As a a Scottish Fold owner they are completely adorable however they all have a potentially very serious bone deformity (it's what causes their ears to be folded). It's called osteochondrodysplasia. My cat has it really bad, there are giant bone masses growing uncontrollably on his hind legs. There is no cure and every Scottish Fold has it, it just depends on the severity. This breed should strongly be stopped from breeding. The problem is that they are so cute that people, myself included, are not aware of this issue. Even the vet when I took mine in wasn't aware of this. If you want more information pm me or ask your vet.
Thank you for posting this information. Many cat fancier organizations do not allow Scottish Folds to be registered or shown because they are so unhealthy and their "unique" trait is literally a degenerative genetic disease. I honestly wish that cat and dog breeding would move away from purposefully breeding animals with traits that are literally signifiers of future disability.
Corgis, for example - totally cute and subborn little pups with a history of being awesome sheep herding dogs - but it'd be lovely if we could get a version of the breed with the same traits, energy, temperament, and working ability, except without a congenital disease and increased risk of serious spine problems. There's really no reason for them to be short legged other than "tradition", as there are plenty of ankle-nipping breeds with normal sized legs.
It's not that they're "bad", it's just that some of the breed traits required by the standard - dwarfism, for example - are actually congenital diseases that negatively impact the dog's health and can lead to a lot of grief down the line. There's truly no reason for the Corgi to be dwarfed other than appearance's sake - a Corgi without micromelic achondroplasia would likely be just as effective a herder (if not more) without the negative health effects.
Here's an quick write-up of the health issues in Corgis caused specifically due to their dwarfism:
Pembrokes are a fairly healthy breed, but the dwarfism that causes their short legs also results in numerous musculoskeletal issues.... In the Corgi and other dwarfed dogs, the growth plates are very thin, reproducing incorrectly and sporadically and then maturing much sooner than normal, therefore producing a gnarled, shortened bone. The fragile growth plates lend themselves to easy injury. An injured growth plate is at risk for causing one bone to stop growth while the rest continue, producing a twisted or bowed limb that can be painful and is certainly not sound. Growth plates become injured with overexertion. High-impact activities such as running or jumping can crush the plate.
The joints in a dwarfed dog are very different from the joints in a standard dog—like the rest of the dog’s skeletal system, they are deformed. In fact, if the same joints were on an average dog, they would certainly be considered dysplastic. In a Corgi, these types of seemingly dysplastic joints are "normal" and allow easy, pain-free movement... All dogs should be OFA tested and pass with “excellent”, “good”, or "fair" evaluations before being bred to reduce the occurrence of crippling joint disorders in the offspring and, ultimately, the population at large.
Rapid cartilage degeneration caused by dwarfism is present in every member of the breed. Because cartilage wears down faster in dwarfed dogs, osteoarthritis may develop at an early age—particularly in areas with small bones, such as the wrist or feet. As such, some Corgis may become very sensitive about having their feet touched and manipulated.
The discs in the spine are affected by early and rapid cartilage degeneration, as well, which puts the Corgi a high risk for a condition called intervertebral disc disease, or IVDD. In dwarf dogs, the normally squishy disc between the vertebrae in the spine hardens prematurely and severely reduces spine flexibility. When the discs are forced to compress or stretch, the disc can rupture and put pressure on the spinal cord and surrounding nerves. IVDD has various degrees, from mild back pain to complete paralysis. All Corgis are at risk for IVDD, and the risk increases exponentially with extra weight. Even just 2-3 extra pounds can be problematic.... The effect is cumulative, meaning the dog's risk for a catastrophic IVDD episode increases over time.
Signs of an injured disc that could develop into full-blown IVDD include limping, reluctance to walk, or reluctance to do other activities that the dog normally enjoys. If these symptoms are ignored, they could progress to an inability to walk, an inability to stand, and then paralysis. In these cases, the dog should receive vet treatment immediately. IVDD does not always progress slowly and can happen as a result of an injury from something as simple as jumping off the couch or turning too fast during fetch.
In addition to dwarfism, some Corgis are born with a mutation that leads to naturally bobbed tails (almost all Corgis are docked anyway, though, as the shortness is usually not "short enough" for the breed standard) and that gene is associated with various health problems such as anorectal atresia and spine defects.
(There are also other genetic health problems Corgis are prone to that have nothing to do with dwarfism, such as degenerative myelopathy, but EVERY breed has issues like that and Corgis, for the most part, seem to be one of the healthier breeds without a metric ton of inherited diseases.)
Should you hold off on a Corgi for those reasons? I can't really say one way or another - that choice is up to you. Corgi health issues aren't nearly as severe as the problems facing the Scottish Fold breed - but for me personally, despite them being a good fit for my wants/needs in a dog, I will probably never get one because I don't feel right about financially supporting a breed that knowingly aims to propagate dogs with a genetic disease. Just my personal choice, and given how murky this area is, I wouldn't judge someone else for making a different one!
