Mating a Scottish Straight requires adhering to a certain number of rules that will help you produce healthy offspring and avoid unwanted deviations in the breed.
Scottish Straight cats are attractive not only for their natural beauty, but also for their excellent genes and phenomenal health, which make this animal a real contender for the title of the best. Despite the fact that straight-eared Scottish Straights are not recognized by the world cat organization, they are indispensable partners when breeding Scottish Folds, the mating of which is unacceptable with representatives of their own variety. A similar problem concerns the Scottish straights themselves.
Mating Scottish Straight has a number of its own characteristics, the implementation of which is necessary if the owner wants to get healthy and full-fledged offspring. When breeding Scottish cats, it is worth considering that this activity requires patience.
Can a fold-eared cat be crossed with a fold-eared cat?
Many owners of the Scottish Fold breed are interested in the question of who can breed a fold-eared pet with, and what kind of offspring is expected from this union. The answer to this question is ambiguous and depends on the purpose of mating.
Who can a Scottish Fold cat mate with?
The Scottish Fold cat can mate with any member of the cat family, except for males of its own species, if the pet is not going to participate in various exhibitions.
The Scottish Fold cat can mate with any member of the cat family.
It is noteworthy that these animals received lop ears during selection due to a mutation, which resulted in the formation of an anomaly of the ear cartilage, which is unable to hold the ears in an upright position.
Appearance of the breed
Scotland is recognized as the homeland of the animals, but mass breeding and selection began in the United States of America.
Scotland is recognized as the homeland of cats.
Mass breeding began in the USA.
Cats have a strong build.
The Scottish Fold breed is distinguished by its strong build, “plush” thick coat and high level of immunity. There is no specific characteristic color inherent in this particular breed. Individuals of this breed come in a variety of colors, but the most common is a grayish-gray tint.
Standards
For the Scottish Fold, CFA standards have been developed, according to which a cat with a medium or long tail, proportional to the body and narrowed or thickened towards the end, is suitable for exhibition.
- The head should be round, with a wide nose, expressive round and wide-set eyes.
- Rounded mustache pads, clearly defined and strong jaws and chin.
Cats have expressive eyes.
Rules for mating
To preserve the gene and obtain healthy offspring, special rules should be followed when mating females.
Puberty in females occurs around the eighth month of life. A cat will be ready for mating no earlier than one and a half or two years, depending on the individual characteristics of the animal’s body. Mating during the first heat is strictly prohibited due to the unpreparedness of the young female’s body.
Puberty in females occurs in the eighth month of life.
It is recommended to begin this process during the second, or even third, heat cycle. The third and fourth days of estrus are considered favorable. Before the event, the cat must have all the necessary vaccinations and deworming. The first mating should occur with a strong and experienced male.
Why you can’t cross a fold-eared cat with a fold-eared cat
To maintain breed standards, it is recommended to cross with a cat of the Scottish Straight breed - Scottish Straight.
Cat of the Scottish Straight breed.
It is prohibited to crossbreed with representatives of the same species as a cat due to the fact that the characteristic gene will lead to the birth of non-viable offspring.
Complications during pregnancy
Pregnancy will be complicated by miscarriage or the born kittens will have abnormalities of the musculoskeletal system.
The choice of male will depend on the similarity of coat color to obtain the most even color of the offspring and the same eye color. It is noteworthy that the female must remain in the male’s territory for two or three days, necessary for closer acquaintance and mating itself. A litter may have kittens with floppy ears and kittens with straight ears.
Kittens can be born with either straight ears or fold ears.
With whom is it allowed to cross a fold cat?
Crossbreeding with British Shorthair males is allowed in order to recruit a new set of gene pool.
British shorthair cat.
The offspring from several such crosses are subsequently mated with a Briton and the British Fold or kittens with half-dropped ears are obtained.
Features of pregnancy in fold-eared cats
The course of pregnancy in lop-eared females differs from other representatives of the cat family.
Due to the calm nature of this species, there are no mood swings, bursts of aggression, or isolation. The mother carries the kittens for approximately nine weeks. At the end of the mating, the animal calms down, becomes affectionate, and willingly makes contact with members of the household.
Pregnancy can only be determined after two or three weeks. The nipples change color, swelling and a more pink tint are observed. However, these signs are characteristic only of young animals; in older cats - older than three years of age - such signs may not appear.
