The
Scottish Fold—sometimes called
Coupari by
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
breeders—is a breed of
catThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
with a natural dominant-gene
mutationIn biology, a mutation is a randomly derived change to the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism.Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, or by exposure to mutagens , or can be induced by the organism itself, by cellular processes...
that makes its ear
cartilageCartilage is a stiff yet flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
contain a fold, causing the ears to bend forward and down towards the front of their head, which gives the cat what is often described as an "owl-like" appearance.
Originally called
Flops (for "floppy" ears), the name Scottish Fold became the breed's name in 1966.
The
Scottish Fold—sometimes called
Coupari by
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
breeders—is a breed of
catThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
with a natural dominant-gene
mutationIn biology, a mutation is a randomly derived change to the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism.Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, or by exposure to mutagens , or can be induced by the organism itself, by cellular processes...
that makes its ear
cartilageCartilage is a stiff yet flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
contain a fold, causing the ears to bend forward and down towards the front of their head, which gives the cat what is often described as an "owl-like" appearance.
Originally called
Flops (for "floppy" ears), the name Scottish Fold became the breed's name in 1966. Longhaired Scottish Folds have various official names depending on the certifying agency, being known as the
Highland Fold by the
ACFAThe American Cat Fanciers Association is an American non-profit organization formed with the intent of allowing for greater flexibility in the development of pedigreed cats....
, AACE, and UFO,
Scottish Fold Longhair by the
TICAThe International Cat Association, more commonly known as TICA, is the world's largest genetic cat registry. Originally a North American organization, it now has a worldwide presence...
, NCFA, ACA, CCA, and
CFAThe Cat Fanciers' Association. was established in 1906 and is the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats and the predominant pedigreed cat registering association in North America. Headquartered in Manasquan, New Jersey, CFA's stated mission is to preserve and promote the pedigreed breeds of...
, and
Longhair Fold by the CFF.
Origin
The original Scottish Fold was a white barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near
Coupar AngusCoupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated eight kilometres south of Blairgowrie.The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife...
in
PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in 1961. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an
owlThe Owls are the order Strigiformes, comprising 200 birds of prey, species. Most are solitary, and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except...
. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier. Ross registered the breed with the
Governing Council of the Cat FancyThe Governing Council of the Cat Fancy is a cat registry, established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers pedigree cats in the United Kingdom. It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were registering cats at the time when the modern cat fancy was in its first stages....
in
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist Pat Turner. The
breeding programBreeding programs help animals to breed and can be good for animals as well as the agricultural economy.A breeding program is the planned breeding of a group of animals or plants, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several generations.Breeding programs are commonly...
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.
Susie's only reproducing offspring was a female Fold named Snooks who was also white; a second kitten was neutered shortly after birth. Three months after Snooks' birth, Susie was killed by a car. All Scottish Fold cats share a common ancestry to Susie and Snooks, the origination point assurance a lineage quality rare among pedigreed animals.
Acceptance
The breed was not accepted for showing in Great Britain and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
as it was felt that they would be extremely susceptible to ear problems such as
infectionAn infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the...
,
mitesMITES, or Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science, is a six-week summer program for rising high school seniors held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its purpose is to expose students from minority, or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds, to the fields of science and engineering...
, and deafness, but the Folds were exported to
AmericaThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
and the breed continued to be established using crosses with
British ShorthairThe British Shorthair is a domesticated cat. Its features make it a popular breed in cat shows. It has been the most popular breed of cat registered by the UK's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy since 2001 when it overtook the Persian breed....
s and
American ShorthairThe American Shorthair is the 8th most popular breed of cat in the United States according the Cat Fancier's Association for 2006-2007. The breed is believed to be descended from English cats brought to North America by early British settlers to protect valuable cargo from mice and...
s. Since initial concerns were brought, the Fold breed has not had the mite and infection problems, though wax buildup in the ears may be greater than in other cats.
Popularity
The distinctive physical traits of the breed, combined with their reputation as unusually loving companions, make Folds highly sought-after pets and Fold kittens typically cost considerably more than kittens of more common breeds.
Ears
All Folds are born with straight, unfolded ears, and those with the Fold gene will begin to show the fold usually within about 21 days. The original cats only had one fold in their ears, but due to selective breeding breeders have increased the fold to a double or triple crease that causes the ear to lie totally flat against the head. A Scottish fold's ears are meant to be treated with care; they are very delicate.
Body
The Scottish Fold is a medium-size cat, with males typically reaching 9 to 13 lbs. (6-9 for females). The Fold's entire body structure, especially the head and face, is generally rounded, and the eyes large and round. The nose will be short with a gentle curve and the cat's body well-rounded with a padded look and medium-to-short legs. The head is domed at the top, and the neck very short. The broadly-spaced eyes give the Scottish Fold a "sweet expression".
