The history of the creation of the Scottish Fold breed

Scottish Fold history

The first Scottish Fold cat breed made its appearance in 1961. A white, barn cat called Suzie was born on the McRae's farm near Coupar Angus in the Tayside Region of Scotland. What made her unique was that her ears folded forward and downward on her head resulting in a sweet 'teddy bear' 'owl' or 'pixie'-look'. The kitten was so charming that the hosts decided to leave it. In July 1963 Suzie gave an offspring, wich included two lop-eared kittens. Mary and William Ross, neighbours of the farmers andbreeders of British Shorthairs were enamored with Suzie and acquired one of her female, folded-ear kittens - the kitten was named Snooks. They decided to explore this phenomenon and conduct the selection work on the establishment of a separate lop-eared breed. They crossed Snooks with ordinary domestic cat, and got the litter which also had two lop-eared kittens. One of them, male, called Snowball was left for the further selection work. He was crossed with the white Brittish Shorthair named Lady May. This union resulted in 5 folded eared kittens and signified the birth of the Scottish Fold cat breed. Mary and William Ross are credited for developing the breed and obtaining registration with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) in 1966.
Their three-year breeding program resulted in over 70 kittens. Of the kittens born, 34 had straight ears and 42 had folded ears.

Breeding work conducted by crossing fold with straight-eared as well as fold with fold-eared. But the kittens from the fold-fold litter had violations of the musculoskeletal system. In the seventies, the English researcher Dr. Oliphant Jackson discovered this relationship and because of his observations the further work with the breed was banned by GCCE.

Mary Ross was concerned about the survival of this cat and in an attempt to preserve this rare cat breed.  Most of the British 'stock' was sent to the United States in 1971. An American geneticist Neil Todd took up the cause. American genesists tried to cross fold and straight cats, and that attempt was successfull. Responsible and reputable cat breeders ensure that two folded eared cats are never bred together. To this day, outcrossing to British and American Shorthair is fundamental to any breeding program. The British type eas more heavyset, an elongated muzzle. the American type is with an excellent abutment of the ears, short muzzle, round head, large, wide-set eyes. finally the American type was chosen to be standart. Through the tireless efforts of dedicated American cat breeders, this cat breed finally achieved CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) recognition in 1978.

Scale of points at the assessement of the Scottish Fold

For the last thirty years the breed has earned plenty of admirers. A nice lop-eared creature with saucer eyes barely can leave a person indifferent.

In our cattery you can buy a Scottish Fold kitten in "Kitten" section