British Longhair: A Description of the Breed and Nutrition
The British Longhair is a breed of cats with a half-long coat. Its appearance is similar to the British Shorthair, from which it differs only by the length of its coat. Partly the British Longhair is also called Highlander.
History of the British Longhair
In order to give the British Shorthair the desired build, Persian cats were regularly crossed in during their breeding. One of the consequences of this was that there were always kittens with a long coat in the litters.
After the long coat of these cats was considered as an undesirable blemish for a long time and therefore they were excluded from breeding, it was finally decided to make the British Longhair an independent variety of the British Shorthair.
Meanwhile it is also partly bred purebred. As many British Shorthair cats carry the recessive gene for the long coat, it is also possible to mate long and shorthair cats. This also has the advantage that the gene pool of the British Longhair is not too much restricted.
Meanwhile the British Longhair is even recognized as an independent breed by some clubs. The FiFé has so far granted it a provisional recognition. Although it cannot keep up with the enormous popularity of its shorthaired relatives, the British Longhair cat has long been very popular with many cat lovers.
Appearance of the British Longhair
The British Longhair has a stocky body and quite short, strong legs. The medium to large cat breed can reach a weight of up to eight kilograms. Female specimens, however, do not normally weigh more than six kilos.
The head of the British Longhair is large and round. In combination with its big round eyes and the rather small ears this makes the British Longhair cat sometimes a little bit like a teddy bear.
The eyes may be green, blue, yellow, orange and copper coloured. But they should always match the coat colour of the respective quadruped.
The coat of the British Longhair
The coat of the British Longhair is medium long and dense. It has a fluffy structure and has a luxuriant undercoat. As the coat stands slightly away from the body, the already strong stature of the British Longhair is further emphasized.
There are almost no restrictions with regard to coat colour. Accordingly, numerous different colour variations are possible. British Longhair cats with a silver coat are especially popular.
Character of the British Longhair
The British Longhair is characterized by a friendly character and a calm nature. She does not tend to be nervous or hectic and prefers to take it easy. She likes to spend time near her human companions, with whom the sociable domestic cat builds up a very close relationship.
The play instinct and the urge to move of the British Longhair is only moderately pronounced. Even though they have a lot of cat toys in their everyday life, it is the cuddling together that makes them especially happy.
With other pets the British Longhair usually gets along very well. This also applies to children living in the household, where its high stress tolerance is a major advantage.
Keeping and care of the British Longhair
The British Longhair is an excellent indoor cat. As long as it gets enough attention, it proves to be a pleasant and undemanding roommate, who is completely satisfied with occasional playing hours.
Although the British Longhair is not afraid of water unlike most other cats, it should not be bathed regularly. This can affect the health of the skin and coat.
The luxuriant coat of the British Longhair should be brushed regularly if possible. This will help to avoid knots and remove loose hairs. If the cat is changing coat, it may even be advisable to brush daily.
British Longhair Diseases
When buying a British Longhair, you should make sure to choose a serious breeder. As with her short-haired relatives, inbreeding is unfortunately quite widespread and is associated with numerous health problems for affected Highlanders.
Besides PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) also HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) is not uncommon in British Longhair cats. In addition, owners should keep an eye on their cat's teeth, among other things, as well as pay attention to possible infestation with parasites such as cat fleas and the possibility of contracting non-racial cat diseases.
Furthermore, due to the massive build of the British Longhair, the stocky cats may suffer from osteoarthritis and other problems with the joints.
The life expectancy of the British Longhair
Usually the British Longhair reaches an age of 12 to 15 years. How old the cat becomes, however, is influenced by various factors. Especially inbreeding can shorten the life expectancy of the British Longhair significantly.
The right food for the British Longhair
The British Longhair is not exactly one of the most active cats. This circumstance makes itself noticeable among other things by a certain tendency to overweight. In order to counteract this and to avoid the health consequences of obesity, it is very important to determine the correct amount of food for each cat.
In addition, however, you should also pay attention to the quality of the cat food and give preference to high-quality products such as those in the I love my cat range.
Our wet and dry food for cats is free of grain and other inferior ingredients. Instead, it provides your British Longhair with important animal proteins that your cat's organism urgently needs.
In addition to a good cat food, the following products can be useful for your British Longhair if required:
- Joint & Bone Capsules with Ovopet as a nutrient supplier for the joints
- Kidney power powder to support the kidneys in a natural way
- Shiimun Skin, to provide additional nutrients to the skin and coat
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