When we browse the information about the folded ear cat or see a cat with folded ears in the pet store, we can always see or hear such a description as "this is a folded ear beauty short", the markings on the cat are obviously beautiful short, but the partial ears are bent close to the cheek, which makes them look more sweet and cute. So does this cat breed belong to the American short or the folded ears?
For this problem, netizens also have different opinions, some say "as long as the ear is folded is folded ear", some say "folded ear is only a gene, from the hair color point of view should be beautiful short", disputed. But the main controversy is that the folded ears are genes, and the beauty is the color of the coat, so from which standard should it be judged that it is a cat?
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" > definition of the American short cat and the folded ear cat</h1>
American shorthair cat
According to the CFA's description: Mei Short is a purebred working cat, which is manifested as a strong physique, good balance, well-proportioned and powerful. Coat color is divided into five categories, monochrome, gradient color, mixed coat color, smoke color, and marking color. There are more than 30 kinds of white, black, and markings. The most popular in the East is the tabby cat with black stripes between its silver-white furs.
Our common, and easiest to distinguish, is not beautiful short, there are silver tabby (standard spots), brown tabby, tabby plus white. This kind of striped cat identification is very simple, "Sichuan character back, a circle on both sides of the stomach" From the beginning to the end of the stripe smooth, no interruption, the forehead pattern is symmetrical, the head is large and the face is round, the eyes seem to have drawn eyeliner, the legs are thick and powerful, the tail root is thick, the temper is good, and the personality is lively. If you meet these criteria, you can basically judge that this is a purebred short cat.
Folded ear cat
The full name is the Scottish Fold-Eared Cat, named after the ground and physical characteristics found. The ears are bent forward, close to the cheeks, and appear to round the head. Medium size, muscular.
The easiest way to determine whether a cat with folded ears is to look at the ears, and the ears bent forward are folded ears cats. Another way is to look at the parents of the kitten, if one of the parents of the kitten is folded ears, then the kitten belongs to the folded ear cat. Because the kittens born in this case have folded ears and standing ears, there is a special name for cats with standing ears - Scottish folded ears. The name is very tongue-twisting, right, but from the name, it can be seen that this kitten also belongs to the category of folded ears.
But we can see that the folded-eared cat has this:
And this:
Their décor is not the same, and this difference is not the same as the different coat colors of the American short or the English short. The different coat colors of the American short and the British short refer to the several coat colors under this breed, and according to the coat color, they also have names exclusive to this coat color, such as the short silver tabby, tabby plus white, pure Fan, Brahma flower, etc., the Short Blue Cat, Blue White, Sanhua and so on.
But we have never heard of the name of folded ears with their own coat color, and it seems that cats that see bent ears are collectively called folded ears. However, their coat color can obviously be seen to be characteristic of tabby, gradient, and blue cat, while others are blue-white, milky, and so on.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" > common sense: whether a cat with folded ears is purebred is not judged by coat color</h1>
In fact, the first Scottish folded-eared cat found was white, and the cubs it gave birth to were also white, so why do Scottish folded-eared cats now have coat colors for other cat species? Does the appearance of this coat color mean that this folded-eared cat is not purebred?
If you want to look at the color and blood of the coat, you have to look at how it is bred, because the color and blood of the coat are inherited.
The first thing we need to know is that the ear bending of cats with folded ears is a congenital defect, they have congenital orthopedic diseases, cartilage osteogenesis is abnormal, that is, their cartilage does not develop normally with the growth of the body. This disease is a genetic disease, and the probability of inheritance is very high.
The disease manifests as joint deformities, stiff tails, severe deformities in the feet that prevent the body from supporting the body, and fingernails that grow inwards, which may puncture the soles of the feet. Once they become ill, this pain is accompanied by a lifetime, and they can only relieve the pain by sitting upright and sleeping peacefully.
The appearance of such a position in the cat is likely to be the onset of the disease (above)
Toe deformity (above)
The Scottish Fold-Eared Cat was first spotted in Scotland in 1961, and shepherds and his wife at tayside spotted a white female cat with rolled ears on the farm next door. Later, the female cat gave birth to a white female cat with the same rolled ears.
In 1973, the CFA Cat Club accepted registration to recognize the Scottish folded ear cat breed. However, it can only be bred in the way of folding ears and standing ears, because if the folded ears and folded ears are allowed to breed, the offspring born in this way must be folded ears, but there is a great chance of disease, and the growth process is very painful.
