Scottish fold cats: types of color, nature and rules of keeping

The Scottish fold cat is easily distinguished from other breeds by its unique drooping ears. Initially, such ears were considered a cat defect, and animals did not enjoy the love of the owners, but over time, everything changed. In 1974, the first breed show in the USA took place, ending with a grandiose delight of spectators and felinologists. In Russia, the Scots are just beginning to gain popularity among amateurs and breeders. Let's take a closer look at the history of these unique cats, their characteristics, the nuances of keeping animals at home.

A lop-eared cat or Scottish fold is a native of Scotland, it was there that she eventually got to the United States, and then to Europe. For Russia, the breed is still exotic, it has not yet gained sufficient popularity.

The history of fold cats begins in Eurasia. In the XIX century, animals were first mentioned in literary works, in particular, the moment of bringing a cat from England to China that looks very similar to a Scottish breed is described. Another source of mentioning the animal is the magazine of World Knowledge and Hobbies of 1796, which also contains information about a cat exported to Europe. But how true this information is, it’s hard to say now, since the trace of these cats has been lost.

On the Scottish islands themselves, the breed was first mentioned in 1961. It was at this time that the farmer William Ross saw a cat with ears down at its neighbors, her name was Susie.Susie was born from an ordinary cat, without any changes in appearance, only later it turned out that hanging ears are a sign of gene mutation. A few years later, Susie's cat brought a litter, in which there was only a couple of kittens with a characteristic shape of the ears. At the request of William's wife, one baby was given to the farm, and from that moment the story of the breeding of unique cats began.

In 1970, the Scottish fold name was officially assigned to the breed, and the Ross family, which is actively engaged in breeding such cats, turned to geneticists for help. So the Denisla nursery appeared. In 1972, the Scots began a gloomy period in their history. At this time, a ban on breeding cats of this breed entered. The reasons for the ban were related to the structural features of the ears of cats, which caused difficulties in processing the auricle from the ear mite. In addition, the problem was the appearance in the litter of snow-white kittens with blue eyes, which were mostly deaf.

At the moment, these problems are irrelevant and almost completely eliminated, however, in England itself the fold Scottish breed is not officially recognized to this day. But you can breed it. The presence of the fold gene (or fold) caused the breed to refuse entry into some countries of the world. This gene is responsible for creating abnormalities in the development of the skeletal system. To avoid this, geneticists have found a way to correctly select animals for breeding. The main postulate was that a lop-eared cat should never be knitted with cats with ears down.

The kittens brought in the litter from two healthy parents are divided into two groups: Scottish fold (fold) and Scottish Straight (erect ears). Usually in each litter there will always be one fold kitten. If you want to breed cats yourself, then as a partner you can take Scottish Straights.

Scottish Folds, like their relatives, Shorthair British, are big cats. The body of the animal is squat, the body is well developed, the muscles are elastic, easily palpated. The neck is short, round, powerful. The head is quite large, developed, the chin is round, well pronounced, like the cheeks. The eyes are wide, clear, most often painted in amber shades, although there are representatives with green and blue eyes.

The main feature of the breed is ears. They droop, tips touching the head from the side of the superciliary arches, tightly pressed. The tail is long, tapering towards the tip, mobile. Paws are large, powerful, rather fluffy.

Color options are diverse: from pure colors to mixing shades and patterns. There are cats with tortoiseshell, tabby, smoky, silver chinchilla, marble, snow-white and others. Newborn Scottish fold kittens are born with blue eyes and ears already pressed, but not completely, over time, the ears will bend more in the cartilage area. Scottish Straight kittens are born with erect ears, and in no way these ears can be bent. The coat of a small kitten is long, light, airy.

Lop-eared Scots are friendly and affectionate cat breeds. The character of the animal is calm, persistent, it easily tolerates the grip of small children. A cat will never hurt a person, will not bite him or scratch him if she does not like something. Therefore, the Scots can be safely taken to a family where there is a small child.

