Portraits of Popular Breeds at Home and Abroad – Scottish Fold

Scottish fold cats look similarly to British shorthair with one crucial detail – their ears. They are fold forward and downward. It all started with one tom cat found in Scotland in 1961 in a litter from a common domestic cat. He was named Snowball according to its snowy white fur and he was immediately popular in cat breeders. That’s why the mutation behind the fold ears caused by the connection of domestic cats and British shorthair cats was shortly standardized.

The gene responsible for fold ears is dominant. The problem is that besides ears, it also causes deviations in cartilages in other body parts. The risk is multiplied when both parents have fold ears, that’s the reason why they are not crossbred together. One parent is always a British shorthair cat or an American shorthair cat. Except for Scotland, this breed is also bred in America and these individuals were exported to Europe as well.

Scottish fold cats are friendly, balanced cats. They get on well with other cats and don’t have problems with dogs if they have good experience with them from young age. Even though they sometimes enjoy games, they are rather calm animals who aren’t easily disturbed. Moreover, they are quite quiet and do not force people to cuddle, even though they like it.

They feel great in busy families and are suitable for living with small children. When the child gets too rough, they try to escape first and use their claws only in emergency cases. Although these cats are social, they can handle a day or two alone, on the contrary to most breeds.

With regard to care, they are not very demanding. Their fur needs to be combed from time to time, a bit more often when they shed. Even though their ears are fold forward, they are not prone to inflammation and do not need any special care compared to other cats. Their specific feature is the fact that kittens are born with straight ears and they start to fold when they are about four weeks old.

Scottish fold cats are universal companions. Their nature and care they need are not different from most other cats. They get on with almost anyone. Also their colours are good for practically everyone as there are cats of all natural colour variants.