Scottish Fold breed guide

Comfortable, charming homebodies, Scottish Folds enjoy human interaction without craving it. They are sometimes reserved with strangers. Other cats may misread the folded ears as hostility. Their affection blossoms under respectful attention.

CFA calls their temperaments very even and usually patient with children, though they do not do well left alone for long periods.

Quiet but not placid, a Scottish Fold will play fetch. CFA says you can trust it not to start a game at three in the morning. Intelligent enough for basic tricks, it may sit up straight like a prairie dog when something new catches its attention.

It follows you around the house in quiet, polite conversation and rarely gets in the way.

No special grooming is needed: a weekly combing keeps the lush coat in good condition. Longhaired Scottish Folds need more frequent attention to prevent tangles and mats.

Scottish Folds shed year-round, with heavier periods in spring and fall.

Responsible breeders mate fold-eared cats only to straight-eared cats to minimize arthritic and bone conditions and DNA testing is of paramount importance to confirm each pairing is appropriate. A well-bred Scottish Fold has a flexible tail and no gait problems.

CFA advises gentle, frequent checks of tail flexibility because stiffness may be an early sign of other health problems.

In 1961 shepherd William Ross spotted the first Scottish Fold, a copper-eyed white female named Susie, at a farm in Tayside, Scotland. Susie produced only one litter, so her daughter Snooks became the foundation queen; bred to a domestic male and then to a British Shorthair, she produced folded-ear kittens both times.

CFA gave the shorthaired Fold championship status in 1978 and the longhaired Fold the same in 1992. In 2022 it accepted straight-eared cats, which gives the breed four divisions.