Pregnancy can be determined after two to three weeks.
First half
The first half of pregnancy is characterized by increased appetite.
At this stage, fish feeding should be stopped to avoid the destruction of B vitamins, as they contribute to the normal development of embryos. It is necessary to increase the amount of food containing calcium: dairy and lactic acid products in the form of cottage cheese, milk, sour cream, kefir, yogurt.
Cottage cheese will be useful for a cat in the first half of pregnancy.
Second half
The second half passes calmly and only further growth of the abdomen and an increase in overall weight are observed.
In the second half of pregnancy, growth of the abdomen is observed.
It will be possible to determine the number of fold-eared and straight-eared kittens only after twenty-two days. At the first stage, the entire brood looks exactly the same, and they cannot be distinguished.
Third week
By the end of the third week, the cartilage begins to mature and strengthen, and everything falls into place. In Fold kittens, the ears curl even more and bend towards the head, while in Straights they gradually straighten.
By the end of the third week, kittens' cartilage begins to strengthen.
Video about the Scottish Fold cat breed
Carrying out the procedure
Before mating, you need to be sure that neither the cat nor the cat suffers from any ailments. They should have no discharge from the nose or eyes, the coat should be in good condition, and the general health of the animals should be satisfactory. If one of the partners shows signs of weakness or illness, the mating should be postponed to a more favorable time. It is advisable not to interfere with the animals getting to know each other and sniffing, but it is still better to play it safe and be on the alert, since if they are incompatible, they can become aggressive and injure each other.
It may happen that the fold-eared cat does not become pregnant after mating, then she should be brought to the cat again. It is advisable to do this on the 2-3rd day of estrus and leave it with him for 2-3 days. Before the female stays, she needs to trim her claws so that she does not injure the cat if she does not like him in some way. During the day, a cat can cover a cat up to 15 times. But after 2 days, he ceases to be interested in his new partner. After mating, cats sometimes go into heat, but this does not mean that they are not covered.
It happens that the animals are not suitable for each other in size, and if the Fold cat is larger than the cat, then he will need to be helped so that he can cover the cat. Sometimes, due to a change of environment and severe stress, the cat stops estrus. Then she should be brought to the cat when it resumes. It happens that the cat falls to the side during the process, at such moments it is necessary to hold her in the right position for the mating to take place. If the female hides in a corner, behaves aggressively and the cat cannot approach her, then in this case she may remain untied.
Why can't you cross two fold-eared animals?
The occurrence of lop ears in cats is associated with a random mutation in one cat on a farm in Scotland back in 1961. The white fold cat was registered and became the first fold cat of this breed. After this incident, scientists began working on developing a new breed of cats with folded or lying ears.
Over time, modern geneticists have come to the conclusion that the gene that gives cats lop ears is dominant. This suggests that in the process of passing genes from parents to children, one gene responsible for the shape of the ears must be lop-eared. In this case, the kitten will have flat ears. But in the case when both parents have both genes responsible for the shape of the ears, the kitten will be born homozygous for lop ears (that is, with the same genes in a pair).
Possible difficulties
Mating is not always completed successfully. Possible problems:
- The cat didn't get pregnant. I'll have to knit it again.
- The female does not allow the gentleman to approach. In this case, the owner either strokes the area of her external genitalia or injects a drug that causes ovulation. The last resort is the use of a vaginal probe. Although it is usually enough to give the cat time to groom.
- The opposite problem happens: the cat is not interested in the guest. There is only one way out - to find another cat to breed.
- An inexperienced gentleman may cling his teeth to his girlfriend’s withers too high or low, and then the sexual process may turn out to be uncomfortable. Sometimes the cat falls on its side. In these cases, the owner helps the pets, carefully and gently correcting the position of their bodies.
Fold cat and cat: is it possible to bring them together?
This is a big disadvantage in its further development - there is a very high risk of problems with bone development.
Thus, the lop ear gene can lead to a homozygous development of the kitten. This property is the main reason why scientists do not recommend crossing lop-eared individuals with each other. Only the connection between a straight-eared and a fold-eared kitten will allow you to produce healthy fold-eared kittens in a litter (50% of the litter has this gene).
That is, the answer to the question of why it is impossible to bring two lop-eared animals together is the following theory: all owners of lop-eared ears contain this gene, which is responsible for the bending of the ears. And if you cross two lop-eared individuals, then kittens with numerous diseases and problems will be born.
