Scottish Fold cats have ears that are neatly fastened to their heads, so it is natural for people to assign them to the side of the Elves in their minds, and the Folded Ear Elves among cats are none other than them.
Origin of the Scottish Folded Ear Cat
It is said that in 1961, a female cat in a Scottish shepherd’s house gave birth to a litter of kittens, including a strange kitten with a white coat, clasped ears and an owl-like face, because the origin is close to the Scottish Kupo Angus, from then on, according to the birthplace and the phenomenon of ear folding, named this breed “Scottish Folded Ear Cat “The Scottish Folded Ear Cat. The original cat was named SUSIE, which is the originator of the Scottish Fold, and later SUSIE gave birth to another white folded-ear cat. At this time, the shepherd’s neighbor, a shepherd named William Ross, noticed that SUSIE had unique ears. Together with his wife Mary, he decided to experiment with this one kitten and breed a new breed with folded ears.
Introduction to the Scottish Fold breed
The Scottish Fold attracted a lot of interest because of its lovely appearance, but comically, they were more common abroad than in their home country of Scotland, England, and because the breed was not yet recognized by the Cat Fanciers’ Council, British breeders were hardly interested in it. The British Cat Association recognized the breed in 1984, a full 11 years later than in the United States. The Susie, which suddenly gave birth to folded-ear kittens, is the earliest origin of the Scottish Fold. However, this kind of folded ears is a rare mutation. Because of the deformed cats that were born in the past, breeding was prohibited in the UK for a period of time. After careful interbreeding, the breeders finally produced healthy kittens and were awarded the Cat Fanciers Association of America (CFA) championship in 1978.
Scottish Fold cats are not born with their ears folded. At about three to four weeks of age, their ears begin to fold down …… or just don’t fold at all! It is not until the kittens are 11 to 12 weeks old that the breeder can generally determine their conformation (pet, breeding or racing). Currently, only cats with folded ears are allowed to compete, and of course, every breeder wants to breed cats that can compete. But the value of a folded cat with standing ears in the breeding process is priceless.
Buying and Price of Scottish Fold Cats
When selecting a Folded Ear Cat, be sure to confirm the elasticity of the tail and to check the legs and feet. It should not be thick or lack elasticity due to thick and short legs or separated toes. To determine the elasticity of the tail, run your hand “very gently” from the base of the tail in a slight arch towards the tip. If the elasticity is normal, this arching motion will not cause discomfort to the cat. Again, this must be done very gently!
Scottish Fold cats if the breed is relatively pure, almost $1000 or more, if the pedigree is quite pure, that is, with a certificate of pedigree in the kind of $2000 or more, if the breed is not very pure, but also said that almost in the $400 to $500 between.
- Scottish Fold Morphological Characteristics
The Scottish Fold was born in a Scottish farming family and is a genetic variant of the cat. Its ears are neatly fastened to its head, and for this reason it has been imaginatively named the “Scottish Folded Ear Cat”. The most unique appearance of this cat is its folded ears, and it has attracted the attention of many cat lovers.
Morphology of the Scottish Fold
Body Type: Medium-sized, round and muddy, with medium bones and strong muscles. Females are smaller in size than males.
Overview: Short, stout, fat and rounded limbs. Body weight: 2.5 to 6 kg.
Head: Round, with a bulging forehead. Cheeks rounded. Side view looks like a gentle curve. Male cats have more meat, and adult males are allowed to have a double chin.
Ears: Folded forward, widely spaced, with curved tips. The ears are medium in size and folded forward like a hat, giving the head a more rounded appearance.
Nose: Wide and short. A slight nasal interruption is acceptable. The muzzle is slightly rounded. The moustache pads are rounded. The chin is firm.
Neck: The neck is not too long, but muscular and the hair is longer than the rest of the body.
Eyes: Large and rounded, color is based on coat color and fairly widely spaced. The color echoes the coat. The neck is short and muscular.
Mouth: Both the upper and lower jaws are strong.
Body: Medium sized, short, round, and very muscular. Bones are medium in size.
Legs and claws: Length is proportional to body length. Medium sized bones, rounded and compact claws in proportion to the length of the body. The paws are rounded and very well aligned.
Tail: no larger than 2/3 of the body length, thick at the base, tapering to the tip, and finally rounded at the tip. Very soft and flexible.
Coat: Two variants exist: — Short: thick, dense, long, downy hairs, elastic, dense growth. –Semi-long: long hairs growing upside down along the body with a silky texture. This variant is also known as the Highland Fold.
- Scottish Fold character traits
The Scottish Fold is easy-going, gentle and intelligent; it loves its family and its owner; it is calm and lazy on the surface, but when it encounters prey, it will strike quickly and put it to death, and it has strong explosive power.
Character of Scottish Fold
Scottish Fold cats are born with a sweet, candy-like personality. They love to be involved in whatever you do, but usually just quietly and without making a sound to disturb you. Their average athleticism doesn’t mean they don’t like to play, they just prefer the company of their owners. Scottish Fold cats like to sleep flat on their backs, and when they have nothing to do, they will sit and look out the window like an otter.
