British Shorthair Colours: Blue and Beyond

Why is the British Shorthair known for blue?

Because blue is where the breed's fame began. The CFA says British Shorthairs were first registered in the United States as “British Blues,” and the name has stuck as a nickname for the blue cats. The CCCA standard (December 2024) asks for a “light to medium blue, sound to the roots, with darker tones undesirable,” and says “silver tipping is a fault.” It also notes that the coat texture of the British Blue is the ideal for every colour.

Blue is the dilute form of black. Ishida and colleagues (2006) traced dilution in cats to a recessive variant of the MLPH gene, the same in dilute cats of 26 breeds and in random-bred cats, and the UC Davis dilute page illustrates it with British Shorthair kittens: black diluted to grey, red diluted to cream. Because the gene is recessive, two blue parents can only have dilute kittens. For how the British Blue compares with the Russian Blue, Korat and Chartreux, see our grey cat breeds guide.

We found no council that publishes British Shorthair registrations by colour, so we cannot say what share are blue.

Which colours does each cat council accept?

Pedigree cats in Australia are registered through several bodies, each with its own standard, and British Shorthair breeders also refer to the standard of the UK's GCCF. The four standards we read agree on most colours and differ on a few:

Sources: CCCA British Shorthair standard (issue date December 2024), ACF British Shorthair/Longhair standard (amended June 2024), GCCF standard of points (June 2026 edition, British Shorthair section updated February 2025), CFA show standard (revised 2026), all read 10 November 2026. “Not listed” means the colour is not named in that standard. Standards change; ask a breeder which council registers their cats.

What do lilac, cinnamon, fawn and caramel look like?

These are the names that puzzle people most in ads. In the CCCA's descriptions:

• Chocolate: any shade of chocolate, “but rich, warm, milk chocolate is preferred.”
• Lilac: “warm, soft grey with a pinkish undertone,” anywhere from mushroom pink to soft grey; dark or cold tones are undesirable. Lilac is the dilute form of chocolate, as blue is of black.
• Cinnamon: “rich, reddish brown, with brighter shades preferred.” The CFA calls it “the color of a cinnamon stick, distinctly warmer, lighter and redder than chocolate.”
• Fawn: “pale, warm pinkish fawn,” with paler shades preferred.
• Caramel: “cold, bluish fawn, with a slight metallic overtone.” The ACF standard describes caramel as blue based, lilac based or fawn based.

The genetics behind the browns sit on one gene. The UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory says variants of the Brown gene reduce black pigment: one variant gives chocolate and another gives cinnamon. The dilute gene then softens each one. If you are choosing between a lilac and a blue kitten, look at them in daylight: the CCCA's lilac is warm and pinkish, its blue cold and clear.

What are golden and silver British Shorthairs?

Both are tipped cats: a pale undercoat with colour only on the outer part of each hair. The difference is the undercoat. A silver has a pure white undercoat. A golden, in the CCCA's words, has “a rich, warm cream undercoat instead of pure white.” Each comes in two depths: tipped (light, sparkling tipping, sometimes called shell or chinchilla) and shaded (a darker mantle). A smoke is the deepest of all: it looks solid at rest and shows its white undercoat when it moves.

Golden is where the councils differ most. The CCCA added an interim note in December 2024 saying golden cats “should not be penalised for displaying evidence of the Corin wideband gene,” such as a pink nose and off-white whisker pads, chin, chest, belly and toes, and the ACF standard carries the same note. The CFA does the opposite: it disqualifies “any evidence of the Corin gene as evidenced by white/off-white toes and/or white/off-white on the chest and neck.” So the same golden kitten can be acceptable under one council and disqualified under another.

Eye colour often gives these cats away. The CCCA asks for green or blue-green eyes in black and blue silver and golden tipped cats, and gold to copper in most other tipped colours; the GCCF asks for green eyes in all golden tipped colours. A silver tabby may have “green preferred, hazel, orange or copper” eyes under the CCCA.

Is a colourpoint British Shorthair a real British Shorthair?