Today there are many unscrupulous breeders who, despite all the warnings, specifically breed two fold-eared kittens, since fold-eared kittens are much more expensive than straight-eared ones. The problem is that kittens from such a litter can be born seemingly healthy, and after one or two years the disease will make itself known. People who commit such mating are outright sadists!
Stories from breeders of fold cats
The other day I met a woman who firmly stated that she had been mating a cat and a cat with fold ears for 8 years. The terrible thing is that she knows about the consequences of such a mating and she is absolutely not ashamed of it! Leaving it to chance, she stated that she had no problem with it. I decided to check.
I took the kitten from this woman and went to the veterinary clinic for diagnostics. A routine X-ray revealed serious genetic mutations. The kitten's bones have fused incorrectly! The structure of the ridge mutated, the tail did not bend at all due to its hardness. The veterinarian concluded that this kitten would live no more than two to three years. Having shown the veterinarian’s report to the kitten’s owner, I was surprised by her behavior. She snatched the poor animal, declared that all this was not true and closed the door.
Be carefull! Pay attention to reviews and recommendations when choosing a fold-eared kitten. You can also have your kitten examined by a veterinarian.
But it’s not just about the correct mating to produce healthy lop-eared offspring. There are cases when genetic mutations can occur under other circumstances, for example, “it didn’t grow together.” This is nature!
The main goal of professionals is to produce healthy offspring with minimal risk of genetic mutations.
How to choose a healthy fold-eared kitten?
First of all, pay attention to the recommendations of nurseries. But keep in mind that it is impossible to predict genetic diseases in purebred cats! After all, all mammals are born healthy, and what awaits them next is unknown. Love your pets and they will thank you back!
Breeds of potential partners
Scottish fold cats are bred within the breed. Interbreeding is unacceptable; it leads to anatomical and physiological abnormalities of the offspring. Even if the kittens are born healthy, they will be mixed breeds that cannot be sold at a decent price.
Scottish fold cats are descendants of their British relatives. Until 2004, “Scots” and “British” were considered one breed, and matings between these two varieties were allowed. But when the Scottish breed became independent, with its own breed standards, interbreed matings were banned.
The prohibition of crossing with British relatives is associated with:
- Deterioration in appearance, disappearance of Scottish Fold breed characteristics, including ears adjacent to the head.
- The appearance of skeletal abnormalities in the offspring associated with weakening of cartilage tissue. Scottish pets have a light skeleton and an elongated spine. And in British individuals the skeleton is heavier and more massive. Offspring are born with twisted limbs or backs.
NOTE! Mating of Scottish and British cats is practiced, but in extremely rare cases, under the strict control of the phenological service. The result must be recorded in the nursery's breeding journal.
Why you can’t cross two fold-eared cats
Crossing a fold-eared cat with a fold-eared cat is unacceptable; the problem lies in the genetic characteristics of the breed. The result is highly likely to be the birth of sick offspring.
And the culprit for this will be the lop ear gene, designated Fd. It is dominant, which means that when paired with the reverse gene, it still leads to the appearance of droopy ears.
But the problem is that this gene also negatively affects the condition of the joints. If he creates a pair with a similar gene, then the resulting offspring will most likely have serious skeletal pathologies, depriving them of a full life, causing lameness, and pain when moving.
Therefore, a fold-eared individual (Scottish Fold) can only be mated with a straight-eared one (Scottish Straight).
If both individuals are Scottish Straight, then mating should not cause concern, since they carry the recessive fd gene, which does not affect the condition of the skeleton. But the kittens will be born with straight ears and will cost less.
Why can't you breed two fold-eared cats?
It has long been known that cats create coziness in the house. They also lift the spirits, heal, pacify with affectionate purring... It is not surprising that these graceful beauties and beauties take first place among pets. And if a couple of decades ago the most common species was the “domestic tabby cat,” today the number of their breeds has exceeded seventy.
One of them is the Scottish Fold cat or Scottish Fold.
Fold cats are rapidly gaining popularity among breeders. They are winning more and more hearts thanks not only to their large, expressive eyes and ears touchingly pressed to their heads, but also to their character - calm, balanced, and at the same time unobtrusive. That is why Scottish Folds are quite possible and even recommended to be owned in families where small children are growing up.
