Scottish Fold
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 Description
The Scottish Fold is best known for its distinctive
ears, which are folded forward and down, and by its large rounded
eyes, which give it a sweet, wide-eyed expression. They are mellow
and affectionate cats.
Scottish Folds are found in both longhaired and
shorScottish Foldred varieties, in a great number of colours and pattern
combinations. The longhaired variety is sometimes referred to
as a "Highland Fold".
All of today's Scottish Folds can trace their
ancestry to Susie, a white folded-ear cat discovered in 1961 in
Scotland. Although the breed was developed in Scotland and England
and the first cats were registered in GCCF, using primarily British
cats in its development, the breed has yet to be accepted in its
home country. The first Scottish Fold cats, originally called
"Lop-eared cats", arrived in the United States in 1971.
They were accepted for registration in several United States associations
in the early 1970s, and the late 1970s had achieved championship
status in most North American registries. Longhaired Scottish
Folds followed suit in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
 Many Scottish Folds have the curious habit of
sitting or lying in very strange postures -- on their backs, sitting
up in a "Buddha" position, flattening themselves out
like little bearskin rugs. Their small, folded ears are unusually
expressive, more so than an average cat's "normal" ears.
They have soft, chirpy voices they do not use often.
Buyers of these wonderful cats should be aware
that some Scottish Folds are prone to problems of hardening cartilige.
Show Scottish Folds are taught to accept handling of their tails
as judges check for one of the clearer signs of this hardening
-- stiffening of the tail. As this problem does not generally
show up in young kittens, be sure to discuss this issue with the
breeder and what guarantees the breeder will make against this
condition in the future. Reputable breeders will breed only fold-ear
to straight-ear to guard against this problem. Be concerned about
any breeders who are breeding fold-ear to fold-ear. Scottish Folds
may still use British Shorthairs and American Shorthairs as allowable
outcrosses.
Interesting fact: Not all Scottish Fold
kittens will have folded ears. All Scottish Fold kittens are born
with straight ears. It isn't until the kitten is about three weeks
old that a breeder will begin to know which kittens will have
folded ears and which will not. There are degrees of folding,
too -- usually described as a single, double, or triple fold.
A single fold is generally a "loose" fold and isn't
show quality. The most desirable fold is a triple fold, which
is tight to the head. Owners of tightly-folded Scottish Folds
need to check their insides of their cats' ears frequently, as
they can become dirty over time.However, straight-eared Scottish
Folds are sought after in breeding programs and still make wonderful
pets.
In the Australian Cat Federation, the straight-eared Scottish Fold is accepted as its own breed, the Scottish Shorthair.
BooBoo, staff
member of the FBRL, is a brown classic tabby Scottish Fold
and Grand Premier in CFA.
Photo © Chanan
Associations: The Scottish Fold is accepted by all major
North American cat registries and the Australian Cat Federation.
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Breed Information
Show Standards
Clubs/Associations
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