Scottish Fold

What is a Scottish Fold?

A medium shorthaired cat, 3-6kg, round-headed and round-eyed, whose ears fold forward and down against the skull. The longhaired version is called the Highland Fold or Coupari.

The fold is not a coat feature or a shape that was bred for. It is caused by a dominant mutation in the TRPV4 gene that stops cartilage forming properly, and the ear is simply the place where you can see it. The same faulty cartilage is in every other joint in the cat.

History and origins

Every Scottish Fold descends from one cat: Susie, a white barn cat with folded ears found at a farm in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, in 1961. A neighbouring farmer, William Ross, took a kitten from her and began breeding, and geneticist Pat Turner assisted in the early matings.

The breed was registered with the GCCF in 1966 and the registration was withdrawn in 1971 when the joint disease became clear. It has never been reinstated. The breed developed in the United States instead, where it remains popular.

Appearance and size

3-6kg, 20-25cm. Round head, large round eyes, a short nose and a compact well-rounded body. Kittens are born with straight ears; those that are going to fold do so at around three to four weeks. The fold varies from a single loose break to a tight triple fold flat against the head, and the tighter the fold the more severely affected the cat generally is.

Any coat colour and pattern. The longhaired variety has a full ruff and a plumed tail.

Temperament and personality

The reason the breed persists. Scottish Folds are calm, sweet-natured, and undemanding - they follow their people about, sit near rather than on, and rarely make a fuss. They are quiet cats with a soft voice, they tolerate handling and children well, and they settle into a household quickly.

It is a genuinely lovely temperament, and it comes from the whole line rather than from the fold gene, which is why straight-eared cats from the same litters have it too.

Intelligence and trainability

Bright enough, moderately playful, and biddable by cat standards - many learn their name and come to it. They are not an athletic or acrobatic breed and often play lying down, which owners read as charming and which is sometimes the joints.

Children and other pets

Good with both. They are tolerant, slow to scratch and not easily startled. Their placidity means they may not remove themselves from a situation that is hurting them, so children need the usual rules about leaving a cat alone when it walks away.

Fine with other cats and with cat-experienced dogs.

Health problems

Osteochondrodysplasia. This is the whole story and it needs to be plain: every fold-eared Scottish Fold has it. It is not a risk or a predisposition. The gene that folds the ear is a cartilage defect expressed throughout the skeleton, and the cat is heterozygous for a condition that, in its homozygous form, is crippling.

It shows as a thickened, inflexible tail, short stiff legs, splayed feet and fused joints in the hocks and toes. Signs can appear before a year old. It causes degenerative joint disease that is painful and progressive, and there is no cure - only pain relief, weight control and joint support.

Breeding two fold-eared cats together produces severely disabled kittens and is banned by every registry that recognises the breed. Responsible breeders mate a fold to a straight-eared cat, which halves the number of affected kittens but leaves every folded kitten affected.

The British Veterinary Association, the RSPCA and International Cat Care all oppose breeding folded cats. The GCCF does not register them. Several countries have banned the breeding outright.

Also: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, polycystic kidney disease, and ear wax and mite problems because the fold restricts airflow.

Daily care routine

Litter, feed, and a weekly look at the ears with a torch - the fold traps wax. Beyond that, watch how the cat moves. Reluctance to jump, a stiff or thickened tail, an odd gait, or sitting in an unusual "kangaroo" posture are all joint pain, and they are worth a vet visit rather than an assumption that the cat is lazy.

Keep them lean. Weight on bad joints is the one variable an owner controls.

Grooming and coat care

Shorthairs need a weekly brush; Highland Folds two or three times a week, more in a moult. Handle the tail gently and never try to straighten it - a stiff tail is a clinical sign, not a habit.

Nails need checking, because a cat that is uncomfortable may not use a scratching post enough to wear them down.

Exercise needs

Low to moderate, and self-limiting. Play at floor level rather than encouraging big jumps. Steps or ramps up to favourite perches spare the joints. Indoor life suits them, and most Folds are not enthusiastic climbers anyway.

Feeding and diet

A good quality complete food, measured, with weight kept firmly under control. Many owners add a joint supplement with glucosamine and omega-3s, and while the evidence in cats is thinner than in dogs it is unlikely to hurt. Ask a vet before starting anything.

Price

£600-£1,500 for a fold-eared kitten, and straight-eared kittens from the same litter are usually £250-£600 because they are not what buyers come for.

The lifetime cost is where this breed differs. Budget for pain management, X-rays and possibly long-term anti-inflammatories from middle age. Many insurers exclude joint conditions in this breed as pre-existing, so read the policy before you buy rather than after.

Buying advice

The most useful thing on this page is this: the straight-eared kitten in the litter has the same temperament, the same face, the same coat, and does not have the cartilage defect. If you want this breed's nature, ask the breeder for a straight-eared kitten. They are cheaper and they are sound.

If you do buy a fold, ask whether both parents are fold-eared - if the answer is yes, walk away, because that mating produces severely affected kittens and a breeder doing it is not one to buy from at all. Ask to see radiographs of the parents' tails and hocks. Ask the age and cause of death of cats in the line.

And go in knowing the cat will probably develop arthritis, possibly young. That is not a warning about a bad breeder. It is what the breed is.