This is a typical example of a breed born in the wilderness, because the British Shorthair appeared in the English countryside. A British Shorthair won the first feline exhibition in 1871 at Crystal Palace in London.
This cat born in the English countryside almost disappeared during the Second World War. Breeders then resorted to several breeds, but mainly the Persian one, to revive breed and round up the British type. This quickly led to the emergence of the British Longhair with the introduction of Persian’s longhair gene.
