Many internet pet celebrities are proud to have a cat with folded ears. There have also been pet Internet celebrities who have won tens of millions of fans with a cat with folded ears. In the eyes of most online pet celebrities, a cat with folded ears is a sharp tool to attract traffic. It is also from the popularity of many folded-eared cats, more and more people are beginning to know: there is such a soft and cute cat breed with a unique appearance!
But there are always rumors that folded-eared cats have genetic diseases, that the breeding and trafficking of folded-eared cats is inhumane, that fold-eared cats suffer... Why is this statement? What exactly is a genetic disease in a cat with folded ears? Are those so-called "cats with broken ears can cure pain through maintenance" correct? I believe that after reading this article, you who love cats will no longer feel that the folded ear cat is soft and cute.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the origin of the folded-eared cat</h1>
The full name of the folded ear cat is the Scottish folded ear cat, which is produced in Scotland, because the ears are bent downwards, so it is named "folded ear cat". The first folded-eared cat was bred "by coincidence" in 1961 and was not recognized by the Cat Society until 1984.
Once the breeding of cats with folded ears, there were frequent malformed fetuses, so it was once banned from breeding in britain. Later, the breeders continued to experiment through xenobreeding and reproduction, and only then did the baby cat with broken ears that is not easy to die appear.
Regardless of the physical shortcomings of the folded-eared cat, in terms of appearance and personality alone, the folded-eared cat is indeed a very easy to be loved breed. Folded ear cats are born with a gentle and sweet personality, delicate calls, they are keen to interact with their owners, and they love to participate in their owners' daily lives. Compared to other cats who are keen to tease cat sticks, folded ear cats are more addicted to the company of their owners.
The attraction of folded-eared cats is also that they sleep in a unique position and like to sleep on their backs. When he is awake, he often sits like a human, staring around with a pair of innocent big eyes, which is very pleasing.
But behind the folded ear cat, it is difficult for many people to recognize the pain, next, we will analyze from the perspective of animal eugenics: why more and more regular cat houses now resist the breeding and sale of folded ear cats.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > genetic disease of the folded-eared cat</h1>
Folded-eared cats 100% carry a congenital disease: osteochondrodysplasia. In the 1970s Britain, where technology was limited, it was believed that the disease was caused by the mating of two folded-eared cats, which could be prevented by hybridizing with folded-eared cats and lien-eared cats.
Unfortunately, with the advancement of science and technology and the deepening of genetic research, in 1999, Dr. Richard Malik of the University of Sydney finally proved through repeated investigations and experiments that there was no effective prevention method for congenital diseases carried by folded-eared cats. The popular understanding is that the genes that cause the cats with broken ears must lead to bone and joint abnormalities; cats with normal bones must not carry the ear folding genes.
Here is also to break a common rumor of merchants to fool customers:
Some cat houses say that this folded ear cat is bred through the mating of folded ears and standing ears, and there will be no bone genetic diseases. This is the lie commonly used by unscrupulous breeding houses to deceive customers who do not know how to do it.
It is not so much that cats with folded ears carry bone diseases, but rather that it is bone diseases produced by mutated genes that show signs of folded ears.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > what the genetic disorders of folded-eared cats manifest themselves</h1>
Few people can appreciate how much pain the bone disease of the cat with the folded ear causes to the cat. In the eyes of most people, the folded ear cat does not have any painful performance, in fact, it is not, because the character of the folded ear cat is too tenacious and tolerant, and it is very good at hiding pain.
It's hard to see any manifestations related to pain in a cat with folded ears, but what is the actual situation?
Folded-eared cats often show a sitting position and lie down to sleep because of the pain when the hind limbs are stiff or bent, and have to take a sitting position to reduce the pain; the folded-eared cats are quiet and not moving, and it is precisely because they take each step is suffering, and they can only minimize their own movement.
Image source network
Even the fat and cute meat pads of the folded-eared cat are caused by skeletal abnormalities.
The onset of the disease of the broken ear cat, the initial manifestation of laziness, the later direct appearance of mobility disorders and even paralysis. When the folded-eared cat begins to develop the disease, you will find:
The cat's tail is stiff and cannot be bent, cannot swing;
The appearance of pronounced osteoporosis and lumps in the hind limbs;
The joints of the cat's limbs show severe swelling and are not touched;
The hind soles are thick, the nails grow and deform, and the soles of the feet cannot touch the ground when sitting upright.
