by Nicole Cook

Created on: February 05, 2009

The Scottish Fold has folded ears that are the result of a spontaneous natural mutation that gives the breed an owl-like appearance. The breed has a medium sized body with a set of broad shoulders and a broad chest. The average weight for males is nine to thirteen pounds while a female is usually six to nine pounds. The gene mutation affects the cartilage of the ears giving them their folded appearance.

However, "all Folds are born with straight ears. At around three weeks the ears begin to fold, if they are going to. Since it's not readily apparent how many Folds one has, breeders must play a waiting game until the ears develop their final folds. Even then it's difficult to tell if the folds will be the tight folds preferred in the show ring or the looser, pet-quality folds"(1).

The tail of the Scottish Fold is surprisingly less flexible than that of most cats, and is of a medium length. A set of folded ears set wide sit atop a larger than average head is supported by a short thick neck. The breeds nose is short and wide and its eyes are roundand full. The Scottish Folds coat is dense but still soft and the breed can come in both the short and long-haired variety, but the long-haired version of the breed was not recognized until the mid 1980s. The breed comes in all colors but chocolate, lavender, and color-point are not accepted at shows.

Minimal grooming is necessary for the breed but the ears are a bit harder to maintain and they should be checked weekly for ear mites. Scottish folds are not an overly active cat but do enjoy their owners companionship and are know to be very affectionate cats. The breed has a sweet disposition and is soft spoken. However, the Scottish Fold is anything but fragile as they can be just as comfortable in a house full of children and other pets as in a single person household. While their voices are soft, they are known to have a vast meow vocabulary and will demonstrated this with their human counterparts. The breed as been known to take up sleeping on their backs, and as a loyal, playful and intelligent breed; the Scottish Fold is very popular.

As with many purebreds, the Scottish Fold is at risk for certain health problems. These conditions include polycystic kidney disease or PKD, osteochondritis and cardiomyopathy. "Breeding two folds together increases the number of fold kittens in the resulting litters, but also greatly increases the chances of serious skeletal deformities. Homozygous folds (folds that inherit the folded ear gene from both parents) are much more likely to develop a genetic condition that causes crippling distortion and enlargement of the bones"(2).

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_fold

2. http://www.petplace.com/cats/choosing-a-scottish-fol d/page1.aspx

3. http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/scottish.html

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