Originally Posted by Jen26

"During World War I many breeds of cat were almost decimated. The British Shorthair was one such breed. After the war breeders attempted to re-establish the breed. As numbers were low, British Shorthairs were sometimes mated to Persian cats. The GCCF objected to the use of Persian cats & the offspring were not permitted to be shown or registered as British Shorthairs. The offspring were mated back to British Shorthairs & after three generations they were permitted to be registered as British Shorthairs.In the 1930's, Kit Wilson became involved with the breed. After World War II very few British Shorthairs survived. Breeders turned to unregistered domestics, Russian Blue's & Chartreaux to help restore the breed. The offspring off these matings didn't match the British Shorthair type so once again Persians were used to try & re-create the look of the British type"



Here you go