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rec.pets.cats: Scottish Fold Breed-FAQ



 
 
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Old May 21st 06, 05:22 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.announce,rec.answers,news.answers
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Default rec.pets.cats: Scottish Fold Breed-FAQ

Archive-name: cats-faq/breeds/scottish-fold
Posting-frequency: 30 days
URL: http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/s...-fold-faq.html
Last-modified: 12 Mar 1997

All the cat breed faqs are available as ASCII files either on rec.pets.cats
or via anon ftp to rtfm.mit.edu under pub/usenet/new.answers/cats-faq/breeds/*
They are also viewable on the World Wide Web at
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Scottish Fold Breed FAQ

__________________________________________________ _______________

AUTHOR

Linnea Danielsen - Linanci Cattery,
Copyright (c) 1995 by Linnea Danielsen. All Rights Reserved.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Topics

* History
* Description
* Temperament
* Special Medical Concerns
* Is This Breed For Me?
* Frequently Asked Questions

__________________________________________________ _______________

History

Susie, the first Scottish Fold cat, was discovered in 1961 in the
Tayside Region of Scotland, at a farm near Coupar Angus. She was a
white barn cat with ears that folded downward and forward on her head.
Her face resembled an "owl" or an "otter's face". A shepherd by the
name of William Ross first noticed Susie's unique ears at a neighbor's
barn. Since William and his wife Mary were Cat Fanciers they were
fascinated with Susie. A year later Susie and a local tom had a litter
of two folded ear kittens and the Ross's acquired the female and named
her Snooks. Snooks' son was bred to a British Shorthair and so began
the breed known today as the Scottish Fold. At this time the breed was
registered with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in Great
Britain.

In the mid 1960s, Pat Turner, a cat breeder and geneticist, became
involved in the development of the Fold. Over the next 3 years she
oversaw the breedings which produced 76 kittens - 42 with folded ears
and 34 with straight ears. She and Peter Dyte, another British
geneticist, agreed that the gene mutation responsible for folded ears
is a simple dominant. This means that if a kitten inherits a gene from
one parent for straight ears and one from a parent with the gene for
folded ears, it will be a fold. They also learned that the original
cats carried the longhair gene.

Susie, the original fold, was a loose fold which means the tips of her
ears bent forward about halfway up the ear. This is now called a
single fold. Today's folds have ear folds ranging from the loose
single fold to the very tight triple fold which is seen in the show
quality cats.

A faction in the British Cat Fancy felt that the Scottish Fold would
be prone to ear infections and deafness. They campaigned to prevent
their acceptance for registry in Great Britain. Folds are still not
accepted for registry in registries of Great Britian and Europe.

Mrs. Ross arranged for some of her folds to be shipped to Neil Todd,
Ph.D., a geneticist in Newtonville, MA in the early 1970's. The first
American born litter arrived Nov. 30, 1971. After his study ended,
some folded kittens were given to first one CFA affiliated breeder who
gave some to another, etc., until the shorthair Scottish Folds were
accepted by ACA for registration in 1973, ACFA and CFA in 1974. TICA
was the first registry to recognized the longhairs for championship
competition in the 1987-88 show season and CFA followed in 1993-94.

Although the Ross' had to give up their efforts in their own country
to develop and raise these adorable cats, they will always be regarded
in America as the founders of the breed.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Description

After two decades of outcrossing to the American and British
Shorthairs, the Scottish Fold has developed a look all its own. It is
a medium sized cat, 9 to 13 pounds in the male and 6 to 9 pounds in
the female. A Fold should have a well rounded, padded look to the
entire body with a round headed appearance from all angles, domed at
the top with a very short neck. The eyes should be large, round,
broadly spaced and giving a sweet expression. A Fold can have straight
medium-sized ears to small tightly folded ears with wide range in the
degree of the fold. The ear tips will be rounded on the tip. A Fold
will have well-rounded whisker pads with whiskers which often curve
forward. The jaw is firm and well rounded. The nose is gently curved,
short and wide due to the wide set of the eyes. Sometimes the curve of
the mouth around their prominent whisker pads gives the appearance of
a "smiling" cat. As you can see from the description, the Scottish
Fold's head should look round in all ways.

