As its name suggest , the British Shorthair CT is as traditionally English as tea and scones . Here are nine facts about the stocky feline , whose chubby face , slow - going demeanor , and little , lavish pelt made it America’sfifth most popular pedigreed catin 2014 .
1. THEY’RE DESCENDED FROM THE CATS OF ANCIENT ROME.
The British Shorthair bears the proud distinction of being one of the world ’s old cat breeds . Experts think that the felineis descend from catsimported to Rome from ancient Egypt . When the Romansinvaded Great Britain in 43 CE , they get the cats with them .
2. “THE FATHER OF CAT FANCY” LOVED BRITISH SHORTHAIRS.
British Shorthairs live as street kat and barn mousers untilHarrison Weir — a nineteenth - one C animal devotee bed as “ the male parent of cat fancy”—began breeding exemplary examples of the country ’s native computerized tomography . He showcased the breed at London ’s Crystal Palace in 1871 , in an outcome that ’s debate by many to bethe world ’s first cat show . The show was take with exotic import cats , include Persians and Siamese - like khat . However , Weir preferred his country ’s aboriginal breed . " My first beloved will always be for the shorthaired domestic cat,“Weir wrotein his book about various cat stock , Our Cats and All About Them(1889 ) .
3. THE BRITISH SHORTHAIR NEARLY WENT EXTINCT.
By the other 20thcentury , longhaired breeds had dominate the British Shorthair in popularity . Adding injury to insult , cat fanciersstopped cover the British Shorthairduring World Wars I and II , and it nearly went out . To ensure the breed ’s survival of the fittest , British Shorthair aficionado crossbred their cats with Persians and other felid . The British Shorthair hold fast around , and in 1980 , the Cat Fanciers ’ Association ( CFA)recognized the felineas an prescribed stock in America .
4. THE BRITISH SHORTHAIR MAY HAVE INSPIRED LEWIS CARROLL’S CHESHIRE CAT.
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Historians remember that Lewis Carroll may have found his Cheshire Cat illustrations inAlice ’s Adventures in Wonderlandoff a brindle British Shorthair .
5. A BRITISH SHORTHAIR HELPED SPAWN THE “I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?” EMPIRE.
A British Shorthair was featured in the original “ I Can Has Cheezburger ? ” meme . The viral internet phenomenon can be traced back to 2007 , when a Hawaiian blogger constitute Eric Nakagawasaw a picture ofa happy - looking British Shorthair on an online message board . It was captioned with the now - famous “ I Can Has Cheezburger ? ” bank line , inspire Nakagawa to register a site with the same name and share the persona . Nakagawa begin posting more cat pictures , and he finally turned his blog into a monetize website . It wasacquired for $ 2 million in 2007 , and became the basis for theCheezburger web , a web of social bodily fluid websites .
6. NOT ALL BRITISH SHORTHAIRS ARE GREY.
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Speaking of " I Can Has Cheezburger ? ” , some people recollect that all British Shorthairs are silvery grey-haired with atomic number 29 eyes , like the cat in the meme . That particular type of cat is telephone the British Blue . While the British Blue is a popular variation of the stock , it’snot the only one . British Shorthair cats hail in white , black , red , gold , and silver , among other fur colors . You ’ll also discern British Shorthairs with vividness - point , tortoiseshell , bicolor , and tabby patterns . As for their optic colors , they vagabond from Au to copper to blue - green .
7. THEY CAN GET CHUNKY.
ripe British Shorthairstend to weigh9 to 17 pounds , and mature female person mean 7 to 12 pound . However , the solid - framed breed has a tendency toward obesity , and can easily tip the scale at a higher weight : PetMD lately listedthe British Shorthair as one of its “ top 10 fertile cats . ” British Shorthair owners are apprise to provide their kitties with healthy solid food and plenty of exercise , since overweight kittiesface an increased riskfor diabetes , heart disease , arthritis , and other consideration .
8. BRITISH SHORTHAIRS ARE MAGNETS FOR WEIRD NEWS.
British Shorthair khat have come along in several bizarre outside news story . In late 2014 , state debt collectors in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk , Russia , test to push a human to pay 12,000 ruble in volunteer taxes . Since the debtor did n’t own any valuable stuff possession , the collectorsthreatened to confiscatehis British Shorthair quat and its three kittens . " Because the animate being are pedigree and expensive , the representative of the natural law decided to pose the cat brood under apprehension , " the region ’s Margaret Court marshal ’s serving say in a statement . Needless to say , the military man ended up make up his taxes , and he got to keep his cat .
Also in Russia , an easy prepare British Shorthair true cat named Dusya skyrocketed to fame — and fortune — by starring in exposure shoots , TV productions , and a commercial message for a Russian telephone set operator . As of March 2015 , Dusya had earn around £ 2,000 — more than what most Russians make in a year , according to AOL Money .
In 2015 , an Eastern European gangcatnapped Maggie , a 1 - class - honest-to-god British Shorthair that lived with her wealthy owners in a London mansion . The stealer demanded a ransom money of £ 5000 . Maggie ’s owners agree to husk out the hard cash , and they participated in an exchange in a public park to get their beloved cat back .
9. A BRITISH SHORTHAIR ONCE HAD THE WORLD’S LOUDEST PURR.
In 2011 , a 12 - yr - oldBritish Shorthair qat name Smokeywas declared to havethe domain ’s forte purr . His vocal rumblings measured 67.7 dB , and were reportedly as noisy as a lawn mower . Sadly , Smokey died from kidney nonstarter in 2014 . He was immortalized in the Guinness World Records until another cat , Merlin , broke his pinna - dissever recordin 2015 with a 67.8 decibel purr .
