The British Longhair cat…
If you’ve been following our Facebook page for the last week or two, you’ll have spotted two very cute and extremely mischievous little bundles of fluff – Muffin & Treacle – who are British Longhair kittens. We’re very familiar with the British Shorthair, and its most common variant the British Blue, and welcome lots of them as regular guests.
But this is the first time we’ve welcomed British Longhairs in the cattery – it’s a new breed for all of us and it might be for you too. So just a few fun facts about this lovely breed, which originated in Great Britain in the early 20th century as a result of crossing British Shorthairs with Persians and has only been formally recognised as a breed since 2009.
- they’re medium sized, with long soft plush coats in a wide range of colours including black, chocolate, golden, lilac (like our little two guests) and bi-colour, and a pretty, smiling round face
- they’re sweet-tempered, affectionate, loyal and undemanding and known for their calm temperament
- they’re very social and chatty but also laid-back and independent
- they tend to be a bit lazy, especially as they age, and are then prone to being overweight – but they’d usually much rather snooze than take exercise! Males, which are significantly bigger than females, can weigh up to 18 pounds!
- their lifespan tends to be from around 12 – 18 years, though some have been known to make it to 20 years
We’ve all fallen totally in love with these two – well, we fall in love with most of our guests! – and seen a lot of these characteristics already (though not the laziness!). We look forward to watching them grow up and seeing much more of them in years to come.
And if you have a breed of cat that you’d like us to feature, get in touch and let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.
Cheryl & Pete xx
We are always ready to take on your furry friends at The Cat’s Whiskers cattery.
Call us, email us, whenever.
