The story of the British Shorthair begins two thousand years ago, with the arrival of the Ancient Romans in Britain. To cope with the problem of vermin raiding their stores and spreading disease, both on long sea voyages and when they settled in the British Isles, the Romans brought along some skilful pest control experts: the first domestic cats, acquired from their territories in Egypt.

On arrival in Britain, the Egyptian cats made some new friends: indigenous European wildcats. These European wildcats were very distinct from Egyptian cats. As well as being larger and more muscular than those elegant desert felines, the wildcat’s temperament is markedly different. More solitary, more aggressive and not at all amenable to sharing their habitat with humans, the European wildcat was (and still is) considered impossible to domesticate.

Despite these significant differences, the two species appear to have found some common ground with each other and mated. The wildcats were genetically close enough to their more sociable Egyptian cousins that they could have kittens together. The results of these cross-breedings were hardy shorthaired felines, eager hunters like the wildcat but very sociable and quite happy to live alongside humans. These were the first British domestic cats.

Fast forward to the Victorian era. By the late 1800s, cats had moved from being largely working animals and been brought into many homes as pets rather than simply mousers. Selective breeding for preferred characteristics was gaining popularity among certain sections of the Victorian upper classes. The development of the British Shorthair as we know her today is frequently attributed to Harrison Weir, often considered “the father of the cat fancy”. It’s not precisely clear whether Weir was the one who came up with the idea of creating a pedigree shorthair from the best specimens of the British domestic cat or whether a larger group formulated the idea.

We do know that Weir was charmed by the handsomeness and pleasant disposition of the British Shorthair’s progenitors and did much of the work in pioneering the breed as a real pedigree line. Weir encouraged others to pursue cat breeding and helped to consolidate the earliest iteration of the UK’s cat fancy.

Thanks to Weir and other pioneering breeders, the first ever cat show in Britain was held in 1871. This show took place at the Crystal Palace in London, alongside many other culturally significant events. The British Shorthair shown at the Crystal Palace was the British Blue type, with solid grey fur and deep amber eyes. Alongside the British Shorthair, other breeds were also shown, including Persian cats and the appealing Russian Blue — a cousin of our beloved British Shorthair, with solid blue-grey fur and green eyes..

Various groups of cat fanciers cropped up between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. By 1910, there were three main groups; these came together to form the General Council of the Cat Fancy or GCCF. The GCCF remains the main registry for pedigree cats in the UK. Other councils and associations with similar intent now exist around the globe, ranging from regional bodies to larger international organisations. These bodies allow people to check up on the pedigree of the cats they are buying, as well as helping to promote feline welfare by certifying responsible breeders. The British Shorthair cat is one of the oldest breeds to be recognised by the GCCF, although it took longer for BSH cats to be accepted onto some other registries.

After that triumphant debut at the Crystal Palace, The British Shorthair continued to thrive for many years.People were charmed by the cat’s friendly looks and calm disposition, which makes them the ideal candidate for a house cat. Unfortunately, the breed suffered a serious setback when WWI broke out.

Many animals in the UK at that time were euthanised or simply abandoned due to the fact that their owners could no longer provide for them. Cat breeding was seen as a luxury pursuit, something indulgent and at odds with the austerity of the times. The line dwindled significantly, with numbers falling below levels that would allow for healthy breeding arrangements. Excessive inbreeding was already known to be responsible for serious health concerns and breeders wanted to avoid this. To solve this problem, British Shorthair breeders began to cross their BSH stock with other pedigree lines, particularly Persians.

This caused a lot of problems for the breeders and the GCCF alike since the resulting offspring obviously had Persian characteristics and couldn’t really be called British Shorthairs. The cats’ coats were too long and they had other characteristics that set them apart from the breed standard. Eventually, careful breeding returned the line to its original shorthaired form — just with a somewhat thicker and softer coat.

Something similar happened during and after WWII, with BSH numbers declining even more dramatically than before. Breeders were once again forced to cross their British Shorthairs with Persians and Russian Bluesto keep the lines from becoming hopelessly inbred. This time around, breeders also introduced the French Chartreux into their stock. Although the French Chartreux is not really related to the British Shorthair — the Chartreux is a rare French breed, thought to originate in what is now Syria — this type of cat has a strikingly similar appearance. They’re cobby like the British Shorthair, have rounded paws and a thick coat of grey fur.

As previously, there were many difficulties in registering these cross-bed cats; this was eventually resolved by careful breeding back into the original lines until the breed was once again re-established. The GCCF recognised pedigree British Shorthairs that were sufficiently far removed from their Persian, Russian Blue and Chartreux antecedents. By the 1970s, the BSH breed was solidly re-established and British Shorthairs were recognised internationally; in particular, the American Cat Fancy Association (CFA) began registering British Shorthairs.

Since then, the British Shorthair has gone from strength to strength. These beloved cats are now the most popular pedigree breed in the UK and are appreciated all over the world.