In the house, the animal does not host, does not scatter objects, does not dig out the ground of their flower pots. Although it is worth noting that this breed is very playful and does not miss the chance to have fun with your favorite toy.Cats are very responsive, prefer to be in a circle of people, can not stand loneliness, requires communication and affection. Often spend time on the lap of the owner or in his bed. But at the same time remain independent beings.

As a rule, the Scots rarely give voice, most often purr. The animal’s voice is rather creaky, a little harsh or squeaky. The cat will not wake you at night with his chants or persistently beg for food with shouts. Scottish fold cats are not shy, not afraid of loud or rustling sounds. Curious. Easy to get along with other animals, friends with birds, dogs, chinchillas.

The positive qualities of the animal include its character: the cat has a calm disposition, he is friendly. The Scot is hospitable, treats a person with respect.

The Scots, thanks to their extraordinary intelligence, easy to train, courage allows animals to speak at various exhibitions. You can teach a cat to feed a paw, walk on its hind legs, and perform simple tricks.

Lop-eared cats easily become accustomed to the tray, tolerate water procedures. Some individuals enjoy swimming in open water sources.

Of the minuses it is worth highlighting the price of the breed. If you are going to purchase a purebred animal, you will have to pay out an amount reaching 40 thousand rubles. Cats without a pedigree are much cheaper, about 4 thousand rubles, but this does not guarantee that they will sell you a Scotsman, and not an animal with an operation performed on the ears. Moreover, such individuals may have major health problems in the future.

Other disadvantages include the health of purebred cats. Some Scots suffer from osteochondroplasia. This is a hereditary disease associated with damage to the bone tissue of joints, cartilage, and manifested by a slowdown in bone growth. This ailment can lead to death.

Other common Scottish fold diseases: chondrodystrophy, arthritis, arthrosis. These diseases usually occur due to improper mating of animals. Therefore, before buying a small animal, you should carefully study the pedigree of the animal, right up to the progenitors of the cat. Scots can suffer and inversion of the eyelids. Adult animals are prone to the development of glaucoma, cataracts.

Like all animals, lop-eared breed may show signs of allergy, scabies or skin eczema. Deafness is also the eternal companion of the breed, it can be full or partial. Diseases of the cardiovascular and digestive systems, the bladder develop in old animals or with improper care of the cat.

On average, a cat lives about 15 years, which is a fairly long term for a pet. However, individuals live up to 20 years or more. Also, the sterilization of the animal affects life expectancy. Pedigree cats, for whatever reason, found themselves on the street, as a rule, live up to 7 years. The birth of a cat and the maintenance of kittens takes a lot of energy from the mother, and this affects her health. The same applies to domestic Scots.

Another factor affecting the life of a pet is hereditary diseases. The lop-eared gene, although it has made these cats unique, plays a cruel joke with them, causing the development of osteochondroplasia.

Fold Scottish is not a British Shorthair.At the beginning of its history, the individual was mated to the British, which is why the kittens received external signs from the British, and became similar to them: this is the color of the coat, its length and shape, eye color, body size of the animal. The exterior of the British cat is different from the Scotsman, although the Briton is as large, the chin and cheeks of the animal are well defined. The difference in the two breeds can be replaced in the structure of the paws. The Scots, they are more elegant and thin, long.

The easiest way to determine what breed in front of you is to look at the animal’s ears. But keep in mind that Scots with straight ears are also almost no different from the British. All kittens of a British cat are born with erect ears. Scottish Straights belong to the Scottish breed, since only a lop-eared cat can bring them in the litter. In fact, erect ears can partly be considered the uniqueness of this breed.

Pets are also distinguishable by nature. The British Shorthair breed is very aristocratic and arrogant, there may be a certain coldness in relation to the owners. She does not tolerate affection, grip. All these emotions come only with her permission, when she wants. Scots, on the contrary, are extremely loving animals, they are always happy to stroking, playing games, various events.

Lop-eared cats are not too active in the voice, but talk with the owner with a purr. If you plant two breeds of the same color nearby, and begin to talk, play with them, it will immediately become clear which of them is who.

Lop-eared Scots come in a variety of colors. Consider the most common colors of this breed.

