Scottish
Fold Cat Personality
Scottish Folds are intelligent, sweet-tempered, soft-spoken, and easily adaptable
to new people and situations. They are very loyal and tend to bond with one person
in the household. While they will usually allow others to cuddle and pet them, their
primary attachment becomes quickly clear as they single out their chosen humans.
They thrive on attention, but it must be on their own terms.
Despite their devotion, they are not clingy, demanding cats and usually
prefer to be near you rather than on your lap. They enjoy a good game of fetch now
and then as well, and keep their playful side well into adulthood. Despite the breeding
and health difficulties, Folds have certainly earned their standing in the cat fancy.
Scottish Fold Cat Breed Traits
The Scottish Fold's folded ears are produced by a dominant gene that affects the
cartilage of the ears, causing the ears to fold forward and downward, giving the
head a rounded appearance. Since the gene is dominant, all Scottish Fold cats must
have at least one folded ear parent to have folded ears themselves. When a Fold
is bred to a straight-eared cat, approximately 50 percent of the kittens will have
folded ears, although the number of Folds in any given litter can vary greatly.
Breeding Fold to Fold increases the number of Fold kittens, but also greatly increases
the chances of skeletal deformities. Homozygous Folds (Folds that inherit the folded
ear gene from both parents) are much more likely to develop congenital osteodystrophy,
a genetic condition that causes crippling distortion and enlargement of the bones.
Avoiding Fold-to-Fold breeding reduces the problem; however, controversy surrounds
the breed because of this defect. Thickness or lack of mobility of the legs or tail
are sure signs of trouble. You can determine tail flexibility by moving your hand
down the tail in a very gentle, slightly upward-arching movement.
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.
Despite being folded, the ears are still expressive and swivel to listen, lay back
in anger, and prick up when the can opener whirrs. The fold in the ear can become
less pronounced when the cat is in heat, upset, or ill. Although some Fold owners
report an increased production of wax buildup in their cats' ears, apparently the
folded ears do not make the cat more susceptible to mites or infections. The previously
reported susceptibility to deafness may be related to the fact that many early Scottish
Folds were white, and white cats can be prone to deafness unrelated to the fold
gene.