Annette Jensen breeds blue British Shorthair cats in the southern part of Denmark. Annette is a member of the Danish club JYRAK under Felis Danica (FIFe) and also a member of BB-klubben, which is a Danish club for breeders of British Shorthair as well as LeCabri in France.
A typical British Shorthair blue.
Size
The size of the British Shorthair cat has unfortunately diminished during the past 20 years throughout Europe. This is mainly due the fact, that breeders have bred Persians with the British Shorthair in order to get a rounder head and more bulky body. In turn this has resulted in loss of weight and size. I have therefore tried to maintain the size by breeding only large cats with large cats! A fully grown British Shorthair male should weigh at least around 8-9 kg (hopefully more!) and a fully grown female should weigh around 5-6 kg.
Eye Colour
The eyes are to be deep orange. They must not be too deep set. The eye shape is to be round like a large dinner plate! That is the ultimate! That big open expression, which is so well known of the British Shorthair.
The Head
The head of the British Shorthair cat has to be round looking from all directions. A good strong chin and a nice round forehead. However, some cats today have a very "exotic" look, which I don't like - this again is a result of having bred Persians into the blood lines. I want my cats to have a good muzzle and not what I consider to be a "flat" look in the front.
Coat Quality
The coat of the British Shorthair is to be, above all, very short and crispy. This again has somewhat diminished since breeders started to mix Persians with the British Shorthair. Too many British Shorthair cats have soft coats and lack that crispy feeling and thick under-coat. It has, therefore, been a very important part of my breeding program, to breed kittens with as short a coat as possible and as crispy as possible.
Coat Colour
As I have chosen to concentrate on breeding blue British Shorthairs, I will describe this colour only. The British Shorthair should be blue! Not too light or bleached colour, which seems to be more and more the tendency.
My motto is that I would rather have a British blue to be a little too dark rather than too light. Once you have bred light coloured cats, it is very hard to regain the darker blue hair pigmentation. My cats are little darker compared to the "fashion", and I have no intention of changing that. I do not believe in changing the looks of a cat already so beautiful. After all, we are dealing with live animals! Go to your local library and look at an old book about British Shorthair cats. You will see pictures of darker blue cats! That is the true colour of the British Shorthair cat.
Body
The characteristic body of the British Shorthair is a heavy set, cobby round body. The legs are to be strong, muscular and thick boned. The chest has to be broad and strong. The neck is short and thick and the length of the body has to match the rest of the body so all is in harmony. The tail is to be thick and somewhat short, however not too short which is also a trend these days. Unfortunately too many British Shorthair cats today have legs and a body that is too short.
These cats are very successful at shows, since they look "finished and assembled" at a very early stage in their life. This in the long run does not enable them to grow large and heavy, as there is not enough body to fill out. My cats are typically “teenager” for the first 3 years and seem completely out of proportion, as they are too long in the body and have long legs. However, once they stop growing and start to fill out the body, they, in turn, grow very large and heavy. With my bloodlines, one has to be very patient, but it truly pays off in the long run!
Temperament
The British Shorthair is a good tempered cat and not very active. It is an extravert and will love all members of the family. However, the British Shorthair is not a cat that enjoys to be carried around too much. It is, after all, it's own master. It is very patient, especially with children. When it has had enough, it will simply walk away! Let it! Our son enjoys all our cats both on his and their terms. They are not loud speakers. Our cats are very social and prefer to be in the same room as us at all time!
