The Scottish Fold cat occurred as a spontaneous mutation in farm cats in Scotland. The breed has been established by crosses to British Shorthair and Domestic cats in Scotland and England. In America, the outcross is the American and British Shorthair. All bonafide Scottish Fold cats trace their pedigree to Susie, the first fold-ear cat discovered by the founders of the breed; William and Mary Ross. Scottish Folds can take up to two years to fully develop. Especially the development of the prominent cheek and jowl appearance that is expected in the males. Also eye color changes very slowly in Highland Folds sometimes making it difficult to determine if the eye color and coat color correspond.
Scottish Folds Temperament tend to be gentle cats, not very vocal, affectionate and good with other pets and children. They can adjust to any living environment, whether it is a quiet household or noisy environment with children and other pets. They seek human attention in a very gentle way. Scottish Folds are undemanding, peaceful companions that manifest a quiet dignified intelligence.
Physical characteristics
The most notable feature of the Scottish fold is that the ears are flattened against the head. Scottish Folds come in two types: folded ear and straight (normal) ear. All Scottish fold kittens are born with straight ears. The ears start to fold by the age of 11-12 weeks, or they don’t. Scottish Folds are medium sized cats. Males reach 9-13 pounds and females 6-9. They have large round broadly spaced eyes that give a sweet look, well rounded whisker pads and a short nose with a gentle curve in profile. The body is well-rounded with a padded look. The legs are of a medium short length. The tail is thick. The coat can be either short or long and in every variety of colours and patterns, except pointed. Life expectancy is approximately 15 years.
Care Scottish Fold
Scottish Folds can be shorthaired or longhaired. Their coat is made from two layers, soft and dense undercoat and top coat. The shorthaired Scottish Fold requires brushing once per week to remove the dead hair. The longhaired requires more care to keep the coat in good condition. The coat is the biggest grooming hurdle and can fall prey to shedding, a greasy consistency and mats. Remember to comb gently from front-to-back and reassure your Scottish Fold cat with a soothing voice. Do this as much as needed to keep shedding and knots to a minimum. The proper combs and brushes can help.
Tear stains can be a problem in big-eyed, short-nosed Scottish Fold cats breeds like the Persian that have that “mushed-in” look to their faces. The large eyes have more contact with the air and dust particles and therefore are more prone to tear overproduction. Besides this, the tears which normally drain via the tear ducts are very often unable to do so since tear ducts in short nosed cats often are slightly congested due to a more curved pattern as seen in cats with normal noses hence delayed tear passage leading to tears draining over the eyelids. The tears contain pigment that after evaporation of the tear, leaves a brown/reddish stain on the coat. To clean the eyes use a soft washcloth or a cotton square dipped in lukewarm water. Hold your cat’s head and wipe the damp cloth gently across her lower eyelid. Let the moisture soften the eye matter and then go back and wipe again. Make sure you use a fresh section of the cloth each time.
Sometimes greasy coats, allergies and plain old dirt require a cat to have bath. It is best to introduce a Scottish Fold cat to bathing as a kitten so that baths become less stressful with time. Wet the fur well and apply the shampoo. Brush the shampoo into the fur with a metal comb. Rinse the coat well and if it is needed, apply conditioner and leave in for few minutes. Rinse out the conditioner and towel dry the coat, but do not rub the coat because it can cause tangling. Instead tap it and remove as much as moisture as you can.
Dry the upper body by blow-drying backward against the lay of the hair. Work along the sides, forward to the front legs and up the neck. Each section should be totally dry before moving on or the hair will curl. The tail, belly and back legs should be done last because Scottish Fold cats tend to have a lower tolerance in these areas. This way, if there is going to be a disagreement, it will come at the end of the grooming session. The folded ears will need regular cleaning with cotton balls moistened with water to remove the wax and dirt that has piled up. Do not poke deep in to the ear as you might hurt the cat and actually push the wax further back into the ear. Be very gentle when wiping the ear lobe not to hurt the folded cartilage.
From time to time, the sharp nails will need clipping. Hold the paw and press on the toe to extend the claw. Cut the tip with cat nail clippers. Do not cut very short as you may cut the quick, the pink part on the base of the nail where the blood vessels and the nerve endings are. This is painful for the cat and causes bleeding. It may cause the cat to run away when you try to cut the nails. However, if this happens, dip the bleeding nail into styptic powder or in plain white flour. Brushing your Scottish Fold’s teeth is a good way of keeping the teeth and the gums healthy. Use specially formulated enzymatic toothpaste for cats.
Health problemsThe breed is susceptible to polycystic kidney disease and cardiomyopathy. It is believed that Osteochondrodysplasia is caused by the dominant gene for folded ears. If both parents have folded ears, the kittens are most likely to be affected by malformation of the bones and develop a severe and painful degenerative joint disease. For this reason two Scottish Fold cats with folded ears should not be bred together. However with responsible breeding and screening for genetic diseases, Scottish Folds tend to be robust and healthy.
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