Scottish Fold Cat

Country of Origin:	Scotland
Colors:	White, Blue, Cream, Red, Silver, Cameo, Brown, Bluecream, Tortoiseshell, Black
Average Size:	Weight:8-12 lbs (3.6 – 5.4 kg)    Length: : Medium to Large
Life Span:	9-12 yrs
Coat:	Short/Long
Personality:	Affectionate, calm and well-behaved
Characteristics:	Energy: Active      Talkative:   Little          Kid Friendly:  Yes       Allergic:  No

While folded ears are common in dog breeds, they are a rarity for cats. All the Scottish cats with folded ears originated from Susie, a white farmer cat from Taysideu in Scotland. Two years later, Susie gave birth to two kittens with folded ears, and one of them, a white female, was given to a local pastor William Ross and his wife Mary, and they called it Snooks.

They noted the uniqueness of the “abnormalities” and soon began the breeding program with the help of two geneticists, Pat Turner and Pete Dyle. It was discovered that their mother Susie, had a dominant gene for long hair. However, Collie cats with folded ears are still quite rare. Shorthair versions came from Snooks, which was mated with a British Shorthair, which resulted in creating Snowball, a white male. Later on the development of the breed continued with mutual crossing with British and American Shorthairs.

The center of the main cultivation is still located in the United States. Scotland cats with folded ears must mate with cats with normal ears, otherwise homozygous offspring (obtained by mating the same types of cats) may have deformed joints and cartilage, which becomes visible when the kitten reaches four to six months.

The cause of these anomalies is somewhat puzzling because there are only a certain number of cats, including cats with folded ears that are heterozygous (obtained by mating cats with folded ears and other breeds).

Especially in long-haired Scottish cats deformation can conceal beneath their beautiful fur, and is extremely important to examine the tails of long-haired kittens to detect thickening of the joints. The ears of Scottish Fold cats is folded over as a result of a dominant gene, which is responsible for the different degrees of overlap.

Today’s cats for shows have a “triple folding” , whereby the ears are tightly folded and attached to the head, set up in accordance with the standard of the breed “like hats” to show off their rounded skull.

These cats are also very resistant to many common feline diseases. Their “sad” look is very often misinterpreted as an indication of their feelings!