British Longhair Grooming

About the British Longhair

This is the same correction the Nebelung page makes about the Russian Blue, and it is worth repeating because the pattern keeps recurring: a short coated breed and its long coated counterpart look like the same amount of work and are not.

A British Shorthair has a famously dense, plush, crisp coat that stands away from the body, sheds heavily and effectively never mats, because there is not enough length for the undercoat to felt into.

A British Longhair is the same cat with the same dense undercoat at two or three times the length, and that changes everything. It mats in the britches, the ruff and behind the front legs, and it needs combing every two or three days rather than a weekly going over.

Everything else about the cat, the cobby build, the round face, the placid temperament, is identical.

Why length changes everything

The British Shorthair coat is dense rather than long: a very thick undercoat with a crisp outer coat, short enough that shed hair works its way out rather than tangling.

Add length and that stops being true. The same volume of shed undercoat is now caught inside a semi long coat with nowhere to go, and it felts against the skin.

So a British Longhair is a genuinely different grooming proposition from its shorthaired counterpart, and owners who chose one on the strength of the other's easy reputation are regularly caught out.

Comb every two or three days with a fine metal comb, working right down to the skin rather than skimming the surface. A slicker alone moves the top of a plush coat while felt forms underneath.

The places that fail: the britches at the back of the hind legs, the ruff around the neck and chest, behind and under the front legs, and the belly.

The belly is the one owners skip because it means turning the cat over, and it is where mats are found late.

Never cut a mat out with scissors. Cat skin is thin and lifts into the blades, and it is the commonest serious injury owners cause.

The seasonal change, and the sheer volume

British cats of either coat length shed a great deal, and the Longhair does it with more hair attached.

There is steady shedding year round and a heavier change in spring and autumn, when the dense undercoat lifts over several weeks.

Comb daily through the change. It is when tangles form fastest, because loose undercoat has a long outer coat above it to catch in.

It is also the main control on hairballs, which matter on a cat swallowing this much coat.

An occasional hairball is normal. Frequent retching, repeated vomiting, bringing up food rather than hair, or a cat that seems unwell, off its food or constipated is not a hairball problem and needs a veterinarian, since hair can and does obstruct.

Do not clip as a shortcut. A dense plush coat that is clipped often comes back with a changed texture, and a shorter coat does not stop matting, it moves it closer to the skin where it is harder to find and harder to remove safely. Clipping is a rescue for a pelted coat, done by a professional.

Bathing is not routine and drying a coat this dense is a real job.

Weight, and a cat that cannot reach its own back

British cats are cobby, heavy boned and naturally solid, and they are notoriously prone to putting on weight, particularly after neutering.

That combination is a grooming problem as much as a health one. A cat that is too heavy to turn and groom its own hindquarters stops maintaining the britches and the base of the tail, which are already the places most likely to mat.

Matting that appears suddenly on the rump of a previously immaculate cat is a weight, arthritis or dental pain signal rather than a coat one, and it deserves a veterinary conversation before a grooming one.

Feel for the ribs rather than judging by outline, since a plush semi long coat on a naturally round cat hides a very great deal.

British cats are also slow to mature, taking three to five years to reach full size, so a young one that seems to be filling out may simply be growing.

The breed has a known risk of an inherited heart condition, and there is a genetic test, so it is worth asking a breeder about.

A placid cat, which cuts both ways

British cats are famously calm, undemanding and tolerant, and they are typically easy to handle.

That makes the frequent combing this coat needs entirely realistic, and it is the main reason a British Longhair is a manageable longhair rather than a difficult one.

It also means the cat may not complain much when a mat is pulling, which is the same caution the Ragamuffin page raises. Look and feel deliberately rather than waiting to be told.

They are not usually cats that enjoy being picked up and carried, preferring to sit beside you rather than on you, so grooming works best with the cat on a surface next to you rather than held.

Start in kittenhood, keep sessions short, and turn the cat over every session so the belly is genuinely checked.

Claws want tipping every two to three weeks. Provide a sturdy post, since this is a heavy cat, and never consider declawing.

Teeth and ears get the ordinary weekly attention.

What to tell your groomer or vet

Say it is a British Longhair and not a Shorthair, because the coats need very different amounts of work and the reputation of the Shorthair misleads.

Ask for a fine metal comb to the skin, including the belly and britches, not a slicker over the top.

Say the coat is not to be clipped unless it is genuinely pelted.

Say never scissors on a mat.

Mention if the cat has gained weight or is reaching its back end less, since that is usually why new matting appears.

Ask for claws tipped and the mouth looked at.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the British Longhair