Cat breed · Scotland
The Scottish Fold is a breed of domestic cat characterised by a naturally occurring autosomal dominant mutation associated with feline osteochondrodysplasia (FOCD). This genetic health condition affects cartilage development throughout the body and produces the breed's defining feature: ears that "fold" forward and down towards the front of the head, contributing to its often described “owl-like” appearance.
Research has revealed that all Scottish Fold cats are affected by FOCD, a developmental abnormality that affects cartilage and bone formation throughout the body. This systemic disorder causes the ear fold as well as skeletal abnormalities that may lead to painful, progressive degenerative joint disease, sometimes manifesting at a young age. In certain individuals, the disorder may progress to a severity that requires euthanasia, even at a relatively young age. Due to these welfare concerns, breeding of Scottish Fold cats is prohibited in several countries, and the breed is not recognised by some major cat registries.
The breed's name, originally Lop-ears or Lops after the lop-eared rabbit, became Scottish Fold in 1966. Depending on registries, longhaired Scottish Folds are varyingly known as Highland Fold, Scottish Fold Longhair, Longhair Fold, and Coupari.
Coat: Scottish Folds can be either long- or short-haired, and they may have nearly any coat colour or combination of colours (including white). Shorthair Scottish Folds have thick and soft fur, with longhair Folds having longer fur and tufts located around the extremities.
Health: Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is prevalent in the Scottish Fold. A study in Japan of cats suspected to have kidney problems found that 54% of tested Scottish Fold cats had the PKD1 mutation, which is responsible for PKD.
Another study in Japan found two genes linked to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the Scottish Fold population.
Origin: The original Scottish Fold was a white barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near Coupar Angus in Tayside, Scotland, in 1961. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an owl. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one was acquired by William Ross and his wife, Molly, neighbouring farmers who were cat fanciers. The breeding programme 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. Ross registered the breed with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in the United Kingdom in 1966 and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist Pat Turner. However, by the early 1970s the GCCF stopped registering the cat due to concerns about potential health issues such as ear infections and deafness.
In 1970 the first Scottish Fold kittens were introduced to the USA via Neil Todd of Massachusetts who was researching the mutation. Further cats were brought over and the Scottish Fold breeding program continued with American Shorthairs and British Shorthairs being introduced.
