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Breed guide · Cats
He sheds a second cat onto the sofa every week. I comb him out on Sunday nights.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
A soft, thick coat that looks perfect from the top, and a cat who wriggles off when the comb comes out.
What's going onThey have the British Shorthair's dense coat, grown long, and they cannot keep it clear on their own. Comb them a few minutes at a time, several times a week, right through to the skin, with a treat as you go.
At home
Gone behind the curtains the moment the comb appears.
What's going onMats start behind the ears, under the front legs and on the back of the back legs. They pull on the skin and hurt, and a cat who has been hurt by the comb starts hiding from it. Little and often keeps the knots small.
At home
A big, soft cat who looks the same from one month to the next.
What's going onBritish Longhairs are prone to putting on weight from their junior years, and the coat hides a gain very well. Weigh their food, weigh them once a month, and feel for their ribs rather than trusting the outline.
At home
Stretched out on the bathroom tiles, or right under the vent all afternoon.
What's going onA thick semi-long coat on a heavy body gives them few ways to lose heat, so they find the coolest spot. Leave the air conditioning on for them in the hot months, and have someone check on them if the power goes while you are away.
At home
Sleeps a great deal, plays a little, and looks perfectly well.
What's going onA heart condition runs in the breed, and it can give no signs for a long time. Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day.
At home
Follows you from room to room and settles beside you on the sofa, then goes stiff when you lift them.
What's going onThey like to be near you, not on you. Let them choose the cushion. When you must lift them, use two hands, one under the chest and one under the back end, and keep it short.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their coat
Built for: A dense coat for a cold, wet country.
In Dubai: Air conditioning, and fur on the sofa all year.
Their build
Built for: A sturdy working cat, kept for the rats and mice they caught.
In Dubai: Easy meals, and weight that goes on under the fur.
Their nature
Built for: Calm, and easy to live with.
In Dubai: Problems that slip by, because they make no fuss.
They need your help with their coat and their weight.
Your British Longhair is a sturdy working cat wearing a coat they cannot look after by themselves. The mats form underneath the coat, and the weight goes on under the fur. They will not ask to be entertained, so you have to start the game. The ten things below are how you help.
Your plan is built around what a British Longhair is prone to at every age, from their heart and their weight to their coat, and the care that goes with each one.
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Ten things that make their life better.
Their coat mats in their junior and prime adult years, and mats pull on the skin and hurt.
Every age, start with a soft brush as a kitten
Why
Their coat mats in their junior and prime adult years, and mats pull on the skin and hurt.
What to do
A few minutes at a time with a wide-toothed metal comb, right through to the skin. Work behind the ears, under the front legs and down the back of the back legs, where mats start. Give a treat as you go, and stop before they want to leave. Never cut a mat out with scissors: the skin sits right under it. Grooming and coat-care advice are in your plan from their junior years.
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. A thick coat on a heavy body gives them few ways to lose heat, and a cat who pants is already too hot.
Every age, most of all kittens and older cats
Why
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. A thick coat on a heavy body gives them few ways to lose heat, and a cat who pants is already too hot.
What to do
Leave the air conditioning on for them in the hot months, and give them a tiled floor to lie on in more than one room. Keep them off the balcony in summer, and never leave them in a parked car. If the power fails while you are out, get someone in to check on them. If they pant or breathe with their mouth open, contact your vet now.
British Longhairs put on weight easily from their junior to their mature years, and their coat hides it.
Every age, most of all from 7 months to 10 years
Why
British Longhairs put on weight easily from their junior to their mature years, and their coat hides it.
What to do
Weigh their daily food. Weigh them monthly: step on the scales holding them, then without them, and take the difference. Once a week, feel for their ribs under the coat. You should feel them without pressing. Weight-management counselling (help to get their portions right) is in your plan from the day they are neutered.
A calm cat moves very little, so the weight creeps on.
Every age, slower games from 11 years
Why
A calm cat moves very little, so the weight creeps on.
What to do
Two short wand-toy sessions a day, before their meals, with the toy moving along the floor and round corners like a mouse. End with a catch, then their meal. Put some of their food in a puzzle feeder.
A cat tree that wobbles under a sturdy cat is one they stop using, and a cramped tray is one they avoid.
Every age, add steps and a lower tray from 7 years
Why
A cat tree that wobbles under a sturdy cat is one they stop using, and a cramped tray is one they avoid.
What to do
A cat tree with a broad, heavy base, a scratching post tall enough for a full stretch, and a roomy litter tray with a low entry. Give them one tray each, plus a spare, in different rooms. Buy the adult size now and they will grow into it.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is on their health record at every stage, and a calm cat shows little.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is on their health record at every stage, and a calm cat shows little.