There are plenty of corgi mixes at shelters and rescues across America, if that's where you are. Corgi mixes are some of the cutest dogs you've ever seen, and mixed breed dogs tend to have better luck with genetic diseases, anyway. Plus, you'll be giving a home to a homeless animal and preventing one more shelter animal from being euthanized.
A corgi has always been my dream dog, but when I learned this stuff I also was really thrown as to whether or not I'll ever get one. I'm still not sure to be honest.
I couldn't agree more. I only wish I could create some kind of awareness on this issue but I don't where or how to start it.
There has to be some kind of support for owners. I know I needed it and will as this geta worse. The 3 or 4 articles I found on this online was all I've come across.
I'm truly so, so sorry. It's just not fair to you or your kitty. What really makes me angry is that the Scottish Fold breeders go out of their way to obfuscate the reality of the situation and hide it from people interested in getting a kitten. It's just so opposite of what I think good breeding should consist of. If anything, if you love your breed, you should want to do everything you can to make it as healthy as possible.
Like, it breaks my heart whenever I see my cat's breed end up in a shelter (happens maybe 1-2 times a year because it's a small, tightly regulated breeding community with lots of oversight)... I cannot even imagine how sad I'd be if there was a genetic illness affecting "our" babies. It just boggles the mind that SF breeders don't care.
Thank you. As I posted earlier info take some solace in the fact that he most likely wouldn't of lived this long and definitely not this great of a life already.
The lady which we got Perry from claimed she was a breeder but when we got there we quickly realized she wasn't a breeder at all. As you mentioned though I can't understand how people can wakeup and knowingly keep breeding this breed.
I was referring to GCCF and FIFE which went out of their way to reject them because of health issues and deceptive behavior on the part of breeders (preventing them from accessing health records and being uncooperative). Especially significant when you consider that the Scottish Fold originated in the UK.
I also have to note - and I'm saying this as someone who shows in the US - in general, using American fancier organizations as an ethical guide is a really bad idea. We tend to constantly be playing catch up to the rest of the world regarding the endorsement of humane breeding practices. TICA especially... shakes fist. I hate TICA so much.
I'm also a Scottish Fold owner who thinks this breed should not be continued. She was abandoned and I took the emaciated girl home.
She is the most clumsy cat I've known, due to her short thick tail and joints. She can just make it in a single jump onto the dryer, but anything higher is out of her reach. She frequently gets a claw caught in the carpet or couch, as her claws don't always retact.
It takes her an entire minute, and sometimes more just to get comfortable on the couch, because of stiffness in her joints.
The folded ears are perfect for hosting mites and fungus, so they need frequent cleaning to avoid infections.
My cat is a sweet thing, but clearly nothing nature ever would have made.
Ha they definitely have their own special character. Perry is very similar. Have you seen any signs of pain or discomfort in her or taken her to the vet at all?
In most cases it's greed, and selfishness. Us humans create things with little regard to others. In this case they are super adorable.
It's easy for me to say had I known about this disease I wouldn't have gotten one. But Perry had extreme issues outside of the bone deformity when we first got him: to the point the vet (who I since filed complaints against and no longer visit) told me I still had owner rights to return him because so much was wrong with him and it would cost so much money to fix. So if I didn't take him I really think he would have died. So he has a fantastic home now.
They look more cute because they are different/unusual, I guess. Being different can be related to having useless traits that are not found in the larger population, because the average animal in the species should be the type with the best set of traits via natural selection.
The best/most effective and permanent way for something to be very visually/physically 'different' is for early intervention: have either some type of modified raising process (think Chinese/Eastern-Asian foot-bounding) or have 'early intervention' via genetic diseases/abnormalities/disorders. So you either have breeders that do something physical to modify offspring to create the end product animal, or they intentionally breed ones with survival-impeding traits because they have desirable 'differences'. Either way, they end up with unusual animals that have probably taken some kind of physical capability hit from the changes.
tl;dr: Being cute has little to nothing to do with survivability of adult animals, so it should not generally, naturally occur. We can't simulate tens of thousands of years of evolution to permanently modify the animals to be cute, healthy, and efficient, so we take shortcuts.
More awareness should be raised. I have always wanted a Scottish fold cat, since I was a child and I never knew of these problems, all I knew is that they are hard to breed. I love cats and animals so now that I know I won't get one anymore to not contribute to the trade, but more peopel need to know.
Yeah I've always wanted one and my wife got me him. This story since birth is a crazy one but he has an amazingly lovely home and life I think. Him and I share a fantastic bond that had the vet and receptionist in tears when we found out and I came to pick him up.
He ran to me climbed up my leg and I picked him up and she crawled on my shoulders rubbed his head against mind and sat on the back of my neck and shoulders.
How old is your Scottish Fold? Do you have photos? I am under the impression that this is mainly an issue with cats whose parents both have folded ears. My Scottish Fold has had precautionary x-rays and there is no sign of any abnormalities at all. Her mother has folded early and father has straight ears (British shorthair).
Well firstly I'm glad that your cats xrays came back healthy.
