Tell me about your British shorthair

[buckeejit]

We got a 6 month boy yest & he is lovely! Always had moggies previously & just wondering if most people let them outside or not? We have a decent sized garden & Id love him to go out if I thought he wouldn't stray too far,our last cat was hit by a car :(. Would be pretty difficult to cat proof the boundaries & won't be an issue for the next month or so while he gets his bearings & settled. I don't think any of the neighbours would lift him & as he's brown he doesn't look too pedigreeish.

He's really scarey when I bring out the da bird toy-goes nuts for it & is ridiculously strong!

Any other tips for them?

Ahhhh he's gorgeous!! We have British Shorthairs (well just 1 at the moment) and they are just the most wonderful cats.

We have our garden cat proofed and a cat flap so they have the run of the house and garden day and night. Ours were housecats for the first 2 years as we were in rented at the time but I have to say they were soooo much happier once they were let out and I would never have housecats again. One of our cats in particular was miserable being only indoors and I still feel guilty about it, she's so happy now! They really can cat proof any boundaries so might be worth looking in to.

Also, as a breed they can tend to overeat, they have no concept of portion control!! so you might need to watch his weight a bit.

Many thanks for the response. I hate the smell of cat poo so would like him to go out for that reason. Do you think if there was a gap somewhere they would wander? I will go and investigate the cat proofing-depends on how cunning he is and how much jumping he'll do. Also' did you use a special cat proofing expert or handyperson?

I have a British Shorthair. She's an outdoor cat, but no cat flap so I can keep her in if I think she's better in. In summer, she's usually out while I'm at work; in winter I like her to spend some time outside, but she doesn't like cold. She has a fair amount of energy and I find she's more able to occupy herself at night if she's been out during the day.

I haven't cat-proofed, but I believe she goes in my garden and the neighbours - she's usually close enough she'll come when called. She gets Dreamies for coming when called, so usually does.

I don't think they're an intrepid breed by nature but he'd probably wander a bit.

We used a proper cat proofing company, it wasn't cheap but does come with a guarantee of containment and if there are any problems they come and sort it out. We've had ours up for 4 years and no breakouts at all. We used a company called Protectapuss who were good.

Great thanks-his claws are insanely sharp-is this a thing with them? It's nuts, I'm going to need a blood transfusion if this goes on!

I might go for keeping him in at night. Will see how he goes

I haven't noticed mine having particularly sharp claws...but maybe I've just got used to it!!

I think it might be that indoor cats don't get the oppportunity to scratch to the same extent and so don't blunt them

That sounds plausible. He has a big scratching post which he uses, also got him one of those corrugated cardboard scratchers that had great reviews but he's not interested in it!

Mine prefers to stay indoors, rarely showing any interest in venturing outside, she likes sitting on a windowsill looking out,but even when the outside doors are open she won't go out in the garden. I just have to make sure that she has a lot of things to keep her amused indoors but certainly saves the worry of what could happen to her outside.

I have a BSH just a bit younger than yours. He has crazy sharp claws too. I'm trying to train him to use the post instead of my arm.
He doesn't go out yet, as he isn't neutered,and I'm not brave enough, but he wants to. He's taken a few steps onto the patio though.
I'm thinking ideally he'll be a house cat but if he's still desperate once he's been done I might try a harness. I hate the thought of losing him.

British shorthairs are a lovely breed! Ive got a cream British shorthair boy who's 4. He's very talkative and stays in doors. He's never been outside. I think I would be too worried about him in our garden incase he escaped and got lost over the back fences. As mentioned they do tend to over eat so definitely keep an eye on their weight! Brushing at least once a week helps too, especially in summer as they shed lots more.

We've got a 5 year old blue cream girl. She is a really chunky example and very tolerant of our 3 kids, although typically she doesn't like being picked up - with the only exception being our 10 year old who is her favourite! I've given up with brushing as it winds her up so much but thankfully she doesn't moult too much!

We are in London backing onto the tube, albeit down a quiet-ish cul de sac but she does go in and out in the day as she pleases through a sureflap. She doesn't seem to roam far as she always comes back quickly when I call her or ring her bell, I do bring her in at night though as she is quite the killer and I hate coming down in the morning to dead bodies!!

Oh and in answer to your litter tray question.. she goes through periods of going outside but typically she comes back in to use it! I'm scared to get rid of it in case she starts messing on the floor instead!!

This was our BSH, Lady. Unfortunately she is no longer with us but oh my was she a huge character. As you can see we let her out, she did like to hunt, and as you can imagine snow provided her with some camouflage. She also had very sharp claws. She was very fond of sitting on my garden table and watching the world go by.

She was very loving and playful. She was actually a very easy going cat.

Attaching the photo might help.

Gorgeous cats! Thanks for all the info-out in the day & in at night may be the way to go-will have a look at those other litter tray options too :)

I've put a deposit done on a BSH, will be coming home in January. Thanks for the tips and photos.

I'm going to keep him indoors until the snip and then look to cat proof the garden. It's only a small garden so hopefully isn't too big a job.