Perhaps inherited from its ancestors who looked at the warehouse, the Scottish Fold is very hardy and hardworking. Its appearance matches its gentle character very well, with a soft purr and very little loud talking. They are happy with human companionship and express it in this quiet way that is unique to them. The Scottish Fold can adapt to home life in a variety of environments, whether it is a home with noisy children and dogs, a single family, or even at a cat show or in an unfamiliar hostel where they can quickly blend in with their surroundings without feeling uneasy.
Care of Scottish Fold cats
Scottish Fold cats have inherited the hard-working character of their distant ancestors, so they are more adaptable and can handle unfamiliar environments with ease. However, to keep a healthy Scottish Fold cat, it is important to pay attention to the weather, and the humidity should be maintained at 50-60%, otherwise it will easily suffer from skin diseases.
As with most cats, their intestines are weak, so it is best to feed them a fixed brand of cat food. If you need to change to another brand of cat food, you must take your time and pay special attention to their poop during the process of changing food, because a sudden change of cat food can easily lead to diarrhea.
Scottish Fold cats like to be close to their masters, so do not let it stay at home alone for a long time, and it is best to take more time to play with them after the master comes home. In playing, that is, you can improve the relationship with it, but also to help it maintain a fit body, so why not kill two birds with one stone?
When feeding the Scottish Fold, attention must also be paid to his ears. In order to prevent deformation of the ear bones, two cats with folded ears cannot be mated and bred. It can be mated with the British Shorthair and American Shorthair cats with standing ears. The traits of the folded ear cat will not be revealed until the third to fourth week. And its degree of ear curl is not determined until the fifth to sixth week.
- Scottish Fold cat care knowledge
Nowadays, many people like to breed Scottish Fold cats, but have you ever paid attention to the proper way of feeding them? It is best not to feed milk and hard food until 4 months of age. At this time, it is best to feed chicken and beef cooked in plain water with professional kitten food. This will be safer and more secure.
Scottish Fold cat feeding
First of all, the brand of cat food prepared for the cat should be fixed and should not be changed at will. If you must change other cat food, you should choose a suitable one, and then change it gradually, in about 7-10 days.
The choice of cat food for mothers needs to be decided according to the actual situation, if the cat is obese then you can choose a healthy diet cat food. Nowadays, there are many brands of professional cat food on the market, and parents can choose a suitable cat food according to their cat’s taste.
Between the age of 1-4 months, cats should not be fed milk and hard food. Parents can choose professional kitten food and soak it in warm water to soften it before feeding. You can also prepare some chicken and beef cooked in plain water and feed them with professional kitten food to balance the nutrition intake and avoid burdening the cat’s stomach.
Scottish Fold cat care
The Scottish Fold cat should be at least 3 months old and vaccinated. This way the cat will be healthier and will not have health risks. The most important feature of a Scottish Fold cat is its folded ears. In order to ensure the cleanliness of the cat’s body, the breeder must clean its ears regularly every week with a special ear drops for cats, otherwise it is easy to accumulate the spoils and suffer from ear mite disease.
Like cats in general, folds also have the habit of self-cleaning with their tongues. Regular feeding of hair spitting cream can help them clean up indigestible hairballs in their gut to reduce the possibility of gastrointestinal discomfort. At the same time, both long-haired and short-haired cats have very thick coats, so it is best to brush them every day to keep their coats shiny and remove dead hair.
- Scottish Fold cat feeding requirements
English Fold kittens are playful and active as kittens, but as they grow up, their personalities gradually stabilize. Not only do they get along well with other cats and kittens, they are even friendly with dogs. The following is the feeding and usual care knowledge of the English Fold cat.
English Fold cat feeding
Cats of different ages need different cat food. Folded cats need a variety of nutrients, and minerals are an important family of them. Calcium and phosphorus play a very important role in the development of bones.
As cats get older, the calcium and phosphorus content of the food should be gradually reduced. In particular, the phosphorus content is more juvenile cats > adult cats > older cats. This is because the metabolism of phosphorus is mainly done in the kidneys, and the older the cat is, the lower the kidney’s ability to metabolize phosphorus, so that if adult cats or even older cats are fed kitten food for a long time, it will easily cause kidney problems, such as kidney failure.
In addition, the amount of sodium in the food should also be reduced as the age of the folded cat increases. The older the cat is, the higher the chance of heart disease. Sodium ions are more burdensome to the heart, and in order to reduce the burden on the heart, the sodium content of the food should be reduced as the cat’s age increases.
English Fold Cat Care
How to prevent skin diseases in the cat
1. Before the rainy season comes, give your cat a bath and blow dry. I use top shampoo.
2. All cats live in a south-facing room, and let them exercise in the yard at a fixed time every day. The ultraviolet rays in the sunlight kill bacteria.
3. The cat’s litter and litter box are often exposed to the sun.
4. If there is no sunshine in the rainy days, buy a reptile lamp with UV light and hang it in the cat room, looking for a lamp with special treatment that does not harm the animal’s eyes.
5. Feed nutritional cream regularly to increase the vitamins in their bodies and improve immunity.
6. Wash off the mucus with warm water after the kitten is born, blow the hair dryer to eight minutes dry and put it back to the mother cat.
If your cat has a skin disease, it is recommended to go to the hospital to be diagnosed by a doctor. If you use the wrong kind of ointment, it will only cause the more skin disease you apply, the more powerful it will be.
