Origin
British Shorthairs are the descendants of cats that were brought to Britain by the Romans that interbred with wild native cats. They were later crossbred with Persian cats to improve the thickness of their coat. The breed were exceedingly popular in the 19th century and were shown at the 1871 Crystal Palace cat show. The popularity of the breed declined during the 1940s, but since the end of World War II, breeding programmes have intensified and the breed's popularity is at a high once again.
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