British cats are very popular with animal lovers. Many believe that Scottish and British cats belong to the same breed, and have some differences between themselves.
Can British cats boast of funny, folded ears, or is this a distinctive feature of another breed and which one? Let's look a little into the history of the creation of breeds in order to clarify this issue.
The main features of the Scottish Fold
The Scottish Fold as a breed appeared relatively recently. In Scotland, an accidentally found kitten with hanging ears gave impetus to the development of a new breed of cats, distinguished by a completely original muzzle, which is given special charm by unusual small ears.
The Scottish Fold is medium-sized, graceful, with long and semi-long hair, with an elongated tail, and has a light bone. Large open eyes, amber or orange in color, make them look like owls.
In the process of selective work, it was noticed that kittens are born in the litter with erect ears, which, nevertheless, carry the gene for lop-earedness. This gene, among other things, carries an anomaly in the development of the skeletal system, it manifests itself if you cross two fold-eared cats, which are called Scottish folds, therefore such a crossing is strictly not allowed. Only Scottish Straight, that is, the owner of erect ears, can become a pair of such a cat.
A distinctive feature of the British Shorthair
The British - well-built, stocky large cats with thick cheeks and large round eyes like saucers have long won sincere popular love. Thick, dense coat that does not adhere to the body does not require combing too often and makes them look like teddy bears.
A strong nervous system, an imperturbable disposition, good health, affection for the owner and excellent accommodation not only with family members, but also with other pets, make them related to the Scots.
For all their individual and always recognizable appearance, they are even somewhat similar to Scottish Folds, which sometimes causes uninitiated questions about the definition of the breed, many confuse them, although when reading the description of each species, these doubts disappear.
Currently, the British Shorthair is a closed breed, mating is only allowed inside the breed. It is strictly forbidden to cross her with the Scots, despite the fact that they are close in their phenotype.
This is because there is a very high likelihood of the birth of kittens with serious deformities in the skeletal system, precisely because of the gene that causes the ears to descend and, at the same time, causes the spinal vertebrae to be spliced and other deformities in the development of bone tissue. Because of this, the Scottish Fold breed is still not recognized by the FIFE system. The breed is officially banned in England and Germany.
