Where Was the Scottish Fold Original's Home?

The Scottish fold is a cat breed that got its start -- as the breed name indicates -- in Scotland. These felines are often notable for their distinctive appearance -- ears that usually point down instead of up, although some Scottish folds' ears point up, too, just like most cats.

  1. Original Home

    • The initial Scottish fold sighting occurred in 1961, in Scotland's former Tayside area. Tayside was located not far from Dundee, a prominent city on the eastern side of the country. The sighting took place close to Coupar Angus, a tiny town. A herdsman by the name of William Ross was visiting a farm and caught a glimpse of a white farm cat with unusual "flattened" ears. He was immediately struck by her appearance and asked her owner if he could have one of her kittens for breeding purposes. For Scottish fold lovers the world over, history was then made.

    Breeding

    • In 1963, as promised, the herdsman and his wife Mary finally became the excited owners of one of Susie's wee kittens. They received a white kitten who had the characteristic folded ears, and then promptly mated her with a red tabby boy. One of the kittens from their initial litter was named Snowball. He then had a litter of kittens with a female British shorthair named Lady May. With their offspring, the beginning of the Scottish fold breed came into full swing.

    American Soil

    • Although the original residence for Scottish folds was undeniably Scotland, the breed made its way onto American soil not too long afterward -- sometime in the early 1970s. Mary Ross sent three of the breed's specimens to Neil Todd, a doctor based in Massachusetts. In November 1971, Todd welcomed the first batch of Scottish folds born in the United States, a litter of just two youngsters -- a girl Juliet and a boy Romeo.

    Basic Breed Information

    • These mid-sized felines exist in all sorts of colors and with all sorts of markings. Some have shorter hair and some have longer hair. One thing is certain with Scottish folds, however, and that is roundness, roundness and more roundness. Everything on these cats is round, from the form of their faces to their physiques in general. The Scottish cuties also have sizable eyes in the aforementioned shape, another one of their classic physical traits. Scottish folds are often considered to have gentle, focused and dedicated overall dispositions.