living. They are not terribly demanding of attention, though they will let you know if they feel like playing. They are not hyperactive preferring to sit close to you rather than on you.

They like attention and enjoy being petted. They are not a very vocal breed but will meow to communicate. They do like to follow you from room to room, as they often wish to be with you and see what is going on. Some do not mind being cuddled, but most prefer to keep four paws on the ground and be patted rather than picked up.

British Longhairs are very healthy and long lived. You can expect a British to live from 14 to 20 years.

The breed standard details; "The British Longhair cat is compact, well balanced and powerful, showing good depth of body, a full broad chest, short strong legs, rounded paws, tail thick at base with rounded tip. The head is round with a good width between small ears, round cheeks, firm chin, large round and well-opened eyes and a moderately short broad nose. The coat is semi-longhair and dense. A muscular cat with an alert appearance and in perfect physical condition."

British Longhair's come in a large variety of colours and patterns. The genetics around these we find extremely interesting but it takes quite a bit of reading to get an understanding of how the genes work together to produce cats with differing appearances.

Trying to keep it very simple and therefore not genetically accurate the colors are: black, chocolate, cinnamon, red, white, blue, lilac, fawn, cream and silver. With regards to patterns the British Longhair can be either one solid colour, tabby (mackerel, classic, spotted, silver), colourpointed, smoke, tipped, bi-colour and tortoiseshell.

The British Longthair comes with four distinct eye colours: orange/gold/copper, green, blue and colourpointed blue. Kittens are always born with blue eyes with the final eye colour developing between 6 and 7 weeks of age. However, it will be at least three or four months before you can see the final colour.

The male is noticeably larger, broader and rounder than the female, with weights ranging between 6-7 kg. But the female is also a big cat with weight between 5-6 kg.

Although you should groom them occasionally their short coats do not require a lot of grooming, and their fur does not tangle or mat easily.