Cats bred with folded ears and upright ears can effectively control the phenomenon of deformities in limbs, tails and joints. However, ear bending belongs to the dominant gene, so cats who inherit the ear folding gene will mostly show folded ears, and the ear-breaking one is given a new name, Scottish folded ear standing ear.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" > so whether the folded ear short belongs to the American short cat or the folded ear cat</h1>
Due to the use of one ear and one ear breeding, it is necessary to take into account the size of the cat, head characteristics, etc. The most attractive thing about the folded ear cat is the head that appears more round due to the bent ears, so the American shorthair cat, the English shorthair cat, and the exotic shorthair cat are mainly selected to breed.
Among them, the exotic shorthair cat is also bred by the American shorthair cat and the Persian cat, carrying the genes of the American shorthair cat, so the coat color of the folded ear cat has a high probability of showing the coat color characteristics of the American shorthair cat.
It is precisely because the folded ear cat itself is bred by the mating and breeding of the folded ear and the American shorthair cat, the English shorthair cat, and the exotic shorthair cat, so the color of the folded ear cat also inherits all the colors of the three cats themselves. And the incidence of folded-eared cats bred in this way is greatly reduced, medium in size, muscular, and relatives.
And because of this breeding method, as long as the folded ear cat has the gene of folding ears, that is, as long as one of the parents is folding the ear, then it is a purebred folded ear cat.
So does the folded ear short belong to the american short cat, or the folded ear cat? The answer, of course, belongs to the cat with folded ears. It has a gene for folding ears in its body, and clearly shows the characteristics of folding ears, and it is a purebred folded-ear cat.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="04" > cats bred by mating with folded ears and upright ears will have genetic diseases</h1>?
Since this kind of folded ear cat is bred by the mating of folded ear and vertical ear, is there a part of the folded ear cat that does not have this genetic disease?
As mentioned earlier, as long as you carry the folded ear gene, one of the parents is a folded ear, and it is a purebred folded ear cat. The cause of the ear fold is cartilage dysplasia, and as long as it is a cat with folded ears, it has a gene that causes cartilage dysplasia, which is recorded as F, and the normal ear gene is recorded as f.
As long as there is an F gene, there will be cases of cartilage dysplasia. As for other joint deformities, tail stiffness, nail curvature growth, etc., there is also a certain probability of onset in the growth process. This is the probability of onset in the process of growing up, not the probability of onset. That is to say, there are not only two situations of onset and non-incidence, but a situation that may occur at any time, but this situation has a difference between severity and severity.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="05" what is the Scottish Fold Ear Li ear cat >? Just remember: as long as it is a cat with folded ears, it is possible to develop the disease</h1>
There is also a Scottish earless cat breed, which has the gene of the folded ear cat, but the ears are upright. Since the ear is normally erect, will it become ill?
The answer is indeterminate. This is because the genes of the parents are uncertain, and we know that it is the F gene that causes hypochondriasis. If it is not a FF gene in its genes, it will have a libra. But as long as there is an F gene in the gene, there will be a probability of onset.
The appearance of the folded-eared cat is very sweet and cute, but behind the cuteness is the pain of various genetic diseases, and once the disease occurs, this pain will accompany them for a lifetime, and they will live in pain every day. In addition to hereditary bone diseases, folded-eared cats are more likely than other cats to suffer from respiratory diseases, feline plague, skin diseases and heart disease.
Nowadays, more and more people resist breeding and buying folded ear cats, and the biggest reason is the physical problems of folded ear cats. After all, once the disease occurs, it is very painful for the cat with broken ears all the time, and this pain can only be alleviated and cannot be avoided. For the owner, treating the cat will be a huge expenditure of energy and financial resources.
Defects in the folded ear cat's genes give them a sweet appearance, but they also bring a lifetime of pain. Our current level of medical care is not yet able to solve the physical problems of the cat with folded ears, but it has been trying. The way to stipulate that the folded ears can only be bred with the upright ears has greatly reduced the incidence probability and pain of the folded ear cats, so even if you want to breed the folded ears cat, you must also consider the health of the cat, and do not breed at will just for the sake of good looks!
In addition, friends who plan to raise a cat with folded ears must first think clearly about whether they can take responsibility for taking care of it, whether they can give it a good living environment, and whether they are ready to deal with its illness. And the cat owner who has raised a cat with folded ears, please take good care of it, observe whether there is any abnormality in its body, and conduct regular physical examinations. If the disease occurs, please give it a little more patience and companionship, active treatment, do not abandon the breeding, otherwise this will be a double psychological and physical harm to the cat!