British Shorthair Colors – How many colors are there?

How to choose the most beautiful British shorthair based on their color?

Have you ever wondered what colors can a British shorthair cat have? I know I did. They are a very popular breed, but a lot of people don’t know too many details about them. That is why in this article I’m going to present to you what color they can have, what they mean and a lot more.

What colors can a British Shorthair have?

I will tell you from the beginning that I’m not going to explain every color they can have. However, I will list them all and then going to explain some of them, because this breed can come in a lot of different colors.

They can come in white, black, chocolate, red, blue, lilac, cream, cinnamon, fawn, black tortie, chocolate tortie, blue tortie, lilac tortie, cinnamon tortie, fawn tortie, smoke, silver or gold shaded, silver or gold shell, classy tabby, classic silver or golden tabby, mackerel, silver or gold tiger, spotted, silver or golden spotted, color-point and finally tabby color-point.

• Blue
• White
• Red
• Chocolate
• Cream
• Cinnamon
• Fawn
• Black tortie
• Chocolate tortie
• Blue tortie
• Lilac tortie
• Cinnamon tortie
• Fawn tortie
• Smoke
• Silver
• Gold
• Silver or gold shell
• Classic tabby
• Classic silver or golden tabby
• Mackerel
• Silver or gold tiger
• Spotted
• Silver or golden spotted
• Color-point
• Tabby color point

Hoping that this big list didn’t make you bored or made you quit reading, we are going to get to the next topic of this article which is hopefully more interesting for you.

Most popular colors

If you ask anyone who knows something about cats what is the color of this breed, he will answer “blue”. Although that is not wrong, it is not correct either. The most popular color of these cats is called British Blue, just like the breed.

This is also the most preferred color by the cat lovers. Everyone that likes this breed is going to get this color specifically. However, there are a lot of unusual and beautiful colors that will make this kitty look like a princess.

Rarest colors

If a very popular color does exist, obviously there will be a rare color among this breed as well. Cinnamon and Fawn are 2 examples. In Australia, there is only 1 breeder that can breed cats in order to create these colors. They imported both Catbalu Cinnamon Cinders of Cuddleton and Catbalu Cuddleton from the UK just to create this rare color.

They are very similar colors, fawn being the diluted version of cinnamon. It is a rusty, reddy brown color, that most people find very cute on a cat. However, very few people know about cat color, meaning in general. That’s why I’m going to tell you about them. Although I don’t recommend going clueless to an exam just because you have a green cat.

Color meanings

A gold fur on a cat could mean that it will bring a lot of wealth to you. Funny fact: all of America coins contain a gold cat. Again, that doesn’t mean that getting a gold cat will make you rich. It is just a superstition, that not many people believe.

Next up, we have the white colors. Those cats will attract happiness, purity and give you positive energy. I mean, come on. How can you stay upset when you see a beautiful white cat. With funny behavior as well. It is practically impossible.

Although most of the people say that black cats bring bad luck and you should do some sort of things in order to undo this when a black kitty cuts your path, that is not true at all.

Actually, black cats energy can provide safety and even keep away evil energies. What an interesting fact, right?

If your cat is a faded gold or a kind of yellow, you are lucky. Just like the gold ones, they attract wealth and prosperity.

A blue cat can also make you feel safer and bring academic fortune. And because most of the cats in this breed are blue, you are lucky. That fact only should make you buy one of those.

About their coat, patterns, and breeding

If you do know details about their colors, you probably want to know some similar things, like coat and patterns. The coat is, besides the ears, one of the defining features of the breed. It feels kind of like plush compared to other cats textures, wholly or fluffy. It is also very dense and nice to feel. You will let this kind of cat out of your arms so easily.

The tabby patterns include examples like Classic Tabby, Mackerel Tabby, Spotted & Ticked Tabby. Also, the non-tabby patterns include Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Van patterns Bi-Colour & White, Smoke Tipped and Colourpointed.

Because we mentioned those and may seem pretty hard to imagine, I will explain some of these as well.

The term of tortoiseshell just means their coat is a mix of two colors. In order to breed 2 cats to create this pattern, you need to know what you are doing. You need a Red color gene cat because they have the X chromosome.

Male cats always have one X gene, but on the other hand, female cats get 2. When girls kitty gets an X gene with Red and an X gene with other colors, boom. You will get a little kitty with the tortoiseshell pattern.

In order to get a bicolor cat, you also need a special gene. The bicolor gene will spread along the kitten’s bodies in the womb, but will not reach their chest or feet. That is why it is going to be very hard to find 2 cats with the same patterns.

And now, I know your question. Aren’t bicolor and tortoiseshell exactly the same thing? The answer is yes and no. They may seem very similar, but they aren’t identical. One is more blobs of color and the other one is more of a blend of colors. Hope I didn’t confuse you too much right now.

Eye Colors

Before telling you the examples, let me talk about the theoretic part as well. The eye color of a cat and even human is determined by the amount of pigment that the iris has. So no, eyes are not made of random colors. If the iris has a lot of pigment, the eyes will be orange. Otherwise, if the iris has absolutely no pigment, the eyes will be blue. Funny, huh? That blue eyes considered the most beautiful color even at humans, are not special at all. You just need to be blessed with no pigment in the iris.

Those 2 along with yellow and green are the most popular colors of British shorthair eyes. If you are wondering how much pigment do cats need in the iris in order to create these last 2 ones, I can’t answer exactly. They are approximately at the middle of these 2 extremes.

The eye color that a British Shorthair has depends on his coat color. You already know those could be found in a lot of colors, so talking about each eye color for every coat color is going to take a lot of time. That’s why I’m only going to tell you only how specialists know how to tell which are the rare cats.

Usually, orange amber and gold eyes are considered the most beautiful for a cat from this breed. This information is only applicable when the cat has one of this colors: black, blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn, red, cream and sometimes silver tabby. As for the rest of the colors, green eyes are considered the rarest and beautiful and sometimes blue.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this breed can come in a bunch of colors, patterns and even eyes color can be an important detail, that will sometimes determine the rarity of the cat. However, I don’t suggest believing in superstitions and getting the color you like.

Even though cats are considered very clean animals that can take care of dirt by licking their fur, the color can determine how many times you need to wash the kitty. A white cat is going to need a lot of them in order to look amazing.

You should keep that in mind as well when choosing a British Shorthair or any cat in general. Help me and the people reading this article giving some bits of advice. What color of Brittish shorthair do you want to get? How do you manage to keep it clean and how well does it look?