Although undemanding and gentle, this elegant cat may be intolerant of being handled.
Black-and-white British Shorthairs were much valued in the 19th century when this breed had its beginnings, but they were never common. The Bicolor as it is today, which comes in several combinations of white and another color, was not fully developed until the 1960s.
At that time, almost impossibly high breeding standards required the color patches to be distributed over head and body with complete symmetry. The rules have since been relaxed, but the best Bicolors still have strikingly even markings.
Origin: UK, 1800s
Breed registries: CFA, FIFe, GCCF, TICA
Weight range: 9–18 lb (4–8 kg)
Grooming: Weekly
Colors and patterns: Black and white, blue and white, red and white, and cream and white.