The Scottish Fold cat was first discovered in 1961 at a farm in Coupar Angus, Perthshire. A cat named Susie was born with folded ears. When she had kittens, two of them had similar characteristics. A shepherd named William Ross took one and, with the help of geneticist Pat Turner, he began breeding them. Only one female of her kittens were able to conceive;, a cat named Snooks was the result. All Scottish Fold cats are descended from Susie and Snooks. When the breed crossed over to North America, they were bred with American and British shorthairs.
All Scottish Fold cats are born with straight ears, most of which fold within 21 days. Not all of the cats develop folded ears. The Scottish Fold's ears are very delicate and must be treated gently. The cats are of medium build and weigh between six and thirteen pounds. The body is rounded, they have a short neck, and their eyes are broadly spaced. They come in a variety of colors and fur types.
The Scottish Fold are very good natured and sociable cats. They often sleep on their backs. The cat's live an average of fifteen years. The Scottish Fold's temperament and sociability makes them suitable for showing.
Breeders do have to be selective about which Scottish Fold cats they breed; it was discovered that if two Scottish Fold cats with folded ears were bred with one another that it could cause health problems such as degenerative joint disease. So, breeders mate the folded eared ones with the non-folded ears of the breed. Some breeders have further developed a Scottish Fold cat with three folds in the ears instead of one making the ears exceptionally delicate.
The Scottish Fold has been accepted byt the Cat Fanciers' Association since 1978; several European associations do not accept the Scottish Fold as they consider the breeding of cats with folded ears with other folded eared cats to be unethical. However, as stated above, most breeders will not even think of doing this.
I personally knew a Scottish Fold named Teddy. He was very sweet and loving. The Scottish Fold is also the subject of a series of novels by Peter Gethers; Gethers also wrote a non-fiction book about Norton and their life together.
Scottish Fold cats are just one of the many interesting breeds of cats and the only one, as far as I know, that was first discovered in Scotland.