But in addition to a lot of advantages, this breed also has one unpleasant feature that any breeder planning to get offspring will definitely encounter.
Why can't you breed two fold-eared cats? Not everything is so smooth.
Those very flattened ears that won many hearts were obtained as a result of a random mutation. They were considered a good solution and breeding of fold-eared kittens was put on the conveyor belt. But soon they had to stop reproduction, and then completely ban it - some of the offspring were born with problems of the musculoskeletal system.
After the ban in Europe, American scientists took up the task, and it was they who found out that the gene for lop ears is dominant and has a negative effect. Kittens from parents with such genes were born with fused vertebrae, a fixed tail, malocclusions, curvature of paws and other similar disorders. Moreover, these anomalies could appear not only in newborns, but also many months later. The kittens refused to eat, could not cope with chewing food, had problems with digestion, often could not move independently, and in some cases died.
Do not cross dominants
It turned out to be logical and lay on the surface - to prevent the crossing of two individuals with dominant genes. In the case of lop ears, the recessive gene is straight ears, and the offspring from such parents were healthy without significant defects. At the same time, half of the kittens in the litter turned out to be fold-eared.
This method is still effective, and anyone who plans to start breeding fold cats should adhere to it. Because the risk of getting offspring with congenital anomalies is not just great - it is one hundred percent. Very often, such kittens are not viable, and sometimes the babies have to be forcibly euthanized, because with such deviations they simply cannot lead a normal life.
These are amazing creatures, very affectionate and responsive. They adapt well to a new place, quickly become attached to people, are friendly with other animals and have no problems with toilet training. You just need to remember about the rules of their breeding, and Scottish Folds will become wonderful pets and faithful companions for many years.
Is it possible to cross Scottish cats with Scottish cats?
Interbreed matings never produce purebred animals. But for some reason, quite a lot of people contact the editors of the Scottish cats website “Murkotiki” with the question of whether it is possible to cross Scottish cats with Scottish cats? Where does such a frequent question come from and does it have any real basis? Let's figure it out.
The idea that Scottish cats cannot be bred with each other has its origins in the topic of genetics.
The fact is that if you cross fold-eared cats with fold-eared cats, or vice versa - fold-eared cats with fold-eared cats, you will get sick offspring. It's all because of the fold (fold-eared) gene: in the scientific world it is designated Fd. It is dominant, that is, when paired with any other gene, it causes the ears to droop. But this gene not only causes the ears to droop, which occurs due to weakness of the cartilage, but also affects all joints and cartilage in a similar way, making her musculoskeletal system not entirely complete.
In some folds, this gene is visually manifested only on the ears - and the animal feels healthy. Some people develop terrible diseases that prevent them from leading a full life. Why does it happen that some, despite their lop ears, are healthy, while others are not?
On the one hand, this is the will of nature, which obeys only the theory of probability. Even with correct crossing, which will be discussed later, there is a risk of having sick offspring. But still this risk is low. On the other hand, there is a way to get sick offspring in almost 90% of cases. To do this, you need to cross two lop-eared individuals. Each of them is a carrier of the Fd gene.
Let me explain. In order for the offspring to receive a certain trait, it needs two genes - from the father and from the mother. If an individual has only one dominant gene for drooping ears - Fd, that is, from only one parent, and the other gene is the recessive gene fd (suppressed straight-eared gene), then such a kitten will most likely be healthy, but at the same time will receive droopy ears, because . the Fd gene is dominant over the fd gene. But at the same time, the fd gene restrains the Fd gene and prevents terrible diseases from developing.
If you cross two fold-eared cats, each of which has the Fd gene, there is a high probability that the kittens will receive the following combination: Fd + Fd = FdFd. Then they will not have the disease-restraining gene fd - and the animals will be born sick: lame, with deformed joints, experiencing pain with any movement. This is why it is impossible to cross two Scottish Fold cats.
But what then can be done to get healthy purebred Scots? There is an answer to this question. To obtain healthy offspring, it is necessary to cross a Scottish Fold cat and a straight-eared Scottish cat, or vice versa - a straight-eared Scottish cat and a Scottish Fold cat. Didn't you know that the Scottish breed includes as many as four varieties? These are the Scottish Fold (Scottish Fold Shorthair cat), Scottish Straight (Scottish Straight Shorthair cat), Highland Fold (Scottish Fold Semi-longhair cat) and Highland Straight (Scottish Straight-eared Semi-Longhair cat). Thus, you can cross like this: Scottish Fold + Scottish Straight, Scottish Fold + Highland Straight, Highland Fold + Highland Straight, Scottish Straight + Highland Fold.