In Australia and the UK, yes. The CCCA has a Pointed Group covering seal, blue, chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn, caramel, red and cream points, tortie, tabby and smoke points, with “decidedly blue” eyes, “the deeper the better.” The ACF lists colourpoints, pointed bicolours and golden points, and the GCCF has a Colourpointed group that includes golden pointed cats.

The CFA is the outlier: it disqualifies “evidence of hybridization resulting in the Himalayan pattern with or without white.” The pointed pattern comes from the temperature-sensitive tyrosinase variant that Lyons and colleagues (2005) traced in Siamese-type cats, which is why pointed kittens are born pale and colour in as they grow. The CCCA notes that body colour often darkens with age, particularly in seal points.

The practical point: a colourpoint British Shorthair with CCCA, ACF or GCCF papers is a genuine British Shorthair under those standards. One sold without papers as a “rare” colour is a claim to check, not a fact. The CCCA standard lists no allowable outcross for the breed.

What eye colour goes with each coat?

Source: CCCA British Shorthair standard, December 2024, read 10 November 2026. Other councils differ in detail.

Does colour affect health, personality or price?

Health: no colour link we could source. The breed's health questions apply to every colour. The ACVIM 2020 consensus lists the British Shorthair among pedigree breeds believed to be at increased risk of HCM, a heart muscle disease with no DNA test in this breed; International Cat Care lists it among breeds with more type B blood, which matters for breeding and transfusions. PKD1 kidney testing and the rest are in our British Shorthair adopt-or-buy guide and the British Shorthair health guide. White cats with blue eyes carry a deafness risk in any breed; see our white cats guide.

Personality: no evidence. The standards describe one breed, not one personality per colour. The CFA profile describes British Shorthairs as calm and patient, and the temperament and care guide covers living with one. Meet the individual cat.

Price: the breeder's choice. No Australian British Shorthair club or cat council publishes a kitten price guide that we could find, so we do not quote a range; ask each breeder in writing what their price includes and whether colour changes it. Rescue fees go by age, not colour: RSPCA NSW lists $220 for a cat over six months and $270 for a kitten, and the Cat Protection Society of NSW $150 per cat or kitten (checked 10 November 2026). These are reference figures, not quotes.

Is that grey rescue cat a British Shorthair?

Probably not, though it may have some British ancestry. Dilution is common in ordinary cats, so most grey cats in Australian rescue are blue Domestic Shorthairs. The breed traits are the better clue: the CCCA describes a medium to large, “solid, powerful” cat with a large round head, small rounded ears, large round eyes, a short broad nose and a coat that is “very short, dense, cracking and crisp” and bounces back when you run a hand against it. Without papers, careful rescues list such cats as a British Shorthair cross or a British Blue cross.

Colours other than blue are harder still to place, because a lilac, cinnamon or golden domestic cat is uncommon but possible. Judge the cat in front of you, and ask the foster carer how it behaves. Our moggy colours guide explains the same colours in ordinary cats.

How do you find a British Shorthair in a particular colour?

Be flexible and set alerts. Purebred British Shorthairs reach rescue now and then, usually as adults, and a specific colour narrows the field further; a grey or cream cross may give you the look you want. If you want a papered kitten of an exact colour, a registered breeder is a reasonable choice: check the council membership yourself and ask for the parents' heart and kidney results, as the adopt-or-buy guide explains. Still deciding? Try the what cat breed am I quiz, the adoption readiness check or our adopting a cat guide.

Find a British Shorthair near you

• Sydney: British Shorthairs and crosses, grey cats, kittens, British Shorthair adoption guide
• Melbourne: British Shorthairs and crosses, grey cats, kittens, British Shorthair adoption guide
• Brisbane: British Shorthairs and crosses, grey cats, kittens, British Shorthair adoption guide
• Perth: British Shorthairs and crosses, grey cats, kittens, British Shorthair adoption guide
• Adelaide: British Shorthairs and crosses, grey cats, kittens, British Shorthair adoption guide
• By colour, Australia-wide: grey, cream, black, white and tabby cats, plus the British Shorthair breed page.