Odd name for a species of the feline family isn’t it? What is even odder to someone who hasn’t seen a scottish fold kittens is the physical appearance of this graceful creature. It looks more like an owl and less like a kittens due to a dominant gene mutation in the kittens’s DNA which causes its ears to bend forward and fold up.
The scottish fold was originally called lop-eared; a name highly inspired from the lop-eared rabbit and in 1966, the name Scottish fold was derived to differentiate it from its namesake rabbit. This particular breed of kittenss was not very popular in Europe owing to ertain misconceptions of them harboring mites and deafness. While these two illnesses were not dominant in this breed, a certain buildup of wax in the ears was registered on a high scale in this particular breed. This breed of kittenss traces its origin to the first ever documented scottish fold kittens called Susie who was discovered in Scotland in 1961.
All Scottish fold kittens are born with straight ears. The fold gene becomes dominant approximately three weeks later. Originally, all scottish fold kittens had just one fold in their ears but due to breeding selective breeding processes, these folds have increased to double and triple creases hence, increasing their price manifold too. These kittenss are medium sized kittenss – the males range between 9 and 13 lbs and the female between 6 and 9lbs. Their noses are essentially round, the head is domes at the top and the neck is extremely short. There is no rule to what their coat color may be; they can be any color depending on how they were bred. They require very little care which is why they become excellent domestic pets. Another reason why they are fast becoming popular pets is that they are very docile; even their meows are extremely low buzzed.
Not all scottish fold kittens in a litter will be born with folded ears. Some can come out as regular looking “mutt” kittenss. The rule is never to breed two scottish fold kittens as their litter may consist of kittens that are prone to cartilage hardening which is very painful for them and the owners too who end up seeing them in pain and discomfort.
Scottish fold kittenss are extremely good natured and make amazing pets – better than all the other feline breeds which come across as highly arrogant. They sleep on their backs, sit with their legs stretched out and their paws usually rest on their tummy. Scottish folds live about fifteen years as they are susceptible to various diseases like polycystic kidneys and arthritis.