What to do
Fast or shallow breathing while resting should be discussed with your vet immediately, within the same day. If they breathe with their mouth open, pant at rest or suddenly go weak in their back legs, contact your vet now. Cardiac auscultation (listening to the heart) is in your plan from their kitten months, and echocardiography (an ultrasound scan of the heart) from their junior years.
Bladder trouble is on their record in their junior and prime years, and their kidneys need watching from their mature years.
Every age, kidneys most of all from 7 years
Why
Bladder trouble is on their record in their junior and prime years, and their kidneys need watching from their mature years.
What to do
Some wet food every day, and two or three wide water bowls away from their food and tray, washed daily. Scoop daily and notice the clumps. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A baseline urinalysis (a urine test) is in your plan in their junior years, so their normal is on record.
They would rather stay beside you than be carried, and a cat who fights being lifted arrives at the vet already upset.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
They would rather stay beside you than be carried, and a cat who fights being lifted arrives at the vet already upset.
What to do
One hand under their chest, one under their back end, held close and put down soon. Leave the carrier out as a bed, so they walk in. Once a week, touch their paws, ears and mouth for a second, then give them a treat.
Dental disease is on their health record from their junior years, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is on their health record from their junior years, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at their teeth and gums. Start brushing as a kitten, a few seconds at a time, with cat toothpaste. Tell your vet if they drop food or chew on one side. A dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan every year from their junior years.
Osteoarthritis (worn, painful joints) is on their health record in old age. A stiff cat stops grooming their back and back end, and new mats can be an early sign.
Every age, most of all from 11 years
Why
Osteoarthritis (worn, painful joints) is on their health record in old age. A stiff cat stops grooming their back and back end, and new mats can be an early sign.
What to do
Notice whether they still jump onto the sofa or go up in stages, and whether mats appear where they never used to. Comb those places for them, and add steps to their favourite spots. A mobility evaluation (joint and movement exam) is in your plan from their senior years.
Six of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Longhair or shorthair
The British Longhair is the British Shorthair in a longer coat. After the Second World War, breeders crossed the few good British cats left with Persians, and the long hair stayed hidden in the family line. For years the long-coated kittens went to homes as pets. Now some cat clubs give them a breed name of their own.
Colours
Blue-grey is the colour most people picture, and it is only the start. They come in almost every colour and pattern the British Shorthair does, from white and black to lilac, tortoiseshell, golden-tipped and tabby.
The first months
A minute a day with a soft brush, then a treat, before the adult coat arrives. A kitten who likes the brush is easy to comb later, and their coat will need you several times a week for life.
Getting the home ready
Air conditioning that stays on while you are out, and a tiled floor to stretch out on. A litter tray long enough for an adult to turn round in, with a low entry, and a cat tree with a broad, heavy base. Buy the adult size now and they will grow into it.
Before you commit
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is on their health record from kittenhood. In the first weeks, ask a vet to listen to their heart and look for anything they were born with, and ask when heart scans are due as they grow.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still leave half his coat on the sofa. If he stops letting you comb the rest, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Roman times onwards
Their history is the British Shorthair's. Cats most likely reached Britain with the Romans, and for centuries they lived on farms, in towns and on the streets, kept for the rats and mice they caught.
What they still carryA sturdy, calm working cat.
1871
At Crystal Palace in London, Harrison Weir wrote the standards, and the British type was set down as a short-coated cat.
What they still carryThe round head and sturdy build.
The 1940s and 1950s
So few good British cats were left after the Second World War that breeders crossed them with Persians. Long hair is recessive, so it stayed hidden, and long-coated kittens kept turning up in shorthair litters.
What they still carryThe semi-long coat, and part of their health record, kidney cysts among it.
Recent decades
Breeders began to keep the long-coated kittens for breeding, not only as pets. Some cat clubs now count them as a breed of their own: a British Shorthair in every way but the coat.
What they still carryA young breed name on an old cat.
Today
A common pedigree cat in the UAE, suited to a quiet indoor life in air conditioning.
What they still carryA placid, heavy cat with a coat they cannot keep clear on their own, shedding all year.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the British Longhair suits you, so might these.
British ShorthairThe same kind of cat: the same round, calm British cat, in a short, plush coat that needs only a weekly comb
Norwegian Forest CatThe same kind of cat: another big northern semi-longhair with a dense coat, more of a climber, with tufted ears
HimalayanThe same calm, quiet temperament, in a flat-faced colourpoint with a coat that needs combing every day
Domestic LonghairA similar coat to comb a few times a week and the same needs in the heat, in a medium-sized cat with no pedigree