• Solid. Solid colors are also called solid. On the animal’s coat there are no drawings, ticking.

• White. The coat is snow-white, shiny, smooth. Cat eyes are painted in golden or blue colors. In white cats, heterochromy can be observed - this is when the eyes are painted in different colors. This feature does not affect the health of the animal. The nose and paws of the cat are light pink.

• Black. The skin is coal-colored, without a hint of redhead, gray. Eyes stand out, they are light, blue, yellow. The paws and nose are painted black.

• Blue This color does not look like a standard blue color, the hair of the animal just slightly resembles a gray-blue hue. The color is the same as the British. The coat is dense, plush, evenly colored. Iris in a contrasting shade: gold, amber, slightly orange. The nose is gray-blue, dark, similar to a shade of wool, the paw pads of the same color.

• Purple. Unusual color of the animal. The color is complex, difficult to convey. Outwardly similar to milk, but with a touch of purple, cold, slightly smoky. On some individuals, patterns of a spotted pattern can be traced. Such animals are considered the rarest. The nose is colored in tone of hair, as are the legs. Eyes are amber or pale, blue-gray.

• Red. The coat is red with a reddish tint. Eyes, nose and paws do not stand out in color - all in a red-amber range.

• Brown. Another unique color of the fold Scots. Also called cinnamon or cinnamon. The coat is light brown with a reddish, warm undertone. The eyes are golden. The nose and paws are brick pink.

• Tabby. The color of the tabby is characterized by the presence of a different pattern on the body of the animal. A distinctive feature is the letter "M", located on the cat's forehead, between the superciliary arches. The pattern is in the form of stripes, dots, blur.

• Striped A classic pattern made by continuous vertical thin stripes located throughout the skin of an animal. Moving away from the back, the stripes form the effect of a tiger skin. On the neck they imitate a necklace in the form of wide rings, the same rings are on the tail of the cat.The tip of the tail is completely dark. The color of the coat can be red, gray, white, milky. The pattern is usually contrasting: black, gray or dark red.

• Spotted. As the name implies, the cat's skin is decorated with spots, dots instead of stripes. The outline of the picture may be clear or blurry. In this case, the pattern on the legs and tail of the animal is made in the form of rings. On the back, spots are collected in a cluster that smoothly passes to the head of the animal. The color of the coat is equally diverse, except for a pure red color.

• Marble. The stripes are wide, without interruptions, similar to a blurred line. Externally, the pattern resembles marble, especially on gray skin. On the sides of the line form a circle with a spot in the center, and then they diverge to the back and legs of the animal. Wide rings adorn the tail; the tip is completely painted. Paws in ringlets, like the neck. The color of the cat's coat: gray, red, smoky, white. The picture is dark, saturated.

• Brown. The animal's coat has a light brown tone, the chest, as a rule, is several tones lighter, almost milky. The stripes are dark, bright. The nose and eyes are in a black edging; the paw pads are black and dark brown.

• Cream. The lightest of all colors. The fur coat of the cat is milky, with a pale cream pattern and a small red. The nose is pink, the legs are the same. Eyes are yellow, amber. The pattern is spotty, stripes are weakly expressed.

• Silvery. Cats of gray color with a dark pattern. The animal’s chest and belly are lighter than the body. The color of the iris is green, blue. The nose is brown, in a small stroke. Paw pads are black. The pattern is diverse. The Scots can also distinguish a color similar to chinchilla wool, there are several options.

• Smoky. The smoky color is similar to the chinchilla, but it is made in dark colors. Animals come in black, blue or cameo colors. The undercoat of the cat is several tones lighter than the tip of the hair. A distinctive feature of cats with a smoky color - amber eyes.

• Shaded color. A complex type of color, expressed in bicolor hairs in certain areas of the body of the animal. As a rule, these are the sides, back, head and legs of a cat. You can distinguish shaded color from chinchillas by eye piping. It is dark, saturated, contoured. The color of the fur of cats can be golden, silver and red.

• Bicolor. The color bicolor is made in any color, but always with large white spots on the cat's body. These spots are located on the cat's face, legs, abdomen, hips. The eyes of animals are light or golden. Heterochromia also occurs.

