The British cat derives its ancestry almost exclusively from the Domestic Shorthair Cat, the ‘moggy’ that we all know so well. Over the past century careful selection has resulted in a clearly identifiable breed. The British Shorthair Cat should be a cobby cat with short, strong legs, a round head with well-rounded eyes and a tail broad at the base and rounded at the tip. The coat should be short and dense. The general impression should be that of a compact, alert, fit and healthy cat.

British Shorthair Cats come in a great range of varieties: Self, Tabby, Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Smoke, Tipped and Colourpointed.

The plain-coloured British Shorthair Cats are known as Selfs, and these may be White, Black, Blue, Red or Cream, or one of the newer colours such as Lilac, Cinnamon, Fawn or Chocolate.

There are patterned cats, for example Tabbies or Spotteds in various colours with or without the Silver gene; this gene has the effect of producing a silver undercoat.

There is a range of colours in Tortoiseshell cats, and these colours are mirrored in their Tortie and White variations.

The Bi-Colours combine the various Self colours with the addition of white.

The Smokes exhibit the Silver gene, giving them a silver undercoat, the remainder showing a Self-colour or Tortie pattern.

Then there are the Tipped; these too carry the Silver gene which has the effect of making their coats appear white almost to the ends where they show tipping of various colours, most commonly Black but also Golden.

The Colourpointed cats have British type with a Siamese pattern; their faces, ears, legs and tails are of a contrasting colour to that of their bodies.