The Scottish Fold is a breed of cat with a natural mutation to its ears. The ear cartilage contains a fold so the ears bend forward and down towards the front of their head. The original Scottish Fold was a long-haired white-haired barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near Coupar Angus in Perthshire, Scotland in 1961. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an owl. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one of the siblings was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier. Ross registered the breed with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in Great Britain and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist Pat Turner.
Breed Profile
: The Scottish Fold is a sweet natured cat who is usually quiet voiced and loves to help supervise whatever you happen to be doing. Their activity level is in the medium range. They love to play but usually expect you to be involved in the fun and games. While not every Fold will be a lap fungus
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Breed History
: In 1961 a shepherd by the name of William Ross spotted the first known Scottish Fold cat at a farm near Coupar Angus in the Tayside Region of Scotland, Northwest of Dundee. Ross asked the owners if he could have one of the kittens, and proceeded to develop the breed from the original, Susie, a white barn cat
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The Scottish Fold is a breed of cat with a natural mutation to its ears. The ear cartilage contains a fold so the ears bend forward and down towards the front of their head.
The original Scottish Fold was a long-haired white-haired barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near Coupar Angus in Perthshire, Scotland in 1961. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an owl. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one of the siblings was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier.
Ross registered the breed with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in Great Britain and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist Pat Turner. The breeding program produced 76 kittens in the first three years - 42 with folded ears and 34 with straight ears. The conclusion from this was that the ear mutation is due to a simple dominant gene. If one parent provides the gene for straight ears, and one parent provides the gene for folded ears, the kittens will be Folds.
The breed was not accepted for showing in Great Britain and Europe as it was felt that they would be extremely prone to ear problems such as infection, mites and deafness, but the folds were exported to America and the breed continued to be established there using crosses with British Shorthair and the American Shorthair. Scottish Folds can be either long or short-haired, and they may have any coat colour combination except for Siamese-style points. Pointed Folds have been bred but they are not eligible for showing.
The original cats only had one fold in their ears, but due to selective breeding they have increased the fold to a double or triple crease that causes the ear to lie totally flat against the head. Scottish Folds are, typically, good-natured and placid, and are known for sleeping on their backs.
There is one medical problem that has been found to be related to Scottish Fold breeding. If both parents have folded ears, their kittens will be extremely prone to developing a painful degenerative joint disease that fuses the tail, ankles and knees. This condition also affects Scottish folds with one copy of the fold gene, to a lesser degree, and is the reason the breed is not accepted by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and the Fédération Internationale Féline.
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