Coat
Scottish Folds can be either long- or short-haired, and they may have nearly any coat colour or combination of colours (including white) except pointed colours. According to a cat-fancy website:
Social
Scottish Folds, whether with folded ears or with normal ears, are typically good-natured and placid and adjust to other animals within a household extremely well. They tend to become very attached to their human caregivers and are by nature quite
affectionAffection is a "disposition or state of mind or body" that is often associated with a feeling or type of love. It has given rise to a number of branches of philosophy and psychology concerning: emotion ; disease; influence; state of being ; and state of mind .-Usage:"Affection" is popularly used to...
ate. Folds receive high marks for playfulness, affection, and grooming, and are often intelligent, loyal, softspoken, and adaptable to home situations and people.
Habits
Folds are also known for sleeping on their backs. This is called the "Buta Position". Scottish Folds typically have soft voices and display a complex repertoire of meows and purrs not found in better-known breeds.
Health
The typical lifespan of a Scottish Fold is 15 years.
Medical complications
Scottish folds are susceptible to polycystic kidney disease (PKD), osteochondritis, and cardiomyopathy.
Breeding
Because the ears fold nearly a month after birth, Fold kittens cannot immediately be judged as to their type or value, as prominent animal website
PetFinder.com describes:
In such a breeding scheme, their kittens will be extremely likely (1:4 ratio, virtually guaranteeing at least one per litter) to develop a painful degenerative joint disease that can fuse the tail, ankles and/or knees; the condition is believed to be caused by the dominant (folded-ear) gene, being especially likely to affect Folds with the gene present in pair, rather than mixed single with one recessive (unfolded-ear) gene. This condition can also affect Scottish Folds with one copy of the gene, but usually to a much lesser and medically manageable degree. For this reason the breed is not accepted by either the
Governing Council of the Cat FancyThe Governing Council of the Cat Fancy is a cat registry, established in 1910 and the largest organisation that registers pedigree cats in the United Kingdom. It was formed from a small number of cat clubs which were registering cats at the time when the modern cat fancy was in its first stages....
or the
Fédération Internationale FélineThe Fédération Internationale Féline is a federation of cat registries. There are currently thirty-nine member organizations in thirty-seven countries. Membership spans Europe, South America, and Asia....
; this is the reasoning behind the widely-held belief that the only ethical manner of breeding Folds is Fold/nonfold and not Fold/Fold (in the same way
MunchkinsThe munchkin is a relatively new breed created by a mutation that causes achondroplasia, or more likely hypochondroplasia as the skull size is unaffected, resulting in cats with abnormally short legs. However, the shortness of their legs do not seem to interfere with their running and leaping...
are bred).
Biography
The Scottish Fold is featured in-depth in the short novel
The Cat Who Went to ParisThe Cat Who Went to Paris is a short novel by Peter Gethers that documents his life with his cat Norton, a Scottish Fold . It spurred two sequel books, A Cat Abroad and The Cat Who'll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of Norton, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect Human ....
by
Peter GethersPeter Gethers is an American publisher, screenwriter and author of television shows, films, newspaper and magazine articles, and novelist; the author of several books, including the bestseller The Cat Who Went to Paris, published in the UK under the title A Cat Called Norton, the first of the...
. The book and its two sequels,
A Cat AbroadA Cat Abroad is the second short novel by Peter Gethers that documents his life with his cat Norton, a Scottish Fold. It was preceded by The Cat Who Went to Paris and followed by The Cat Who'll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of Norton, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect Human...
and
The Cat Who'll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of Norton, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect HumanThe Cat Who'll Live Forever: The Final Adventures of Norton, the Perfect Cat, and His Imperfect Human is the third and final short novel by Peter Gethers that documents his life with his cat Norton, a Scottish Fold...
, document the life of Gethers and his Fold, Norton, from their first meeting to Norton's eventual death and Gether's experiences after the loss.
How-to
Additionally, books specific to the Scottish Fold breed are available, including
Scottish Fold Cats: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual (ISBN 0812049993),
Guide to Owning a Scottish Fold Cat (ISBN 079382172X), and
Scottish Fold Cats (Cats Set III) (ISBN 1577658671).
See also
- Scottish Fold images and pages at Wikipedia
- Cat body type genetic mutations
Cats, like all living organisms, occasionally have mutations that affect their body type. Sometimes, these cat body type genetic mutations are striking enough that humans select for and perpetuate them...
- American Curl
The American Curl is a breed of cat characterized by its unusual ears, which curl back from the face toward the center of the back of the skull. An American Curl's ears should be handled carefully because rough handling may damage the cartilage in the ear. The breed originated in Lakewood,...
, a breed with ears curving up and back, somewhat opposite to the Scottish Fold
- List of domesticated Scottish breeds