Because they are extremely easy to breed.
(The following statements are rather amateurish. Don’t take them as knowledge points. Although I study medicine and have learned about genetics, it’s human genetics after all. If there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out.)
For example, if you breed two blue – and – white British Shorthairs with perfect “zhengba” (a term referring to a specific facial pattern in cats, usually a well – balanced white – colored area on the face) and of show – quality, it’s possible that not even one kitten with a “zhengba” pattern will be born. The probability of getting a perfect – looking kitten is too low. It requires that the cats’ ancestors five or six generations back all have perfect appearances and stable white – adding genes, so that there is a possibility of having more kittens with a “zhengba” pattern in the offspring.
Let’s talk about Munchkins. Munchkins cannot be bred with Munchkins because it can lead to a narrow chest cavity and affect the heart and lung functions. So, extremely short – legged cats are problematic and should not be bought (similar to Scottish Folds). But even if you have a guilty conscience and breed Munchkins with Munchkins, not all the offspring will be Munchkins. Moreover, when breeding a Munchkin with a normal – legged cat, the probability of getting a Munchkin is basically less than half. Also, Munchkins have a high probability of dystocia, and the survival ability of the fetuses after birth is poor, with a high possibility of premature death. So, the price of Munchkins has always been high.
Take Ragdolls for example. There are many taboos regarding Ragdoll coat colors. For bicolor Ragdolls with open – face patterns, there should be no color patches and no mittens. If it has mittens, it should have a white chin. Most people don’t like the pointed – color type very much (because it looks like a long – haired Siamese). There are also requirements for ear positions, mouth – guards, sweetness of the face, and bone structure. Although the probability of getting a perfect – looking Ragdoll is not low, it’s not 100%. Coupled with the fact that Ragdoll catteries are trying their best to control the price from collapsing, they are still expensive to buy.
Among the coat colors of British Shorthairs, breeding a blue British Shorthair with a blue British Shorthair will definitely produce a blue British Shorthair. This “definitely” is very crucial. It means there is no difference, and customers can’t tell the difference. So, there won’t be a situation like “some cats don’t appeal to customers or are so ugly that they can’t be sold for a long time”.
In addition, about ten years ago? Blue British Shorthairs became extremely popular due to speculation and were once sold for tens of thousands of yuan. Driven by interests, many people started breeding blue British Shorthairs. But because of their high – yield breeding, the market soon collapsed, and many people lost all their money. However, this also led to blue British Shorthairs becoming a widely – bred breed.
So, for low – end catteries, blue British Shorthairs are not very valuable.
But I think this is a misunderstanding.
Because for British Shorthairs, although most people only look at the coat color, the most important thing for British Shorthairs is their bones. The characteristic short – legged, short – bodied, short – tailed, short – nosed, and short – faced appearance of British Shorthairs is the most crucial element. The coat color is not that important. In addition, the number of hair layers is also very important (so they shed a lot of hair).
Ear positions and sizes, mouth – guards, head shapes, breastbones, tail lengths, nose bridge shapes, eye positions and shapes, and so on. So, I think British Shorthairs are more about body shape and breed characteristics than any other cats.
That’s why many high – end catteries can still sell their British Shorthairs at high prices. Because the body shapes and face sizes of their British Shorthairs when they grow up are really incomparable to those of cheap British Shorthairs. These characteristics can’t be achieved by feeding with cheek – developing powder or raw meat. It’s all due to genes.
Even if you have a 12 – color golden shaded British Shorthair and your coat color is very beautiful, but if you have a narrow face and a pointed chin like a Chinese rural cat, it’s not good – looking (of course, I’m not saying Chinese rural cats are not good – looking. I really don’t want to be misunderstood).
Realistically speaking, the British Shorthair of the person who asked the question doesn’t have a good body shape. Its ears are too big and the ear positions are too narrow. The mouth – guard and the degree of cheek – development are not good. The body bones are not very clear, but the nose even seems to have a Roman – nose tendency? It’s hard to say that it has the appearance of a high – end cattery. It’s very ordinary and indeed looks not valuable (you can specifically search for the appearances of “xx champion” and “xx super – champion” British Shorthairs).
Moreover, as mentioned above, when breeding two blue – and – white British Shorthairs with perfect “zhengba” patterns, it’s possible that none of the offspring will have a “zhengba” pattern. What’s more, when breeding a blue British Shorthair with a blue – and – white one, I think it’s better to breed it with a blue British Shorthair. At least breeding blue British Shorthairs won’t go wrong, and they can be stably sold for 500 – 1000 yuan each. Some blue – and – white cats with ugly white – adding patterns are really hard to give away…
So, cat breeding is not something you can do just because you think two cats look good. Otherwise, the hidden genes may show up in the offspring, and you won’t be able to sell them at a high price. Not only do you need to observe the appearances of the parents and their ancestors several generations back and the appearances of the offspring to selectively improve the genes, for example, using fawn – colored American Shorthairs to improve the white – adding effect, and using pointed – color Ragdolls to adjust the face – opening size of the offspring. You also need to do prenatal checks, provide supplementary food, assist in delivery, do first – aid, and feed the kittens to raise these little lives bit by bit.
PS: Let me say again, I’m an amateur!!!! I don’t breed cats!!! I just learned this by casually looking around!!! So, if there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out, but please don’t argue with me! Please!
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