Dale Midkiff was the face of the original Pet Semetary, but let’s be honest. Church the undead housecat stole the show.
To get that specific look right, director Mary Lambert didn’t just grab any cat. She went with British shorthairs. She picked the breed because they looked like sentient plush toys. Round faces. Poofy fur.
It’s a specific aesthetic. And it stuck.
The British shorthair is one of the oldest cat breeds in the world. It has deep roots in history, from ancient vermin control to modern internet fame. Here is how a rodent-slayer became a show-stopping icon.
Did Rome Create the British Shorthair?
Genetics tell us cat domestication started roughly 12,000 years ago. That’s when woolly mammoths were still walking the earth. The ancestors of your modern house cat are Felis silvestris. They lived across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Early farmers liked them. They ate mice and rats. They kept grain stores safe.
The Romans loved them too. Mosaics from Pompeii show cats. Agathias, a historian from the 6th century, kept one.
When Emperor Claudius took over Britain in the first century C.E., his soldiers probably brought their pets with them.
Those Roman cats met the wildcats already roaming the British countryside since the Ice Age. The two populations likely interbred. The result was the ancestor of the modern British shorthair.
Why They Look Like Teddy Bears
For a long time, Britons viewed cats as tools. They were utility animals. Vermin-slayers. Not family members.
That changed in 1871.
Harrison Weir organized the first modern cat show at London’s Crystal Palace. He created anatomical standards to judge the cats. The British shorthair quickly became a favorite.
Lewis Carroll may have been inspired by this breed when he wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat has that same friendly, round look.
Shorthairs have upturned mouths. Their whisker pads are pronounced. Everything about them is rounded.
- The head is distinctly circular.
- The paws are round.
- The legs and neck are thickset.
- The chest is broad.
Their fur is short and dense. It comes in many colors. The most famous is “British Blue,” a solid bluish-gray hue. That is the color of Church in Pet Semetary.
They also come in white, red, black, and various other shades. Some have lighter underbellies. But the eyes are always wide and coppery. They stand out against the dense fur.
Temperament and Internet Fame
British shorthairs are not lap cats.
In cat fancy terms, they are a “four paws on the ground” breed. They dislike being picked up. If you put one in your lap, it will likely leave.
Does that mean they are cold? No.
They are polite. Sweet-tempered. They just cuddle on their own terms. They prefer to sit beside you rather than on you.
They are generally low-maintenance. They don’t meow much. But when they are happy, they purr. Loudly.
A male named Smokey held a Guinness World Record in 2011. His purr hit 90 decibels. It was the loudest ever recorded, until another cat beat it in 2015.
They get along with other pets. They are good with kids. They have laid-back attitudes.
And they are great for memes.
In 2007, a photo of a smiling British shorthair got the caption “I can has Cheezburger?” It became a cultural touchstone. The website built around it sold for $2 million by the end of the year.
Harrison Weir might be amused. The breed that started as a utilitarian worker became the face of early internet humor.
Keeping Them Healthy
These cats are prone to obesity. Owners need to watch their food intake closely.
A healthy adult male weighs 9 to 11 pounds. Females are slightly lighter. They live 14 to 20 years.
That is a long time. A long time to be a round, plush-like companion.
There are still wildcats in Scotland. At least 400 of them hunt rabbits and rodents. They are the last indigenous felines in Great Britain. They hybridize with domestic cats, making a pure count impossible.
But the British shorthair is safe. It’s a breed with history. With style. With a purr that can wake you up.
It started as a rodent hunter. It ended as a meme. And somewhere in between, it became the perfect cat for a horror movie.