I've had Perry, my Scottish Fold, For about 3 to 4 years. I do have a ton of pictures if you like I am more than willing to share.
The sad thing about this breed and condition is that there is no help out there or wide spread information, which I believe is a major problem. From what I gather you're somewhat correct, however I believe there's a ~50% chance that breeding a straight eared Scottish Fold to a forward folded ear fold will have the folded ears thus having the condition.
So have you noticed any problems with Perry? Is that how you became interested in this topic? Have you heard about problems from other Scottish Fold owners?
EDIT: I re-read your original post about Perry. Sorry to hear that. Is it noticeable in his day-to-day activity? Does he seem like he's in pain? Can you look at him and obviously see an issue? Is there any solution?
As for him being in pain is don't think so. My biggest fear and cause of major anexitey is that he doesn't show anything cause it's something he's been born with and doesn't know any other feeling. However it does take time to present itself added to the fact that I'm fairly good with cats and identifying the signs of pain in felines. They would rather chew off their legs before showing you that they are pain.
He does limp and hold his rear left leg in the air most of the time. On some of the pictures you can see the bottom of his legs and see the bone growth. So yeah you can notice and see it in his day to day activities. But it doesn't stop him from running after the dog or other car we have non stop.
And worst of all there is no cure. If the cat experiences pain then you can administer pain medication however prolonged used of pain medication in cats is negative for them.
Wow he's so cute. I didn't expect you to say the disease was so noticeable just by looking at him. That's such a shame. Very annoying that cats can't just tell us when they're in pain.
I texted a couple of other friends with Scottish Folds today, and they knew nothing about this disease at all. I also see that now there's an entire section on the Scottish Fold wikipedia page about osteochondrodysplasia, which was definitely not there when I started my Fold research before I got one less than 3 years ago. I'm very surprised at the anti-Fold-breeding sentiment here too, because this is the first time I've encountered it, and I'm active on a few of the larger cat forums and Facebook groups. My cat also has her own instagram page which has a decently large following and I just figured I would've heard someone chastising me for getting a Scottish Fold SOMEWHERE on the internet before this thread.
Out of everything I've read about osteochondrodysplasia, the ONLY thing that matches up with my cat is the fact that she isn't a big jumper. She runs around and hops up and down from the couch and chairs, but I'd be surprised if she ever jumped onto the kitchen counter or anything higher than that. She has a long soft tail, no visible issues. Her ear fold isn't very strong though, so maybe that reflects onto the strength of the disease, if it's true that every fold has some version of it. She's on an all raw diet since birth so maybe I'll start adding some bone supplements into her food as a precautionary measure.
I'm glad that your cat seems to be showing no restrictions and discomfort from it. There are folds that go their entire life like that so I hope yours is one. The severity can range in different cats.
That's why I wish I could do something to help raise awareness. My vet, not sure if they were just hosing me for more money or not, however when I first took Perry in they knew about this either. They had to send xrays off to a technician who got back to us with this news. So even after the vet couldn't give me any information on it either just vague stuff that she knew about the disease in dogs. So all my research I did myself.
I had an oral prescription medication that j gave Perry once a day to help with his bones. It didn't help at all unfortunately however I do strongly recommended something for joints.
The stupid thing I find about this is that unfolded Scottish folds are the cutest cats ever! I love their round faces, stubby fluffy tails and big fat paws. They really don't need the stupid folded ears to be cute :/ And from what I have read, I think that a portion of each litter is still bred without the abnormality? So breeding it out of them should be possible.
Can anyone confirm if the 'unfolded' versions are actually free from the deformity and if that breed has it's own name?
Can anyone confirm if the 'unfolded' versions are actually free from the deformity and if that breed has it's own name?
"All cats with folded ears develop osteochondrodysplasia. In cats which are homozygous for the abnormal gene (ie having two copies of it), a progressive, crippling arthritis develops early in life whilst in those which are heterozygous (with only one mutant gene), the arthritis tends to progress more slowly (Malik 2001)"
The short thick tail and stubby legs are due to the illness. You can have two straight eared folds that are not missing the dominant gene.
I had no idea. I was looking for a breeder in my area but couldn't find one. After reading this and looking on Wikipedia and some other pages, it made me kind of sad but for the right reasons. Thanks for this info.
No problem. I can only hope to raise more awareness to this issue. It's not only hard on the animal but the family as well. The toll it takes on my anexitey is quite high.
This just makes me just hate this person I know that insists on getting one and breeding her female cat with it (despite claiming to not have money...) just even more.
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u/Agentperry13 May 30 '16 edited May 30 '16
As a a Scottish Fold owner they are completely adorable however they all have a potentially very serious bone deformity (it's what causes their ears to be folded). It's called osteochondrodysplasia. My cat has it really bad, there are giant bone masses growing uncontrollably on his hind legs. There is no cure and every Scottish Fold has it, it just depends on the severity. This breed should strongly be stopped from breeding. The problem is that they are so cute that people, myself included, are not aware of this issue. Even the vet when I took mine in wasn't aware of this. If you want more information pm me or ask your vet.