Golden British Shorthair Cats: Where to Find & All About

Golden British Shorthairs are some of the most rare cats (in terms of color) in the entire breed. How do gold British Shorthairs compare to other, more common British Shorthairs? We’ll cover this and more (such as where to buy these cute, fluffy guys below).

Origins & History of Golden British Shorthair Cats

Golden British Shorthairs (and British Shorthairs in general) are actually descended from the cats of Ancient Rome (via Ancient Egypt). So, how did they get “British” in their name? When the Romans invaded Britain in the first century AD, they took these fluffy little guys with them.

On a slightly more troubling note, British Shorthairs actually almost went extinct in the early twentieth century. By then the longer haired domestic breeds (of Britain) had eclipsed the British Shorthair in popularity. To make sure they survived, lovers and connoisseurs of shorthairs bred their beloved felines with Persians and other cat breeds. By 1980, the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) recognized them as an official breed in America. Hooray!

Also, fun fact – golden cats are believed to be usherers of wealth and prosperity – all the more reason to bring a Golden British Shorthair into your life (:

Appearance of Golden British Shorthairs

They are often compared to Teddy Bears because, well, look at them.

In general, British Shorthair cats come in white, black, red, gold, and silver, among other fur colors. You’ll also spot British Shorthairs with color-point, tortoiseshell, bicolor, and tabby patterns. As for their eye colors, they range from gold to copper to blue-green. For the golden guys and girls, they are some of the best looking of the entire breed.

For golden British Shorthair cats, just like normal British Blues they have thick and plush coats, a stock and muscular body, and a rounded face with cute, chubby cheeks. Nearly everything about them is round.

The Cat Fancier’s Breed Standard depicts two types of goldens – shaded golden and chinchilla golden. We define each in detail below (according to the breed guide).  

Shaded Golden – the non-silver version of the shaded/tipped British Shorthair in which the undercoat is a rich warm cream color, with a mantle of black/dark brown tipping. The coat on the back, flanks, head, ears and tail should be tipped with color. The tipping should be evenly distributed and it is the even distribution rather than the degree of tipping which is of paramount importance. The legs should show tipping which will decrease towards the paws, but which should be as even as possible. The chin, stomach, chest and under tail is a pale apricot color.

Chinchilla Golden – undercoat pale honey to bright apricot. Coat on back, flanks, head and tail sufficiently tipped with black to enhance a golden appearance. Legs and end of tail may be shaded with tipping. Chin, ear tufts, stomach and chest to be consistent dilute color, much lighter in tone than the undercoat color. The general effect is lighter than a shaded golden due to less tipping. Rims of eyes, lips and nose outlined with black.

Where to Find Golden British Shorthair Cats

The below catteries and breeders all focus in full or in part on golden shorthairs. These are great, reputable places to potentially pick up your next best friend.

• If you’re near Texas, check out the British Shorthair Cattery, their cattery is TICA-registered and the cats have origins of the best European Champion bloodlines.
• If you’re near New York, you’ll want to visit Emerald Cats, their golden shorthair cats have a black undercoat and they’re expecting a new litter this year in 2022.
• If you’re near the Pacific Northwest, Silvertales Cattery in Washington State has a great variety of silver, golden and chinchilla colors for British Longhair and Shorthair kittens. Heavenly British Cats is another good option and is located closer to Portland, Oregon. They breed their cats exclusively indoors and with their children (ages 1 through 10). This can be a great option for getting a cat that is already used to your normal daily life.
• Tesoro is a cattery in the NYC metro as well that offers beautiful golden tabby’s for sale (remember, tabby’s are a fur pattern, not a color).

Famous Golden British Shorthairs

• Recently famous, Pisco the Cat is perhaps the most heart-melting British Shorthair you’ll ever lay eyes on. This little ball of fire lives in New York, NY and has over half a million followers on Instagram! Pisco’s owner likes to dress him up a lot and give him what is called “cheek squeezes“… so cute!

• In fact, Pisco is now being dubbed “real life Puss in Boots“. Don’t know who Puss in Boots is? Puss is the cat in Shrek 2 with ginger-tinged fur and large saucer eyes. Apparently, Pisco now loves to be cuddled after a period of time early on when his owners got him where he didn’t want to be touched at all. This is very characteristic of British Shorthairs in general – they tend to want at least two paws on the ground at all times, however, once they get comfortable enough around you they’ll learn to become cuddly at the end of the day (it just might take awhile, even years).

Caring for Golden British Shorthairs

The very first thing to know about caring for golden British Shorthairs is that they put on weight easily. Why? Because they love their food, and because they are very laidback – this is a combination that can lead to some extra pounds in no time. So watch out and don’t feed your little Puss in Boots too much, and make sure to play with your fluff ball at least once a day. Scratching posts are also a great way to increase your fluffy one’s activity levels. If you don’t give them or allow them a healthy dose of exercise, obesity can catch up and often times leads to diabetes and osteoarthritis. Make sure to select a good brand as well. That means food that is high in protein, grain free and with named meat as the main ingredient. The Golden Shorthair should be fed a few small meals throughout the day rather than a couple of large ones.

The next thing to know about caring for your new golden shorthair is that they don’t need much grooming. Even though they have some of the densest fur of any cat breed, they bathe themselves pretty much constantly. You should, as a general rule, comb their fur once every couple weeks at the latest. This is because they can evolve a tendency to get “mats” – thick patches of fur that are clumped together and hard to remove. You’ll want to likely avoid this because it can get fairly difficult to remove these patches, especially if your Golden Shorthair is new in your life and isn’t quite comfortable being held or picked up.  

Lastly, you’ll want to consider brushing your golden shorthair’s teeth. All cats are prone to develop cavities and gum disease if their teeth aren’t brushed, but shorthairs have even more of a propensity for this sort of thing (science isn’t quite sure why just yet). This can be a difficult maneuver, in part because Shorthairs love attention, but hate attention in the wrong areas (like their mouth). If you can get away with brushing their teeth every week, that is perfect. In the end, it is likely your cat may need to get its teeth removed after a few years at the vet if the teeth are not being brushed on a regular basis. Meat-flavored toothpaste is a helpful and nifty trick in winning over your feline in this department, try it out!