Editing British Shorthair (section)

== Health ==
A UK study looking at veterinary records found a life expectancy of 9.58 years for the British Shorthair and British Longhair compared to 11.74 years overall.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Teng | first1=Kendy Tzu-yun | last2=Brodbelt | first2=Dave C | last3=Church | first3=David B | last4=O’Neill | first4=Dan G | title=Life tables of annual life expectancy and risk factors for mortality in cats in the UK | journal=Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery | volume=26 | issue=5 | date=2024 | pages=1098612X241234556 | issn=1098-612X | doi=10.1177/1098612X241234556 | doi-access=free | pmid=38714312 | pmc=11156239 }}</ref> Swedish insurance data puts the median lifespan of the breed at >12.5 years. Eighty-two percent of British Shorthairs lived to 10 years or more, and 54% lived to 12.5 years or more.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Egenvall |first1=A. |last2=Nødtvedt |first2=A. |last3=Häggström |first3=J. |last4=Ström Holst |first4=B. |last5=Möller |first5=L. |last6=Bonnett |first6=B. N. |title=Mortality of Life-Insured Swedish Cats during 1999–2006: Age, Breed, Sex, and Diagnosis |journal=Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=1175–1183 |year=2009 |pmid=19780926 |doi=10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0396.x |pmc=7167180}}</ref>

[[Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy]] (HCM) can be a problem in the breed. A Danish prevalence study with more than 329 cats showed that 20.4% of males and 2.1% of the females had HCM, with an additional 6.4% of males and 3.5% of females judged to be equivocal.<ref name="doi10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0751.x">{{Cite journal |last1=Granström |first1=S. |last2=Nyberg Godiksen |first2=M. T. |last3=Christiansen |first3=M. |last4=Pipper |first4=C. B. |last5=Willesen |first5=J. T. |last6=Koch |first6=J. |doi=10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0751.x |title=Prevalence of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in a Cohort of British Shorthair Cats in Denmark |journal=Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=866–871 |year=2011 |pmid= 21736622|doi-access=free}}</ref> HCM testing of males used for breeding is now mandatory for breeders organised under the Danish Fife member, Felis Danica.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.felisdanica.dk/index.php?SectionID=86&WebsiteID=1&LanguageID=1 |title=Felis Danica |publisher=Felisdanica.dk |access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref>

The breed is thought to be at high risk of [[polycystic kidney disease]] (PKD).<ref>{{cite web|title=Polycystic kidney disease (PKD): Gene test and negative register|url=http://www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/cat-health/polycystic-kidney-disease-pkd-gene-test-and-negative-register-0|publisher=International Cat Care|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102081409/http://www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/cat-health/polycystic-kidney-disease-pkd-gene-test-and-negative-register-0|archive-date=2 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A study of over 190,000 patient records in England found the British Shorthair to be less than half as likely to acquire [[diabetes mellitus]] as either [[Moggy|moggies]] or the overall cat population; 0.24% of British Shorthairs were diagnosed with the condition compared to 0.58% for both non-pedigree cats and the overall prevalence.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=O'Neill | first1=D.G. | last2=Gostelow | first2=R. | last3=Orme | first3=C. | last4=Church | first4=D.B. | last5=Niessen | first5=S.J.M. | last6=Verheyen | first6=K. | last7=Brodbelt | first7=D.C. | title=Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus among 193,435 Cats Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices in England | journal=Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine | publisher=Wiley | volume=30 | issue=4 | date=29 June 2016 | issn=0891-6640 | doi=10.1111/jvim.14365 | pages=964–972| pmid=27353396 | pmc=5094533 }}</ref>