Scottish Fold Cat - breed description

Scottish Fold cats are one of the most sought after breeds in the world. Their individual feature and the main difference of the breed - small ears that are bent down. Hangers are so fond of breeders that without them it is already difficult to imagine your life.

Description

Probably no one has to ask which country is the birthplace of Scottish Fold cats. In addition to hanging ears, the breed also has some other features. According to the approved standards, the Scottish cat must have the following characteristics:

1. Body. Medium size, closer to large. Medium fatness, muscular, with rounded lines. With a wide chest.
2. Head. Round. The chin is well developed. Vibrissa pads are well pronounced.
3. Eyes. Large and round. With a wide location.
4. Nose. Not long and a bit wide.
5. Neck. Short and thick.
6. Paws. Have an average length. Strong enough. With advanced pads.
7. Tail. Wide at base, tapering to a rounded tip. Middle length.

Colors

When choosing a kitten, especially for the purpose of breeding, the colors of Scottish cats are of great importance. Since the colors of the offspring will depend on the parents, it is possible to determine which kittens will be made using the Scottish cats color chart. Often, the price of a Scottish cat depends on the colors, the less often the cat has the color - the higher its cost, and the more successful the show career. Fortunately, the colors of Scottish cats are presented in a large variety. To get the kittens necessary colors, you need to follow the rules of mating Scottish cats in color.

1. Monophonic (solid) colors. Solid is the color of Scottish lop-eared cats, when the animal has a monochromatic coat color along the entire length of each hair without patterns or spots. Solid colors are very widely represented in Scottish Fold, there are nine in all.
2. Bicolor Two-color Scottish Fold Cat.White coat color can be combined with any of the existing ones. On the face, bicolor cats often have an inverted “V”. The value of a bicolor cat increases when there is a white collar around its neck.
3. Partikolor (calico). This color is a combination of white and tortoise color.
4. Harlequin. Rather rare, but very popular and original color. In harlequin color on a white background dark spots of any color occur in different places on the body or head of a Scottish cat. With the correct harlequin color, the 5th part of the cat's body is colored and the tail is necessarily colored. Symmetry is welcome.
5. Van In the color of the baths there may be a couple of colored spots - on the tail or head. The specks on the legs and body are considered a disadvantage.
6. Tortoiseshell. Tortoiseshell color is found in lop-eared Scottish cats and never in cats. The tortoiseshell cat has white and red, chaotically located specks on a black background. Three flowers according to popular beliefs bring good luck, happiness, and material well-being into the house. The turtles are valuable because they can produce kittens of any color.
7. Color-point. Color - point color Scottish cats received from their ancestors - exotic. With such colors, the body of the animal has a light color, and all convex parts (ears, tail, muzzle and legs) are darker.
8. Chinchilla. Chinchilla is one of the most rare and valuable colors of Scottish cats. Chinchilla colors can only be available in kittens whose parents both have this type of color. In this case, only the eighth part of the coat is dyed, the rest is white.
9. Shaded A very effective type of color, when a lighter color at the base of each individual hair turns into a more saturated one at the tips.
10. Ticked. It is common to call ticked colors of Scottish fold fur seals, in which there is no pattern, but the body is covered with striped hairs, while maintaining a barely noticeable pattern on the legs and head of the pet. In addition, on the forehead there is the letter "M", characteristic of tabby. Ticking is found in different colors: black, blue, cream, golden, lilac, red, chocolate.

Tabby (tabby)
He is also called tiger or leopard. Scottish cats, apparentlyinherited specks or streaking from their distant wild ancestors. It is typical for tabby color:

• the presence of horizontal stripes in the center of the back;
• the characteristic "M" on the face of a cat;
• eyes have an eyeliner in the color of the main coat;
• nose color in tone of the basic shade of wool;
• the presence of "necklaces" on the chest;
• closed rings on paws.

The value and success of a cat's show career depends on the clarity of the striped pattern on the Scots fur coat.

From the history of the breed

Scottish Folds have been chronicling since the late 50s of the 20th century. When the Scottish shepherd William Ross and his wife discovered on the territory of a neighbor's farm a charming creature with very interesting cat ears. The mistress of a white lop-eared cat stated that the mother of the cat is British, but she has no data about the father of the animal. Ross were so admired by the animals that when a white lop cat got offspring, they took one of the kittens and gave it the name Snooks. Ross's wife was so fascinated with lop-eared cats that she started to breed them actively.

