The Scottish Fold's Ears and What They Cost

The folded ear is the whole point of the breed and it is a symptom.

What the mutation does

Scottish Folds carry a dominant mutation affecting cartilage development. It is what bends the ear forward, and cartilage is not only in the ear.

The same mutation malforms cartilage in the limbs, the tail and the vertebrae, producing osteochondrodysplasia — abnormal bone and joint development that causes progressive, painful arthritis.

This is not a risk that some Folds run. It is a consequence of the gene that makes a Fold a Fold. Every cat with folded ears has it. Radiographic changes have been found in folded cats at a few months old.

What it looks like

• Reluctance to jump, or refusing heights it used to manage
• A stiff, short-strided gait
• A thickened, inflexible tail — a good early indicator, and easy to check
• Swelling around the ankles and wrists
• Reduced play, reduced grooming
• In severe cases, fused joints and near-immobility

Severity varies. Two copies of the gene produce crippling disease early, which is why folded cats are never bred to each other. One copy produces a slower version, and "slower" is the best available outcome.

The straight-eared littermates

A Scottish Fold is bred to a straight-eared cat — a British Shorthair, or a straight-eared Fold. Half the litter gets the gene and folds; half does not and stays straight.

The straight-eared kittens are healthy. They do not carry the mutation and they do not develop the disease. They are sold as Scottish Straights and they are a genuinely fine cat.

Which puts the position plainly: the breed produces healthy kittens and disabled ones from the same litter, and the disabled ones are the ones people pay for.

Where it stands

The Scottish Fold cannot be registered with the GCCF in the UK and never has been, on welfare grounds. Breeding is banned in several jurisdictions and restricted in others. Veterinary associations in the UK, Australia and elsewhere have called for it to stop.

Meanwhile the breed has become extremely popular through social media, where the folded ears and flat round face read as unusually cute, and where the arthritis is not visible in a photograph.

If you have one

None of this is a reason to feel badly about a cat you already have. It is a reason to manage the condition actively rather than waiting for obvious lameness.

• Talk to a vet early, before symptoms are marked. Pain management is more effective started early.
• Check the tail regularly for stiffness — it is the most accessible joint and often the first to change.
• Keep weight down. Every extra kilogram is loaded onto compromised joints.
• Adapt the house: steps up to favourite spots, a low-sided litter tray, soft bedding, food and water at floor level.
• Cats hide pain well. Reduced jumping and reduced grooming are often the only signs.

The one it is confused with

The American Curl has ears that curve backward, away from the face, and its mutation is unrelated to cartilage disease. Kittens are born straight-eared and curl over the first week. It is a healthy breed with no equivalent problem.

Forward and down is the fold. Backward and out is the curl. Only one of them costs the cat anything.

Why this page exists

Most of this section is about telling breeds apart. This one is about the fact that a breed standard can specify a disease, and that a page describing the Scottish Fold without saying so would be describing the ears and leaving out what they mean.