British Shorthair, 2024 (Farm World by Schleich)

To start this review I again extend my thanks to the folks at Happy Hen Toys for donating this review sample. I had this figure on my radar when it was announced, but was hesitant to pursue it. I am grateful for the opportunity to receive it so I can evaluate it in-hand!

In my last review on the Blog, I talked briefly about the origins of domestic cats and how they are probably descended from one of the populations of the African wildcat (Felis lybica), rather than the European wildcat (F. sylvestris). That being said, the subject of today’s review does indeed have some connections to F. sylvestris! The British Shorthair is one of the oldest known breeds of domestic cat, and is considered the modern embodiment of Ancient Roman cats. As its name suggests, the breed originated in British Isles. It is unknown when domestic cats reached the British Isles, but it appears feral cats reached the islands before the Romans colonized it. These feral domestic cats interbred with the native European wildcat resulting in large, robust cats with a short but thick coat.

In the 19th century, selective breeding of these cats occurred, with an emphasis on the unusual blue-grey variant known today as the British Blue (to distinguish it from the Russian Blue). Around the time of World War I, the popularity of the British Shorthair started to drop after the introduction of long-haired breeds such as Persians. Some breeders crossed British Shorthair with Persians, resulting in the British Longhair. Over the next few decades, British Shorthair would also be crossbred with Russian Blues and Chartreux. By the 1970s, breeders tried to reestablish the true British Shorthair and in the late 1970s, the breed was formally recognized by the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA). Nowadays, it is back to being the most popular breed in the UK. Today we will be looking at the 2024 British Shorthair by Schleich, the second iteration of this breed by the German company, following the original from 1997-2001.

The British Shorthair is one of the larger breeds of shorthaired cats. Today’s model by Schleich measures approximately 2.5 cm tall at the shoulders for a scale of 1:12-1:18.

When I first received this figure I wasn’t sure how well it was constructed. But the more I studied the breed’s characteristics and standards, the more I liked it. It has several features defined by the CFA: stocky body, round head, rounded paws, and a medium-length tail that terminates in a rounded tip. The body might be a little short, but it could just be due to the alert posture the cat is sculpted in. The cat is looking up and to its right, perhaps it’s about to get a treat from its owner!

Now for the color. I had a hard time interpreting the color on this figure. British Shorthairs can come in a very wide variety of colors, and are even allowed various patterns, including colorpoint, tabby, bicolor, smoke, and even mixes of colors such as tortoiseshell. This figure appears to be painted as the traditional British Blue (although maybe a bit too grey), but it has a pale underside, from the chin to the groin. The pale part is not white enough nor covers enough area to be a qualifier for a true bicolor coat. I’ve seen pics online with some British Shorthair cats having this kind of subtle pale venter, but I cannot tell if it is considered desirable or a possible disqualifier in show. If anyone knows, I’d be happy to learn! The eyes are large and painted golden-yellow, which is the standard for most color types of British Shorthair. The paw pads are the same shade of blue over most of the body, which is accurate for a true British Blue.

Overall this is a decent rendition of the British Shorthair. There haven’t been many versions of this breed produced in our hobby, and looking at pics on Toy Animal Wiki, most of them come across as generic shorthair cats. That being said, looking only at pics online, the original 1997 Schleich model may have captured the overall look of the breed better than this 2024 replacement. Schleich has been hit-and-miss with domestic cats as of late. Some, like the 2023 Abyssinian, are well done, while others like the 2020 American Shorthair and the 2021 Bengal leave more to be desired. This British Shorthair is available in the US at Happy Hen Toys or wherever Schleich figures are sold.