The Scottish Fold is a unique and charming cat breed, recognized for its distinctive folded ears that give it an endearing, owl-like appearance. Originating from a spontaneous mutation in farm cats in Scotland, this breed has been developed through careful crossbreeding with British Shorthairs and domestic cats. Today, Scottish Folds are cherished companions, and understanding their breed standard is crucial for enthusiasts and potential owners. This guide delves into the detailed characteristics of the Scottish Fold, covering its physical traits, a vast array of accepted colors and patterns, and the specific divisions for showing the breed.
Physical Characteristics of the Scottish Fold
The breed standard for the Scottish Fold is meticulously defined to ensure consistency and highlight the breed’s unique attributes. These cats are judged based on several key areas, with a point system that emphasizes specific features.
Head
The head is well-rounded, featuring a firm chin and jaw. Prominent whisker pads contribute to a rounded muzzle, and the head should transition smoothly into a short neck. Males often exhibit more prominent, jowly cheeks. The eyes are large, round, and wide open, conveying a sweet expression. They are set apart by a broad nose, and the eye color should ideally correspond with the coat color. For all-white, bi-color, and van patterns, blue or odd eyes are permissible. The nose is short with a gentle curve, and a slight stop is acceptable, contributing to a moderate profile.
Ears
The defining feature of the Scottish Fold is its ears. These can either be folded or straight.
- Folded Ears: These fold forward and downward. They are small, with a preference for tightly folded ears over loose folds. The ears are set in a cap-like fashion, allowing the rounded cranium to be exposed. Ear tips should be rounded.
- Straight Ears: These are medium to small with rounded tips and are set well apart, showcasing the rounded cranium.
Scottish Folds can be shown with either folded or straight ears, as well as in both longhair and shorthair varieties, each competing in their appropriate classes and divisions.
Body
The body is medium in size, rounded, and uniform from the shoulders to the pelvic girdle. The cat should stand firmly with a well-padded body, exhibiting no signs of thickness or restricted mobility due to short, coarse legs. The overall impression is of a well-rounded cat with medium bone structure. Females may be slightly smaller than males.
Tail
The tail is medium to long, proportionate to the body, flexible, and tapering. It may end in a rounded tip, with longer, tapering tails being preferred. A kinked tail, a foreshortened tail, or a tail lacking flexibility due to abnormally thick vertebrae are considered disqualifications.
Coat
The coat texture and length vary between shorthair and longhair varieties.
- Shorthair: The coat is dense, plush, and even, ranging from short to medium-short in length. It has a soft texture and should stand away from the body due to its density, rather than lying flat. Variations in texture may occur based on color and seasonal changes.
- Longhair: This variety features medium-long to long hair. A full coat on the face and body is desirable, though shorter hair on the face and legs is permissible. Distinct britches, a tail plume, toe tufts, and ear furnishings are preferred, with a ruff being desirable. A cottony coat, except in kittens, is a serious fault.
Penalties and Disqualifications
Certain traits incur penalties or disqualifications, including a prominent brow ridge. Disqualifiable faults include kinked or foreshortened tails, tails lacking flexibility, splayed toes, incorrect number of toes, any evidence of illness or poor health, and a palpable nose break.
Scottish Fold Colors and Patterns
The Scottish Fold breed accepts any genetically possible color and pattern, along with any combination thereof. This extensive range allows for a vast diversity in the breed’s appearance.
Solid Colors
This category includes a wide spectrum of solid colors, such as White, Black, Blue, Red, Cream, Chocolate, Lilac, Cinnamon, and Fawn. For each color, specific characteristics of the nose leather, paw pads, and eye color are defined. For example, pure glistening white cats have pink nose leather and paw pads, with eye colors ranging from blue to copper or gold. Odd-eyed whites, possessing one blue and one copper or gold eye, are also allowed.
Shaded and Smoke Patterns
These patterns involve a white undercoat with varying degrees of tipping.
- Shaded Silvers: Feature a white undercoat with black tipping, creating a sparkling silver appearance. The intensity of shading varies from Chinchilla Silver (lighter) to Shaded Silver (darker).
- Smoke Colors: The white undercoat is deeply tipped, making the cat appear its color when in repose, but revealing the white undercoat when in motion. Examples include Black Smoke, Blue Smoke, and Lilac Smoke.
- Dilute variations: Such as Dilute Shell Cameo and Dilute Shaded Cameo, offer softer, lighter versions of shaded patterns.
Tabby Patterns
Scottish Folds can exhibit various tabby patterns:
- Classic Tabby: Characterized by bold, swirling markings, often described as a butterfly pattern on the shoulders and concentric rings on the body.
- Mackerel Tabby: Features narrow, parallel pencillings running down the sides, resembling fish bones.
- Spotted Tabby: Markings consist of distinct spots, which can be round, oblong, or rosette-shaped.
- Ticked Tabby: Individual hairs are ticked with different shades, giving a salt-and-pepper appearance, with tabby markings typically visible on the face, legs, and tail.
- Patched Tabby (Torbie): A combination of a tabby pattern with patches of red and/or cream.
Each tabby pattern is further defined by specific ground colors and marking colors, such as Silver Tabby, Blue-Silver Tabby, Brown Tabby, and Red Tabby.
Parti-Color and Bi-Color Patterns
These encompass a range of multi-colored patterns:
- Tortoiseshell: A mottled or patched pattern of black and red.
- Tortoiseshell & White: Tortoiseshell coloring with the addition of white.
- Calico: Predominantly white with distinct patches of black and red.
- Dilute Calico: Predominantly white with distinct patches of blue and cream.
- Blue-Cream: A combination of blue and cream colors.
- Bi-Color: White combined with any other color or pattern.
Pointed Patterns
Inspired by Siamese cats, these patterns feature a lighter body color with darker “points” on the mask, ears, legs, and tail.
- Seal Point: Even pale fawn to cream body with deep seal-brown points.
- Chocolate Point: Ivory body with milk-chocolate points.
- Blue Point: Bluish-white body with blue points.
- Lilac Point: Glacial white body with frosty grey points.
- Flame (Red) Point: Creamy white body with deep orange-red points.
- Cream Point: Creamy white body with pale buff cream points.
- Tortie Point: Creamy white or pale fawn body with points featuring patches of red and/or cream.
These pointed patterns can also be combined with tabby markings (e.g., Seal Lynx Point, Blue-Cream Lynx Point) and white (e.g., Seal Point & White, though this falls under the Bi-Color class).
Color Class Numbers for Showing
For competitive showing, specific color class numbers are assigned to each variety within the Longhair and Shorthair divisions, as well as for Scottish Straight Ears. These numbers help categorize the cats for judging purposes. Examples include Solid Color (8400/8401 for Longhair, 8800/8801 for Shorthair), Tabby (8436/8437 for Longhair, 8836/8837 for Shorthair), and Parti-Color & Bi-Color (8446/8447 for Longhair, 8846/8847 for Shorthair). The Pointed pattern also has its own class numbers (8478/8479 for Longhair, 8878/8879 for Shorthair), excluding Pointed & White, which is grouped under Bi-Color.
The Scottish Fold breed, with its distinctive appearance and wide range of accepted colors and patterns, continues to captivate cat enthusiasts worldwide. Its unique charm and gentle nature make it a beloved companion for many.
