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Breed guide · Cats
She follows me into every room. I've stopped trying to carry her into any of them.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Follows you from room to room and sits beside you, then goes stiff the moment you lift them.
What's going onThey love you from a short distance. Let them stay beside you. When you must lift them, use two hands, one under the chest and one under the back end, and keep it short.
At home
A big, plush cat who looks the same from one month to the next.
What's going onBritish Shorthairs are prone to putting on weight from their junior years, and their build hides it. Weigh their food, weigh them monthly, and feel for their ribs rather than trusting the outline.
At home
Content all day while you are at work, and no fuss when you get home.
What's going onThey cope well when left alone, which makes them easy to live with. It also means they will not tell you when something changes. Notice what they eat, drink and leave in the tray.
At home
At the window, jaw chattering, for as long as the pigeons stay on the rail.
What's going onTheir ancestors were patient working mousers, and watching is half of the hunt. A wand toy moved along the floor, with a catch at the end, gives them the other half.
At home
Sleeps a great deal, plays a little, and looks perfectly well.
What's going onHypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) is on their health record at every stage, 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
Fur on the sofa all year, though the coat looks short.
What's going onTheir coat is short but very dense, and they shed plenty of it. A weekly comb, more when they moult, keeps it off the sofa and gives you a regular look at their skin.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their work
Built for: Keeping down the rats and mice on farms and streets.
In Dubai: A flat with nothing to catch, and a full bowl.
Their coat
Built for: A dense coat built for cold winters.
In Dubai: Air conditioning through a Gulf summer.
Their nature
Built for: Calm, content alone and slow to complain.
In Dubai: Weight that goes on quietly, and a change hidden well.
They need their food weighed, an eye kept on them, and a little play every day.
Your British Shorthair was a working cat for far longer than they have been a teddy bear. They do not need much entertaining, and that calm is exactly why their problems are easy to miss. The ten things below are how you catch them early.
Your plan is built around what a British Shorthair is prone to at every age, from their heart and kidneys to their weight, and the care that goes with each one.
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Ten things that make their life better.
Their coat is short but very dense, and a weekly comb is also a weekly look at their skin and body.
Every age, more when they moult
Why
Their coat is short but very dense, and a weekly comb is also a weekly look at their skin and body.
What to do
A few minutes with a wide-toothed metal comb or a rubber brush, once a week and more when they moult. Pair it with a treat, and use the time to run your hands over their whole body.
Cats sweat only through their paw pads, and it does little to cool them. A dense coat on a heavy body holds 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 dense coat on a heavy body holds 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. 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 Shorthairs put on weight easily from their junior years, and diabetes becomes a risk in their mature years.
Every age, most of all from 7 months to 10 years
Why
British Shorthairs put on weight easily from their junior years, and diabetes becomes a risk in their mature years.
What to do
Weigh their daily food. Weigh them monthly: step on the scales holding them, then without them, and take the difference. Feel for their ribs once a week. 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 on a full bowl moves very little, and their weight shows it.
Every age, slower games from 11 years
Why
A calm cat on a full bowl moves very little, and their weight shows it.
What to do
Two short wand-toy sessions a day, before their meals, moving the toy 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 tray they have to crouch in 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 tray they have to crouch in 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. One tray per cat, plus one, in different rooms. Buy the adult size now and they will grow into it.
British Shorthairs are prone to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) at every age, and a calm cat shows little.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
British Shorthairs are prone to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) at every age, 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.
British Shorthairs are prone to Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) from kittenhood, and to bladder trouble in their junior and prime years.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
British Shorthairs are prone to Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) from kittenhood, and to bladder trouble in their junior and prime years.
What to do
Some wet food every day, and two or three wide water bowls away from their food and tray. 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 not be picked up at all, and a cat who fights being lifted arrives at the vet already upset.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
They would rather not be picked up at all, 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 a risk from their junior years, and cats keep eating with sore teeth.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is a risk 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.
Cats hide sore joints, and extra weight makes them worse. A heavy cat puts more load through every jump.
Every age, most of all from 11 years
Why
Cats hide sore joints, and extra weight makes them worse. A heavy cat puts more load through every jump.
What to do
Notice whether they still jump straight onto the bed or the sofa, or start going up in stages. Keep them lean. Add steps by their favourite high places before they need them. A mobility evaluation (joint and movement exam) is in your plan from their senior years.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
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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.
Shorthair or longhair
After the Second World War, breeders crossed the few good cats left with Persians to rebuild the breed. Those crosses brought in the long-hair gene, which gave the British Longhair: the same round, calm cat, in a longer coat that needs combing several times a week.
Colours
Blue-grey is the colour most people picture, and it is only the start. They come in almost every colour and pattern a cat can have, from white and black to lilac, cream, golden and tabby.
The first months
A few seconds held in two hands, then down and a treat. Leave the carrier out as a bed. A kitten who learns both now grows into a heavy adult who does not fight either.
Getting the home ready
A litter tray long enough for an adult to turn round in, with a low entry, a cat tree with a broad, heavy base, and a scratching post tall enough for a full stretch. They take about three years to reach full size.
Before you commit
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) can show up from kittenhood. Before you buy, ask to see both parents' kidney results.
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.
She'll still refuse to be carried. If she stops following you from room to room, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Roman times onwards
Cats have lived in Britain since at least Roman times. For centuries they lived on farms, in towns and on the streets, kept for what they caught, never for their looks.
What they still carryA sturdy, calm working cat with a short, dense coat.
1871
At Crystal Palace in London, the artist Harrison Weir set out what a show cat should look like, and his own blue tabby shorthair won best in show.
What they still carryThe round, sturdy look, on top of the working cat.
The 1940s and 1950s
So few good cats were left that breeders crossed them with Persians to rebuild the breed.
What they still carryThe plush coat, and very probably some inherited conditions too, kidney cysts among them.
1980
The Cat Fanciers' Association gave the British Shorthair championship status in May 1980.
What they still carryA pedigree cat known around the world.
Today
A very common pedigree cat in the UAE, well suited to a quiet indoor life.
What they still carryA placid working cat who puts on weight easily, prefers not to be picked up and hides change well.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the British Shorthair suits you, so might these.
British LonghairThe same kind of cat: the same round, calm British cat, in a semi-long coat that needs combing several times a week
ChartreuxThe same kind of cat: another sturdy, quiet working cat in a plush blue coat, with copper to gold eyes
PersianThe same calm, quiet, unhurried temperament, in a long coat that needs a daily comb and a flat face that feels the heat
BirmanA similar size and an easy coat for flat life, in a pointed cat with white paws who wants far more of your company
