than woolly or fluffy, with a firm, "crisp" pile that breaks noticeably over the cat's body as it moves. Although the British Blue remains the most familiar variant, British Shorthairs have been developed in many other colours and patterns. Black, blue, white, red, cream, silver, golden and—most recently—cinnamon and fawn are accepted by all official standards, either solid or in colourpoint, tabby, shaded and bicolour patterns; the GCCF, FIFe and TICA also accept chocolate and its dilute lilac, disallowed in the CFA standard. All colours and patterns also have tortoiseshell variants. The Tabby patterns include: Classic Tabby, Mackerel Tabby, Spotted & Ticked Tabby. The non-tabby patterns include: Tortoiseshell, Bi-Colour, Van patterns Bi-Colour & White, Smoke, Tipped & Colourpointed. British Shorthair's nose color: black, cherry red, brick red; a circle of black nasal line on the periphery. Temperament British Shorthairs are an easygoing and dignified breed, not as active and playful as many, but sweet-natured and devoted to their owners, making them a favorite of animal trainers. They tend to be safe around other pets and children since they will tolerate a fair amount of physical interaction, but as a rule do not like to be picked up or carried. They require only minimal grooming and take well to being kept as indoor-only cats; however, they can be prone to obesity unless care is taken with their diet. They are quiet and vigilant, but if they trust their owners, they will silently follow the owners’ activities and stay with them. British Shorthair cats are not lap cats. They are more accustomed to staying beside people than squatting on people’s laps. Similarly, they prefer the feeling of having their feet on the ground. They have low voice and a moderate activity level. When there is no one at home, they will stay at home quietly and wait for their owners to come back. Health The UK breed committee considers the British Shorthair a long-lived cat, with a life expectancy of 14–20 years. Vet clinic data from England shows a median lifespan of 11.8 years. Swedish insurance data puts the median lifespan of the breed at > 12.5 years. 82% of British Shorthairs lived to 10 years or more and 54% lived to 12.5 years or more. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can be a problem in the breed. A Danish prevalence study with more than 329 cats showed that 20.4% of males and 2.1%