The British Shorthair Cat is a medium to large cat with a compact and well developed body. It has a full and broad chest supporting, on a short thick neck, a broad, round, massive head. The face and underlying bone structure are also rounded together with the forehead which is slightly flattened on the top of the head and should not slope.The nose is of medium size and is broad and straight with nose leather in keeping with the coat colour. It has large round eyes which are either blue,copper or orange in colour according to the coat colour. Its legs are strong and short with a heavy bone structure with large, firm and rounded paws complete with paw pads complimenting the coat colour. Its tail is medium in length and thick tapering to a round end. It has a single coat which is dense and resilient and only requires minimal maintenance to look good.

Non-commercial organisations focussed primarily on the British Shorthair Cat with members who are actively working for the promotion and wellbeing of the British Shorthair Cat.