One of the most popular breeds in the cat world is British. This affectionate and very beautiful cat representative is highly regarded by cat lovers. The variety of colors of British cats, their character, demeanor and breed standards are described in detail in this article.
Origin
In the family, British aristocrats have Persians. This is noticeable in their faces. And not only looking at the exterior, you can judge the origins of the beauty of the British. This is a true fact in the history of the breed.
The breed takes its origin in the 19th century. English breeders have done a worthy job, carefully and painstakingly improving the exterior of the animal. Today, the British cat is a charming big-eyed creature with a great character.
Breed standard
The World Cat Federation (WCF) has approved the following breed standards:
- The head and forehead are rounded. The nose is wide, straight. The chin is very strong. The nose and chin form a vertical line. The neck is thick, massive and short.
- Eyes. Rounded, expressive and widely spaced. The color is usually bright orange. But among the colors of the British cat, there are those that require the standard of blue eyes.
- The ears. Wide, flat and slightly rounded. Low set.
- Torso. A large-boned animal with a massive body. The wider the bone, the higher the breed of the cat. The cat is harmoniously folded, despite the massive chest and shoulders. The weight of an adult cat reaches 8 kg, adult cat - about 5 kg.
- Tail. Wide, with a tight-fitting hairline. At the end, the tail has a rounded shape.
- Wool. Must have a thick undercoat. The coat does not fit too tightly on the body. Its structure is soft, hair is the same length, thick and shiny.
Cat character
The British breed is distinguished by its "philosophical" disposition. These are completely unobtrusive animals, combining a calm disposition and mobility. British cats and cats are good in that, despite their mobility, they do not knock down any small objects in their path. Having a quick reaction, the pet will just neatly dodge away from the expensive little thing.
These cats are patient, rarely use their claws. They love affection, but they will not insistently demand it from the owner. If the owner of the cat picked her up, she will purr happily. If there is no time for an animal at the moment, the Briton will find something to do. In the absence of the owner, the cat will sleep or play in the designated place. This animal will not do any spoiled things, destroyed by the cat's running around the house and puddles on the floor.
British cats, among other things, are great hunters. Looking at this plush touching creature, you will never think about this character trait. However, it is not worth keeping a rodent and a representative of this breed in the same apartment. The cat will certainly find the opportunity to "play" with a rat or a hamster.
Very neat and tidy animals. It is enough to show the kitten a tray once, explain what to do with the scratching post, and these lessons will be learned forever.
Get along with other animals, with the exception of rodents. They have such qualities as patience. If with other cats going to the vet turns to hell, then the British aristocracy behaves more than worthily. For the same reason, families with children acquire British cats. Of course, one should not allow a child to torture an animal with impunity. But, if the baby accidentally grabs the cat by the tail, it will not release its claws. He will simply try to delicately free himself and leave the territory.
As for conflicts with other four-legged inhabitants of the apartment in which the British cat settled, the latter will avoid them. Will leave the danger zone or climb to where the potential enemy cannot get it. But it is unlikely to use its claws. For the beauty of "soul and body" millions of people around the world love the representatives of this breed.
Maintenance and care
The British are unpretentious in content. All care consists in a weekly combing. In the diet, depending on age, there should be spiders (wet food), dry food and clean water. It is preferable to feed the animal with super-premium food and holistic.
Change and cleaning of the tray, periodic washing of the feeder, access to clean water and combing are the main components of the maintenance of British beauties and beauties. Annual vaccination, as well as bathing twice a year, are not so difficult worries for loving owners.
British kittens require a little more care than their adult relatives. The fact is that before the age of one, these cats have leaking eyes. The eyes should be washed with a cotton swab dipped in warm water.
Life time
These feline representatives will delight their owners with longevity. Their average life expectancy is 16 years. And it’s not uncommon when cats of this breed live up to 20 years. Therefore, the owner is required to love and pet his pet, and he will delight him for many years.
British colors
British cats are distinguished by a rather diverse color. And each of them should be discussed in more detail. One fact that the number of colors in this breed is about 200 makes us dwell on this topic.
What color includes
The color of a British cat is not just the color of its coat. These are also the following additions:
- undercoat color;
- wool pattern;
- eye color;
- the color of the nose;
- the color of the pads on the paws.
Each color has its own standards. Both the most common and the rarest. All are subject to high demands.
Types of color
The color of a cat of the British breed is monophonic, tortie, Siamese or color point, mixed with white , tabby, silver and gold tabby, smoky, silver and gold chinchilla.
Solid or solid color
The most common colors among plain colors are blue and lilac. The rarest color of British cats is faun (light beige) and cinnamon (cinnamon color). Solid colors also include black, white, red and cream.
Solid lilac
The purple color of British cats is divided into three types:
- Light purple. The hue of this color is pinkish.
- Medium purple. The hue is purple.
- Dark purple, or "coffee with milk."
The coat is plain, evenly dyed. The eyes of representatives of the breed carrying the lilac gene can be either orange or copper. Amber color is allowed.