• Wang. This color is similar to the color of Turkish Van cats, for which it got its name. Colored spots of black or red tones are located in the upper part of the cat's face, as if creating an eyebrow pattern. Sometimes the ears are colored, small spots appear on the sides of the animal. The tail of a cat is always painted black or red, plain or in the form of rings.

• Harlequin. It is expressed as a percentage of colored spots to the basic tone of the coat (white). The skin of the animal is covered with spots only 1/5 part.

• Ticking. Ticking is a mixture of pigmented and slightly pigmented areas of wool. The coat may be light brown with a grayish tint. Eyes are amber, copper. Cats with a gray tone of hair have green eyes.

• Tortoise. Color is represented by a mixture of two or three colors. The mixture is based on black, complemented by gray, red and white.

In general, the content of Scottish fold cats does not cause any difficulties. The main thing is to create a cozy, friendly atmosphere for the cat, properly feed it and monitor the health of the doctor. Let's consider each item in more detail.

If you took an adult cat or kitten to the house, be sure to mark its place of sleep and toilet for the animal. For your pet, you should choose soft couches with high open sides.A bed in the form of a house is also suitable. If the cat did not like the bed, and she herself determined a place to sleep, then it can be covered with a soft blanket so that the animal does not freeze, this is especially true if the cat likes to sleep on the floor.

The cat tray is selected according to the size of the animal, with or without grating. Open trays should be placed on special rugs to prevent the spread of filler throughout the floor after the cat goes to the toilet. The filler should be purchased without flavoring, so as not to provoke the development of allergies in cats. In addition, the smell of the filler may turn out to be harsh for the animal, and it will not go to the tray about its business.

It is also worth buying various toys for the cat. It can be mice, feathers on a stick, laser pointers or interactive sets.

If the Scot will be on a natural diet, then you must carefully observe the diet. Food should be rich not only in proteins, but also in all vitamins and minerals needed by cats. It is recommended to feed your pet with fresh meat: beef, chicken, turkey, you can give offal (liver, kidney, chicken hearts). The liver and poultry meat must be boiled before serving. Occasionally, a cat's diet is supplemented by saltwater fish. Fillet should be boiled, boneless, non-greasy.

It is permissible to use fermented milk products, such as milk, cottage cheese, kefir. Sour cream and cream are undesirable. These foods are high in fat, which has a negative effect on the digestive system of cats, and they can also cause liver disease. Dairy products are allowed to be given to cats once a week. It is definitely worth offering Scotch cereals. The most useful are oats, millet, rice. Porridge based on them are boiled without adding salt and oil.

If the cat will be on a special diet composed of dry and wet food, then it is necessary to purchase premium or super premium food. This product is characterized by high quality ingredients, it is fully balanced in terms of protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber. These brands include Acana, Holistic, Grandorf and others.

With dry food, you should pay attention to the availability of fresh water and the ease of access to it.

Cats are clean creatures, they lick themselves calmly, try not to get dirty, and behave very carefully in the house. If there is a need for bathing a cat, then the procedure is worth doing using special shampoosthat you can buy at any pet store. Bathing takes place in warm water, slowly, while the pet's face should not be touched. After washing the cat, wrap it with a soft towel and squeeze the water from the coat.

The animal is placed in a warm place without drafts until it dries completely, or you can resort to using a hair dryer, provided that the animal is not afraid of it. After that proceed to combing the wool. For shorthair individuals, brushes with natural bristles or slickers are suitable. For those who have long hair, it is worth using special combs.

Ear care comes down to treating the auricles with anti-mite lotions. Cleaning takes place with a cotton swab or cotton pad. The inner part of the ear is cleansed of sulfur, with caution it is worth processing the area of ​​the auditory canal. If you are afraid to perform these manipulations, then first you should bring the animal and the veterinarian and ask him to explain and show how to clean your ears.

