The British Longhair is a rare breed of cat. Although it is not known very well, it is one of the world’s best looking domestic cats. Some people would say that it looks better than the far more famous Persian. It looks very similar to a traditional or doll face Persian.
History
It has a history that really goes back to the First World War in Britain (UK) when the British Shorthair was mated or “crossed’ with long haired Persian cats. From then on the British Shorthair carried genes from the Persian cat that could produce long hair in the British Shorthair. More cross breeding was done later on after the Second World War II. This time the British Shorthair was mated with Russian Blues and the Persian again.
A gene is a very small particle that is inside the cells of an animal that controls how the animal looks and behaves when born. The long haired gene is called “recessive”, which means that it does not usually have an effect on the length of the fur, but sometimes it does and when it does a British Longhair cat is born.
It might be fair to say that the history of the British Longhair is as long as the history of the British Shorthair. If that is the case, it goes back almost 2,000 years when the Romans invaded Britain and brought with them domestic cats from Rome in Southern Europe. At that time it was a working and companion cat. The British Shorthair is one of the most ancient of all the cat breeds and one of the first breeds to be accepted by people who started to breed cats in a big way for the first time in the late 1800s in England.
How the British Longhair Looks
The picture on this page shows a cat with a blue coat. “Blue” is blue/grey and grey is a dilute black. However, this cat breed can be seen in many different coat colors and patterns. This cat has strong muscles. It is a sturdy cat. The face is quite short and wide with a solid look that comes from the chubby cheeks and stocky body. It is said that the coat is thick and warm because of living in the cold British climate for almost two thousand years.
You can see that Robyn in the picture has a ruff. This is longer fur around the neck. This is something that people like to see on this cat. Robyn is a beautiful example of this cat breed.
Behavior
As the British Longhair has the same personality as the British Shorthair, I will briefly describe that cat. The British Longhair is a quiet, independent but friendly cat. Generally speaking it is not a lap cat. They tend to have quiet voices. This cat is suitable for indoor living as long has the temperature is not too warm because of the very dense semi-longhaired coat. They can be a bit inactive at home. The cat’s food should be thought out carefully to stop the cat putting on weight.
Hello Michael. This is a very magnificent looking cat. I have a few cat books and this cat breed is not featured in any of them so this is a treat to be introduced to it. It’s Shorthair counterpart is very popular but nevertheless they are both stunning. I love its look perhaps because it looks like my cat Penelope. I know this page is dedicated to kids but adults like moi appreciate it too.
Thanks. You are right, the post is written for anyone who wants a clean, easy to read article. I am pleased too that you like this cat. I really do believe that this cat breed is one of the most beautiful cats in the world and I am surprised it is not better known. Perhaps the British Shorthair has drowned it out, suppressed its potential popularity.
We enjoyed reading this article, Michael.
A question: If a breed was created from mating of British SH with Persian after the First World War, how it is possible that this cat is almost 2000 years old? 🙂 Or we misunderstood something?
Ah…well that is a question…The same question can be asked of many breeds. The way I have written the article is to pose the question whether this cat is 2,000 years old or not. Most of the British Longhair is 2,000 years old (because it is a British Shorthair) but a bit of it is not 2,000 years old 😉