The Scottish Fold can be found in both the shorthair and longhaired
version. The longhaired Scottish Fold has a semi-long coat of variable
length which should sport a nice ruff on the males, leg britches and a
huge fluffy tail.

Scottish Folds can be found in almost every color and combination of
colors and white except for the pointed colors. This means that
generally you will not be able to find a Scottish Fold who has the
coloring of a Siamese or Himalayan. (The exception is Folds bred by
members of the Cat Fanciers Federation, which allows the pointed
pattern. All other registries consider pointed Folds to be AOV (Any
Other Variety), and will not accept them for competition.) The brown
tabby & white Scottish Fold is probably the most well known color but
they can be found in everyone's favorite colors.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Temperament

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, they will usually be found close to you.
Scottish Folds love to sleep flat on their backs and can often be
found sitting up looking very much like an otter.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Special Medical Concerns

In general the Scottish Fold is a healthy, hardy cat with a lifespan
of approximately 15 yrs. Early in the development of this breed a
degenerative joint disease was discovered to be linked with breeding
folded-eared cats to folded-eared cats. Because of this, ethical
breeders will only breed straight-eared cats to folded- eared cats.
Scottish Folds who are the products of folded-ear to straight-ear
breedings seldom if ever develop joint disease.

Affected Folds will usually show signs of the disease between the ages
of 4 to 6 months. This disease, in its worst case, will cause the
joints of the cat's tail, ankles and knees to fuse and stiffen. A
Scottish Fold with a very short thickened tail is probably affected to
some extent. While this health problem is disabling, it is not life
threatening. Though it cannot be cured, it can be very successfully
treated.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Is This Breed For Me?

If you like a cat that is very active and for the most part aloof,
then no, the Scottish Fold is not for you. If you want a cat who wants
to know what you are doing and why you aren't paying attention to him,
then yes, you'd probably do well with a Scottish Fold. Scottish Folds
want to be with you and will not do well if left alone for long
periods of time. If you work long hours, you might want to consider
getting your Scottish Fold a playmate from your local Humane Society
or Shelter. Another option is in buying a pair of Folds - one
folded-eared and one straight-eared. Two Folds will keep each other
from getting lonely and will be twice the love and devotion when you
are home.

__________________________________________________ _______________

Frequently Asked Questions

_How do I find Scottish Fold breeders?_

Scottish Folds are accepted in all the cat registry associations in
the United States. Most of their central offices can give you names of
breeders registered with them. Another option is to attend a cat show
near you and talk to the breeders that are there. Get to know them and
get on their waiting lists. Yes, a Waiting List!!! Because of the
folded ear to straight ear breedings not all the kittens born have
folded ears and for this reason most Fold breeders have waiting lists
for their folded-eared kittens. Don't feel like you are getting the
run around if you aren't able to find your special kitten for 6 or
more months. (And if you want a specific color, sex, or coat length,
you may have to wait even longer.)

_Where else can I find information on the breed?_

Another place to find information about Scottish Folds and breeders is
to contact the International Scottish Fold Association. This is a CFA
(Cat Fanciers Association) affiliated breed club. If you send a #10
SASE to ISFA, 12500 Skyline Dr., Burnsville, MN, 55337-2920, they will
send you information on the breed itself and a list of member
breeders. The Association is not only for breeders but is open to
anyone with an interest in Scottish Folds and membership gets you a
well written quarterly newsletter.

You can also purchase the paperback book titled _Scottish Fold Cats: A
Complete Owner's Manual_, written by Phil Maggitti. Any bookstore can
order it for you. Most of the information is accurate though some of
the genetics data is a little dated. It also has some wonderful color
photos.

_Is there more information on Scottish Folds on the Web?_

You can find the names of breeders of Scottish Folds and most other
breeds as well, on the Breeders Referral List that is attached to the
Fanciers homepage at:

http://www.fanciers.com/breedlist/

_Who is Linanci Cattery?_

You can learn all about us and see some of our Scottish Folds at:
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/6601/

__________________________________________________ _______________

Scottish Fold FAQ
Linnea Danielsen,
Last updated 08/29/96
 




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