Scottish Fold Cat Breed Profile
9 - 15 years
The Scottish Fold has a life expectancy of about twelve to fourteen years.
Average Litter Size
The average litter size for a Scottish Fold is about five kittens.
General Physical Description
The most noticeable feature of a Scottish Fold is its ears, which are small and tightly folded, forward and down. The earflap is folded over completely to cover the ear opening and the flap is stiff and cartilaginous. The tips of the ear are rounded. The Scottish Fold is of medium size with a solid compact body. The head is rounded with a firm chin and jaw. The nose is gently curved and short. The muzzle is rounded with well-defined whisker pads and the head is set on a short neck. The eyes are large and wide open with a sweet expression and eye colour corresponding to the coat colour. The ears are folded forward and downward. They are small and tightly folded, the smaller and tighter the better. The body is short and rounded. The legs are of medium length and in proportion to the body and the tail tapers to a rounded tip.
Weight Height Range
Scottish Folds weigh between 2.5 - 6kgs.
The Scottish Fold will require approximately 70 - 80 Kcals of food per kg of bodyweight per day. They may be prone to obesity and it is wise to keep an eye on the amount of food they consume.
When two folded-eared cats are bred together, the dominant gene that causes the folding combines to produce deformities of the spine, hind legs and tails. Also the Scottish Fold's ears are difficult for the cat to clean itself, so owners would be wise to keep an eye on their cleanliness. It would also be advisable, as with all breeds, to have an annual health check from about the age of eight or nine to check teeth and liver and kidney function.
The Scottish Fold is not recognised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and therefore cannot be shown at GCCF shows.
Country Of Origin
Compatibility With Other Cats
Compatibility With Other Animals
Suitability For Children
Character & Temperament
The Scottish Fold has a sweet, gentle temperament despite its strange appearance. They are good with children and other animals.
Playfulness As An Adult
Grooming & Upkeep
The short dense coat of the Scottish Fold is easily cared for and needs no special grooming, though brushing helps remove dead hairs.
The coat of the Scottish Fold is short and dense and comes in a variety of colours. Self Coloured Scottish Fold: The self-colours are white, black, blue, red, and cream. In all the self-colours there is no ghost tabby markings or bars. The nose leather and paw pads reflect the colour of the coat. Tipped and Shaded Scottish Folds - Chinchilla: the Chinchilla has a pure white undercoat and the hair on the flanks, head and tail is tipped with black to give a sparkling silver appearance. The legs may be slightly shaded with tipping. The chin, ear tufts, stomach and chest are pure white. The rims of the eyes, lips and nose are edged with black. The nose leather is brick red and the paw pads are black. The eye colour is green or blue green. Shaded Silver: the shaded silver has the same tipping as the Chinchilla but to a much heavier degree giving the effect of a much darker cat. Shell and Shaded Cameo: the Cameos have a pure white undercoat with red tipping in the same way as the Chinchilla and shaded silver have black tipping. The shaded Cameo is a much darker red than the Shell Cameo: the nose leather, eye rims, and paw pads are rose coloured. The eye colour is brilliant gold. Smoke: the Smokes also have a white undercoat but are much more heavily tipped so much so that the white undercoat is only visible when the cat moves. The tipping may be black, blue or Cameo (red). The eye colour for all coat colours is brilliant gold. Tabby Scottish Fold: the tabby pattern may be in any of the tabby colours or patterns. Tortoiseshell Scottish Fold: the tortoiseshell has patches of black, red and cream hair with the patches clearly defined. The eyes are brilliant gold. Calico Scottish Fold: the coat is white with patches of black and red. White predominates on the under parts. The eyes are brilliant gold. Dilute Calico - The coat is white with patches of blue-grey and cream. White predominates on the under parts. The eye colour is brilliant gold. Blue-Cream - The coat is blue-grey with well-defined patches of cream. The eye colour is brilliant gold. Bi-Colour - The coat is white with patches of either black, blue-grey, red or cream. The eye colour is brilliant gold.
History And Uses
The Scottish Fold cat was first seen as natural mutation in Scotland in the 1960’s. British cat show judges and numerous veterinary surgeons decided that the cat's ears were a deformity and would stop the cat hearing properly and make it impossible for the cat to clean the ear. Deformities of the spine, hind legs and tail also appeared when folded-ear cats were bred to one another. Therefore the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in the UK decided against allowing the registration of the Scottish Fold cat and consequently the breed is not shown or bred in this country. However, the breed’s originators continued to breed the Scottish Fold and exported it to Europe and America, and it proved possible to elimate the spine, leg and tail deformities by careful breeding, incorporatine 'normal' eared cats into the gene pool. The Scottish Fold is now recognised in America and can be seen at shows there.
Suffers From Allergies
Tendency to Cause Allergies