The history of British shorthair cats (BKH)

The history of the British Shorthair begin before about 2000 years ago, when Roman soldiers first cats to fight mice on farms and in warehouses with after Britain brought. The Romans were expelled from the islands, but their cats remained and developed as a British version of the farm cat further. Whether they deal with the feral domestic cats (Felis silvestris) verpaarten, is not entirely clarified, it is only that the cats because of isolated location on the islands relatively free from influences of other breeds could proliferate.

Over the centuries, developed the British short-haired cat without any planned breeding too robust, strong cats with water-repellent fur, the mice good hunters and friendly, gentle companions were. Only around 1800 began, the cats specifically in terms of color and type to breed. Even then remarked Mr. Jung, who later exhibition judges for British shorthair cat was:

When the British cats bred could be planned, they would to an aristocratic breeds with pedigrees, and as a consequence of this would be popular and they would be asked. (Source: CFA)

In the noble cat status review was the "National Cat" of 1871 Britons charged, as Harrison Weir, the ancestor of all cats exhibitions, the first cat show organized in the Crystal Palace. Winner of this exhibition ( "Best of Show"), a blaugetigerte British shorthair cat, which belonged to Weir himself.

At the beginning of the 20th Century British shorthair cats in large numbers issued and there were classes and exhibition following standards: Monochrome (black, white, blue), mackerel (brown, red, silver), spotted, enggetigert, smoke (black, blue), black and white, white -Black (Vans), mackerel with white, tortie (red / black) and tortie with white.

The guy was in the standards generally considered compact with large, round head and round eyes, a short, dense coat with a fine texture and dense undercoat described.

The exhibitions in the Crystal Palace was continued until 1936, when the building niederbrannte. But during the first exhibitions still almost exclusively British Shorthair were represented, changed the taste of cat lovers from around 1900. Were now asking langhaaarige variants, especially Persians, and the exotic Siamese. Frances Simpson writes 1903 in his famous book "Book of Cats":

For most fans are the most popular longhaired cat. (Source: Petpublishing)

At this time surpassed the number of longhaired the short-haired cats at exhibitions around four times. Another fad that time were also blue cats, triggered by two blue longhair cat, the Queen Victoria were held (Source: Cats Extra, No. 3, 2008). Thus began the British shorthair breeder, focus more on the Farbvarietät to concentrate. Indeed, the delineation of the blue British shorthair cats also against the Russian blue cat, which since 1860 have been imported to England was an issue this time, as a further extract from Simpson book shows.

It has recently been some discussion about where, what traits in the cats are welcome, in recent years clearly become a kind of British cats have become and thus exhibits also be classified as such and not as Russians. (Source: Pawpeds)

The world wars left behind as with most cat breeds in Europe including the British Shorthair their tracks. At a time when food was scarce and worries plagued other than to decide which is the most beautiful cat, went many valuable breeding stocks lost. It was hard, appropriate breeding cat to find. Not out of this decision, the British breeders how many breeders of other races to auszukreuzen the cats, which means their cats with males of other races verpaaren. After crossings with unregistered domestic cats are not brought the desired success, because after driving on Typ vrloren, the choice fell to the Persians. Descendants of such crossings but only after three generations of pure breeding with British shorthair cats recognized as a British shorthair. A difficult procedure, the interest in the British Shorthair not necessarily promoted.

This outcrossing were also not without consequences for the race of the British Shorthair, whose appearance by the foreign influence began to change. Showed the cats before crossing program rather than smaller heads today with long noses, long, slender necks and elegant body and were thus more comparable to the European shorthair, they developed increasingly become cats with short noses, jaws wide and short, bulligen bodies The already in the first standards were also required. Obviously, these cats on exhibitions prefer, so that the development of the Britons to today's more rounded type further accelerated.

Another race, with just after the Second World War crossings have been undertaken, were the Carthusians from France. Breeders also had their problems with the war decimated by the breeding stocks and blue accessed on British shorthair cat back to its inventory to enlarge. The breeders of the British Shorthair benefited from the crossroads, since it with the blue Carthusians in the Brititen so popular blue color in their cats could improve, but again at the expense of a type went so again eingekreuzt were Persians.

The mixing of Carthusians, British Shorthair and Persians meant that in 1970 the European Federation FIFe cats bred to the exhibition classes "Carthusians" for all the blue shorthair cat and British Shorthair "for all other blue shorthair breeds these imported origin. Only after lengthy protests by the Kartäuserzüchter this division was 1977 again withdrawn. Since blue British shorthair may no longer be described as Carthusians, even though some growers perhaps from monetary or elitist thinking out in this exotic-sounding name down.

The official breed designations are "Chartreux" (CHA) and "British Shorthair (BKH or English. BRI). Since 1991, it is the members in the 1st DEKZV (cats biggest German federation) is no longer allowed, their blue BKH as Carthusians offer (Source: Carthusians & Co.)

A similar confrontation there with the European shorthair breeders, particularly in the Scandinavian countries was and still is popular. There is still today as a show cat bred and is like any other breed cat pedigrees. Until the 1980s it was European shorthair together with the British Shorthair in a class shown in the roundish animals to ever evolving Britons were usually preferred. The Scandinavian breeders wanted by them favored Katzentyp but maintained and urged recognition of the European shorthair, which they finally received by the FIFe.

The jump on the large pond in the United States created the first British shorthair cats already in 1900 and are thus likely co-founder of the American Shorthair breed. Until 1950, the British Shorthair imported into the U.S. as domestic cats (Domestic Shorthair) registered. Only 1967 changed that, Mrs. Levy of Long Iceland both two blue British shorthair cats Pensylva Damcus and Pensylva Blusette of Pensylva Cattery, which belonged to Mrs. Joan Richards, imported. She showed these animals at two major exhibitions breeding associations of the time in the United States, in the CFF and the ACA. The ACA awarded as the first British shorthair cat on U.S. soil Pensylva Bluesette the title "Best All-American British Blue" and Pensylva Damcus the title of "Best Of Opposite." In 1968, Damcus as "Best All-American" by the ACA excellent.

But still were British shorthair cats Domestic Shorthair or American Shorthair registered until finally complained about American breeders, as the British cats on exhibits better than their animals. But it was not until 1980, the British Shorthair of the CFA, one of the largest farming organizations of the United States and worldwide to champion status. GC Tikikats Snowmaiden of Denimar was the first British Shorthair Champion, Grand Champion and National Best of Breed of the CFA.

In Germany, acquired the British shorthair cat mainly through its presence in commercials for Whiskas (the Silver Classic Tabby British Kruzhaar) and Sheba (the blue British shorthair).

The image "IMG_0312" was developed by Warp on Flickr under a Creative Commons license available.