General Description.

The unique folded ears of the Scottish Fold give it a look reminiscent of an owl. The tightly folded ears fit closely to the skull resulting in a cap-like appearance. Big, round shoe-button eyes open up the face in the rounded head. A sturdy body is covered with padding resulting in a solid feel to this medium-sized cat. The folded ear is a spontaneous mutation and comes from an incompletely dominant gene that results in both folded and straight-eared cats

 

History

The first Scottish Fold, found in 1961 by shepherd William Ross, was a barn cat named Susie who lived in Scotland. Folds have since developed into a round and beautiful family lap cat with wonderful temperaments. Susie was a solid white longhaired female and the cat fanciers bred her to various breeds like Persians, American Shorthairs, Exotic Shorthairs and even Burmese to achieve the round sweet look of the Scottish Folds we have grown to love today. Every Scottish Fold alive today can trace his or her ancestry back to the original Susie. Today TICA Scottish Fold breeders are allowed to use the British Shorthair and the American Shorthair in their breeding programs.

 

Personality

Scottish Folds are intelligent, inquisitive, and are loyal to their family. They tend not to hide around the house or be shy, but rather they will always be around, even following you from room to room. Some learn cute antics like how to open cabinet doors and take a look inside and they can even be trained to play fetch. Most love to drink from running water, and some eat and drink with their paws. Most folded eared Folds sit up like prairie dogs to have a look around when they hear something. One of the cutest things is to see a Fold sitting up like a human which to many in the Fold world is referred to as "the Buddha sit"...they look like they need a remote control and a lounge chair. This breed gets along well with both children and, once properly introduced, other family pets as well. Scottish Folds today are carefully bred by experienced breeders to produce healthy happy kittens for you to enjoy for a lifetime.

 

Traits

Scottish Folds come in all colors and patterns as well as long hair and short hair varieties. All eye colors can be found, but copper eyes are the most common color. Scottish Folds have round faces, round eyes and round bodies. They are a medium sized cat with medium boning. What makes them so very unique are those cute little folded ears that fold forward and tightly enough to fit the cap of their heads so as to look like an owl from a distance. Did you know that all Scottish fold kittens are born with straight ears? Yes, they look like every other newborn kitten, until between 18 and 24 days their ears fold but only if they carry the gene that causes the fold in the ears. Normally 50% of the litter will fold and the rest are what breeders call straight eared Folds who are just as wonderfully sweet and are usually a bit less expensive too!

 

retrieved 2/23/2014 source