Most folded-eared cats have very pronounced joint lesions in adulthood
But the kitten is still very strong, not noisy, and the careless owner cannot detect the pain of the kitten. It was not until the appearance of behavioral disorders, urinary incontinence, and paralysis that the owner realized the seriousness of the problem, but at this time he was powerless to return to heaven, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the cat with folded ears may die of excessive pain without being known.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > medical records and findings on the treatment of bone disease in Scottish folded-eared cats</h1>
Even today, when medicine is so developed, all geneticists can only regret to announce that the disease caused by this innate gene is irreversible. That is to say: the bone disease of the cat with folded ears is accompanied by lifelong, and there is no medicine to cure.
The sadder reality is that there is not even a way to prevent the disease. The owner can only watch the cat fall ill but can not do anything.
In order to eliminate the pain of cats, the veterinary medical community has never stopped in the treatment and research of scottish folded ear cat disease.
Research by the Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences of the University of Sydney shows that subcutaneous injection of pentylan combined with oral glycosaminoglycan preparations can improve clinical symptoms.
Image credit from the National Library of the United States
At the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Veterinary medicine and life sciences in Japan, radiation therapy (RT) for cats with diseased folded ears has been effective. Within two weeks of RT, clinical symptoms did disappear temporarily, and the results of the study showed that 3 cats relieved the pain through radiotherapy treatment within 72 months. However, through imaging, it was found that although radiotherapy can reduce pain, the bones of cats with folded ears continue to appear new deformities, which are affecting the behavior and activity of cats.
In layman's terms: radiation therapy can reduce the pain of cats with folded ears, but it cannot inhibit the development of lesions. But Professor Fujiwara, who conducted the study, also said that this method is extremely expensive to treat and is not suitable for families.
Through the research of veterinary medical practitioners in various countries and regions, we can only conclude helplessly: from the perspective of animal eugenics, eliminating the breeding of cats with folded ears is currently the only way to prevent such genetic diseases.
It is true that the cute cat with folded ears is true, but the pain behind the cute cats we have seen is little known. It is also the idea of animal eugenics and breeding that has gradually been popularized, so that more and more civilized cities have realized that ornamental pets based on individual suffering have no reproductive significance.
Xiaobian is engaged in the pet industry, but also the staff of animal shelters, pay attention to our fans, are pet lovers.
Among the readers, there are experienced shovelers, pet shops that have been in the industry for many years, there are lovers of cloud sucking cats and dogs, and there are young people who are eager to try and become pet owners soon.
Here, Xiaobian has to convey such a thought: we advocate adoption instead of purchase, but we are not opposed to buying pets. The live sale of pets is always an indispensable link in the closed loop of the pet market. But when you buy, be sure to polish your eyes, don't be misled by a rumor or two of unscrupulous breeding merchants, and buy a pet with a lifetime of illness for the sake of a quick time.
Folded ear cats have become one of the most easily abandoned breeds: the reason for abandonment is often because of low prices, and it is difficult to buy and go home on a whim, and it is impossible to bear the treatment costs of the diseased folded ear cats.
The value of a cat with folded ears is not very high, but it will empty your wallet in an instant after the onset of the disease, and the annual physical examination is also a very large financial burden for the owner. If you must buy a breed of cat, there are various cats on the market such as Muppets, Garfield, British Short American Short, Siamese and Short-legged Cats, which are not low in appearance and gentle in character and have no congenital diseases for you to choose.
Putting an end to unscrupulous breeding, relieving pet pain, and not participating in the sale of cats with folded ears are the ideas that everyone should have in the civilized pet society of the new era. @Qingyun Plan
Resources:
The November 2015 issue of the National Institutes of Health > Journal of Veterinary Medicine at the National Library of Medicine > Efficacy and Complications of Palliative Irradiation in Three Scottish Fold Cats with Osteochondrodysplasi by A. Fujiwara-Igarashi
Australian Veterinary Journal 10 March 2008 > author of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales
X-ray image analysis of cartilage dysplasia in Scottish folded-eared cats> Chinese Veterinary Journal 2007.28> authors Ye Xiaomin, Guo Jingwei, Chen Ping, Xie Fuqiang