The Scottish Fold Cat

Before we get into details, here's a quick summary:

Personality: Calm, love people, lovely temperament, not very active

Suits: Families with other pets, first time cat owners, singles

Other: Good with children, adaptable, not very attention-seeking

Breed Information

1) What are they like as pets?

These cats make lovely pets. Their easy-going, calm nature means they're fine with children and other pets. They adapt very well to change and aren't easily frightened.

They really love human company, and often prefer just sitting with you rather than playing. They're the Homer Simpsons of the cat world - i.e. love to lounge on the sofa and watch TV with you! They also have a habit of suddenly rolling onto their backs and going to sleep in this position - very cute!

Their folded ears tend to build up wax quickly and need regular cleaning (at least once a fortnight, maybe more.)

2) Looks, build, colors and markings

Scottish Fold cats are owl-like in appearance, with their folded ears, round face and cheeks and huge eyes. They come in many solid and mixed colors (though not color point, solid lilac or chocolate.)

These cats come in short and longhaired varieties. The longhaired variety needs grooming several times a week.

They aren't born with folded ears, and not all of them develop folded ears. All newborn kittens have straight ears. If they have the folded ear gene, their ears will fold when they're about a month old.

This is a fairly small breed. Adult females weigh about 6 - 9lbs. Males are bigger - usually 9 - 13lbs.

3) History

The Scottish Fold came about in the 1960s when a shepherd in Scotland called William Ross noticed a farm cat with folded down ears. He thought she looked like a cuddly owl, so he adopted one of her kittens and bred that cat with British Shorthair cats and other farm cats.

There were concerns that the breed would be more prone to deafness and other cat ear problems than other cats. It's now been proven that it's at no more risk than any other breed, but it's still not recognized as a breed in Europe.