If the cat has watery eyes, then this may be a sign of an allergy or the onset of an illness. In this case, the pet must be taken to a veterinary clinic for examination. As a rule, eye drops or lotions are prescribed to the cat, with the help of which external cleaning of the lacrimal ducts takes place. The cotton pad is moistened with the selected drug and gently lifted to the edge of the cat's eye. Attention! Do not rub your cat’s eyes, you just need to blot this area.

Scots should also monitor oral hygiene. Once a year, the animal must go to the veterinarian for preventive cleaning of teeth from stone. At home, cat's teeth are cleaned with a special tooth powder for animals and a brush sold in veterinary stores.

Once a month, cat's claws are cut. To do this, you should buy a clipper, it can be presented in the form of ordinary scissors, guillotines or tongs. There is no difference in work between them, so take those that are more familiar.

If you are against clipping, you can use colored caps. These caps are attached with glue to the nail plate of the claw, without interfering with the cat retracting and releasing the claws. However, the animal can easily nibble them.

Lop-eared cats are very active and need to splash out their energy somewhere. Animals must be played or released into the garden so that cats can run. At home, you can train your pet on a leash, and then take it with you on trips or for a walk in the park, in the courtyard of the house.

Scottish breeding should be left for breeders and nurseries. If couples are mated incorrectly, there is a high probability of getting sick offspring or animals whose defects will appear in the next generation.

Maturity in animals occurs at 8 months of age, however, a cat or cat who has reached the age of 1.3 years is allowed to mate. Early pregnancy of animals leads to various birth complications, death of the litter, and reduction of fertility.

The cat meets the selected partner on the second day of estrus, in the territory of the cat. On the first day, animals get to know each other, clashes, conflicts are possible. The breeding partner must meet the criteria for the IFC in order to get healthy offspring. As an improvement of natural characteristics, animals of identical color are mated, for example, do not interfere with the blue color with cinnamon, since in such cases the offspring of the tortoise color is obtained, with heterochromy.

The lop-eared cat is mated only with Scottish Straights and, conversely, the lop-eared cat is found with a cat with erect ears. Sometimes it happens that fertilization does not occur after the first meeting of animals. It is advisable that the cat stay with the cat for three days.

Pregnancy in cats lasts nine weeks. The first signs appear in the second, third week. Nipples swell, change their color, the cat consumes a lot of food. During this period, it is necessary to exclude fish delicacies from the diet, add more sour-milk products, including natural yoghurts. By the fifth week, the cat’s stomach is quite round, the animal has significantly gained weight. The cat behaves calmly, carefully throughout the period before the birth.

Before giving birth, the pet will begin to look for a place. It is possible that she will love an open cupboard or drawer. It is advisable to prepare a large cardboard box for the cat, lining it with a warm blanket or a thick layer of fabric. During childbirth, as a rule, third-party help is needed only to wipe the kittens from the mucus, cleanse the sinuses of the nose, mouth and eyes. The cat will do the rest herself.

There are 4 to 6 kittens per litter. The first days of life, mother is actively caring for and feeding them. At this time, do not touch the cat or try to stroke the kittens, the animal will respond with aggression. When the cat gets stronger, you need to take her to the doctor for examination, and in case of violations, immediately proceed to their treatment.

As soon as the kittens are one and a half months old, the babies should be registered at the club. The institution records all the characteristics of the kittens: gender, body size, color, and so on. Then you need to get the kids a veterinary passport, put all the necessary vaccinations.

It is desirable to sell animals in adulthood, somewhere in the 4-5 month of life. During this period they will learn how to behave properly with a person, where their place, tray, will learn to eat natural food or dry food.

Owners leave positive feedback about this breed, they say that cats are very friendly, non-aggressive, love to play, affectionate and obedient. The breed does not require special feeds. Most of the difficulties are associated with ear care, since the structure of the auricles causes the inconvenience of cleansing the auditory canals, however, with the advent of experience, everything changes.

Families with young children also speak positively about Scots, because such cats treat children well and do not resist their caresses. However, there have been cases of fraud from breeders. The phenomenon is rare, but in order not to get into trouble, carefully study the documentation for the cat, in case of any doubt it is worth giving up the proposed kitten.

For more information on Scottish fold cats, see the next video.