Solid blue
In British cats, blue is one of the most common. It is a uniformly dyed coat. In the color, the presence of light shades, as well as various spots, is unacceptable. Shades of blue range from light blue to the color of wet asphalt. The eyes for this type of color, according to the breed standard, are orange, copper or golden.
Cats Cakes
In fact, British cats have nothing to do with cakes. The tortoise color of the British cat is the second name "tortie".
What is tortoise color? This is the "intersection" of black with red or cream. There are more than 80 variants of tortoise color. It is worth highlighting the main ones:
- The cakes are classic. It is black and red, chocolate red, purple and cream blue and cream. These are the most popular colors among the classic ones. More rare - cream faun and red cinnamon.
- Smoky color. Its feature is the presence of "haze" in the hair of an animal. Thanks to this haze, the color seems a little blurry, and its tone is very smooth. The most popular are smoky "blue cream" and smoky "lilac cream".
- Tortie tabby. Another name is torbi. The color is a combination of black, red and tabby. Torbi are divided into tabby "blue cream", tabby "lilac cream", tabby black and chocolate red. Well and rare - faun and cinnamon tabby.
- Siamese cakes. This color of the British cat consists of black, red and point colors. Point - this is the Siamese color. The main types of this color are blue point cream, lilac point cream, chocolate tortie point. Rare, as in previous color lists, fauns and cinnamon.
- Tricolor. The common name is patchwork turtle, as well as calico. It is also based on black and red and plus a white tint. Tricolors are very beautiful and quite rare. Their group includes such colors as tortoiseshell black, blue, purple, chocolate, faun and cinnamon. All these colors are mixed with white and tortoiseshell "complement".
The color should be harmonious, and the eyes of cats of similar colors are either dark golden or copper.
Interesting Fact About Turtle Cats
Only cats can shine in this color. There are almost no tortoiseshell cats in British breeds. It is believed that a cat of a similar color is a genetic mutation. In addition, tortie cats are barren.
Tabby, silver and golden tabby
The color of tabby in a British cat is of several types. The first is the so-called "standard" tabby. This is a very bright color, based on an excellent contrasting pattern. All owners of the tabby color must have the following features, according to the breed standard:
- Stripes of wool in the form of the letter "M" are required on the forehead.
- On the neck color forms a "necklace".
- The nose is in harmony with the main color, eyeliner - too.
- On the ears, there must be a bright spot on the outside.
- The presence of bands on the legs.
Classic tabby are distinguished as follows:
- Ticked color. Its highlight is that the main color of the animal is monophonic. And the additional color is "applied" to the upper body. At the same time, when you look at the cat, it seems that her head, part of the ears and back were neatly painted with paint, the transitions between the tones are so harmonious.
- Tabby Leopard, or Spotted. The most common of all tabby. Dark spots are scattered throughout the cat’s body.
- Tiger Tabby. On the main color stripes are clearly visible. The rarer and thinner the strip, the higher the animal is valued. Stripes stretch throughout the body, starting from the ridge and ending with the paws.
- Marble. The marble color of the British cat is very beautiful and intense. On the back of the carriers of this beauty there are two stripes, and large circles diverge on the sides. The drawing does not interrupt or intersect. Perhaps this is the most difficult color among the tabby.
Silver tabby, or british cat's whiskas. The color is a silver color with a gray tint. The presence of spots is considered a marriage.
In addition to silver whiskas, the following color types are allowed:
- Silver blue.
- Silver black.
- Silver lilac.
- Silver Chocolate.
- Cream silver.
- Bicolor silver.
- Silver red.
All of these colors must be either ticked, or with stripes, spots and marble.
Golden tabby. The rarest color of a tabby british cat. The main color is gold, and the pattern is different. Tabby "gold" can be black, blue, color point, chocolate. As with representatives of the silver color, ticking, stripes, spots and marble are required.
Chinchilla
British chinchilla cats are a delight. They are silver and golden. Owners of plush wool and huge bright eyes. Silver chinchilla is “shaded” if one third of the dark color is present in its color. Only the eighth part of the noble silver chinchilla has a “tint” of wool in a dark tone. This is an unusually expensive cat, the price of which ranges from 500 to 10,000 dollars.
More expensive than silver chinchilla her golden relative. Representatives of this color have a gentle apricot hue with a dark undercoat on the head, paws and tail.
The description of the colors of the British cat will help anyone who wants to have a representative of this breed to understand a little what British aristocrats are like.
Conclusion
So, British cats and their color are considered in the article. These animals are good not only for their diverse shade of hair, but also for character. What are the main aspects to remember? Firstly, the breed standard - what is a British cat according to WCF requirements. Secondly, the main character features of these most beautiful representatives of the feline family. Patience, unobtrusiveness and cleanliness are the three main qualities of the breed.
The secondary include hunting ability and grace. And thirdly, the requirements for maintenance and care. The most basic thing is the weekly combing of the pet. Feed requirements are also quite high. This is a super-premium feed and holistic. The loving owner will provide all the rest to his aristocrat, paying attention to him and often caressing him.