Breeders interested in cats of the Ross family, came to the conclusion that the kittens got hanging ears due to genetic damage.In the 63rd year of the last century, work began on the breeding of the perfect lop-eared cat. The ancestors of the breed were the fold cat Snouboll and the British cat. Next to the Scottish folds were introduced genes: American Shorthair, exotic and Persians. But ten years later, felinologists had to interrupt the selection process, since most of the kittens had strong problems with the musculoskeletal system.

In the 71st year in the United States, it was decided to continue the selection of Scottish Fold cats. Felinologists have come to the conclusion that, in order to obtain healthy offspring, it is necessary to cross the lop-eared individuals with the straight-ear Scots and animals of the British breed. The result was healthy kittens with straight (Scottish Straight) and hanging (Scottish Fold) ears. Fold longhair cat - Highland fold was recognized by breeders in the 80th year of the last century.

Character

Cat Scottish Fold attracted the attention of many people around the world not only with its charming appearance, but also the perfect character. These cats are very good-natured and calm. They are very affectionate, but not annoying.They get along well with children, they like to communicate and play with them. As a rule, a lop-eared cat must have a pet among family members. They get along with other pets living with them on the same territory.

It is worth noting that the cats of this breed are extremely tidy and clean, rarely "shkodnichayut", not loud. By the nature of the Scottish cats - introverts. They do not require excessive attention and complex care. Thanks to all these qualities, the Scots are so loved by man as pets.

Features of maintenance and care

As mentioned above, lop-eared cats do not require complex care, especially short-haired. It is enough to comb them once or twice a week. Highland fold more picky in this regard. The long coat is somewhat more difficult to care for. To protect your house from wool scattered on the floor and furniture, a pet must be combed every 1 or 2 days. In order for the licked wool not to clog the animal's digestive system, special preparations should be given to the cat.

In order for a cat to be healthy and have a well-groomed appearance, it needs to carry out hygienic procedures, including:

1. Hygiene eyes. They should be cleaned with a cotton swab or disc dipped in barely warm boiled water, at least once a week.
2. Cleaning the ears. Once every 10 days you need to wipe your ears with a wet cotton swab.
3. Brushing teeth. About once a week, a cat needs to brush its teeth with a special paste using a soft toothbrush or a cotton pad. Do this need sweeping movements. Wipe the upper teeth down and the lower teeth up. To teach a cat to brush teeth is desirable from a young age.
4. Bathing. Short-haired cats are bathed no more than once every six months, and long-haired cats - once every 4-5 months. When bathing you need to make sure that the water does not fall into the pet's ears. You do not need to wash the cat with human shampoos or fragrant soap. This is best done using special tools for animals.

To make the cat comfortable in the house, she needs to have special toys. It is desirable that the pet has a special scraper, which protect the master furniture from the encroachment of the pet family.

Be sure to have a special tray for the cat or teach her to go to the toilet.

Nutrition

Kittens up to 4 months you need to feed about five times a day. Gradually, the number of feedings decreases as the animal grows. Adult cat eats about 3 times a day. A pet must have a separate drinking bowl. The water in it needs to be changed every day.

Scottish Fold Cat Feeding can be:

• Natural.
• Special.
• Combined.

Natural nutrition includes: meat, cereals and vegetables. Be sure to boil meat low-fat varieties: chicken, rabbit, turkey, beef. Many will probably be surprised, but cats, like man, also need cereals and vegetables. Indeed, in the wild, these animals also eat a certain amount of these products along with the prey caught by them: a mouse or a bird. It is possible that someone cat loves to eat oatmeal on milk or corn porridge, but the cat is unlikely to eat pumpkin or cucumber. With the use of these products, the pet needs to prepare a special meal with the inclusion of all the ingredients. In meat broth with pieces of meat you need to boil the cereal until cooked. To rub boiled beets, carrots, cabbage, pumpkin into the finished porridge.Vegetables should be about 30 percent of the cat's total diet. You can keep such a gruel in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Special food can be produced at the expense of dry granulated feed and canned feed. Its plus is that it does not require additional time spent on cooking and buying the right ingredients. High-quality food produced with the participation of veterinarians and, as a rule, they are not only perfectly safe, but also include all the trace elements, vitamins and minerals that are simply necessary for a cat for a healthy and happy life. It is best to choose food on the recommendation of the breeders and taking into account the individual preferences of the cat.

Combined food. The most common type of cat feeding when natural food alternates with special foods.

Health and possible diseases

It is mandatory that the animal should be vaccinated against panleukopenia and other possible diseases that may threaten the cat's life. Two weeks before the vaccination, the cat should be treated for fleas and worms. Special collars, drops, tablets, suspensions can be used for these purposes.

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