You can breed a Scottish cat with a Scottish cat
There is one caveat. Sometimes folds develop ears over time. Sometimes this happens so quickly that an illiterate breeder does not have time to identify them as folds. Or the cats end up with new owners, and because of their straight ears, they think that they bought straight cats. As a result, they will breed their cats as straight cats, that is, with folds. But the lop-eared gene has not gone away: it simply did not appear visually. And then the offspring will come from two folds, that is, most likely, terminally ill. Therefore, before such matings, a cat about whom there are doubts (for example, his ears are smaller than usual or not erect enough) needs to undergo a genetic examination. Or sterilize it out of harm's way.
Now you understand where the fear arose that Scots should not be mated with Scots. Many, having never learned what is actually possible and what is not, begin to look for a representative of another breed for their cat and make a big mistake, because the kittens will already be hybrid, not purebred, with an unpredictable appearance and character. It will be very difficult to sell these. And there is no point in spoiling the Scottish breed, which has long managed well without interbreed matings?
Separately, many people ask whether it is possible to breed a straight-eared Scottish cat with a straight-eared cat? Can. But from such a pair only straight-eared kittens will be born, and they are cheaper than fold-eared ones.
Here's the situation. . straights are bred to folds, because in this case we will get heterozygotes for the lop-eared gene, i.e. the kittens will be normal (of course, if the parents do not carry any genetic abnormalities and are allowed for breeding). in the homozygous version, the lop-eared gene can lead to disastrous consequences (a homozygote for the lop-eared gene will result from a fold-fold mating). mating straight-straight does not make sense because there is no chance of giving birth to kittens with a breed-forming trait. Now about the fact that you don’t need exhibitions and about the “benefits” of childbirth. Childbirth in cats, like in humans, has little benefit for the mother’s body. Just imagine a cat for 2 months giving all its juices to the cultivation of several organisms. Closer to giving birth, it becomes difficult for a small cat to walk (a cat can double its weight during pregnancy - try doubling its weight in a couple of months... well, how? Is it easy to run?), i.e., the load on the skeleton may increase by 2 times. Further, during a multiple pregnancy in a cat, the kittens put pressure on the internal organs; it is not so easy for the cat to breathe at the end of pregnancy. well, the cat just can’t wash itself - well, it doesn’t reach because of its belly. Of course, this does not happen with all cats, because a cat can bear from one to eight (sometimes more) kittens. The birth itself also happens differently for all cats. some give birth easily, while others only have a cesarean section (there are many reasons, either a large kitten or simply a lack of labor). also with maternal instinct. Some cats are fine, but some simply refuse kittens right away and don’t understand what to do with them. both in the case of a caesarean section and in the case of a cat’s abandonment of kittens, their upbringing falls on your shoulders. this means that for the first 3-4 weeks after giving birth you will first have to sleep for an hour between feedings (it’s not the children’s fault that this happened and want to eat), and the kittens will also need to pee and poop (if the cat doesn’t do this). Again, I repeat, this doesn’t happen often, but how do you know how it will turn out for you? Now about the exhibitions. Apparently, you know little about the breed, and even then, in fact, you “heard something somewhere”….Scottish is not a simple breed, it won’t work out with anyone (unless, of course, you don’t care about kittens). you need to clearly know how to select a pair, regardless of whether you have a fold or a straight. and the club can help you choose a cat just for your cat. exhibitions are important because, for example, out of ignorance, you may simply not understand whether your cat can be knitted or whether it can be knitted by this fold-eared cat that was offered to you. maybe he carries disqualifying defects that are passed on to kittens and you put a cat under him... - you don’t agree well... Likewise, your cat may not be allowed for breeding due to some parameters.
straight-eared ones only with folds and knitting!
You can breed Scottish straight-eared dogs with Japanese short-legged dogs, and their offspring with the neighbor Tuzik!
You can’t if you don’t want to end up with freaks. and for what purpose is mating? If you had at least completed felinological courses, you would not be asking such stupid questions. Yes, even if you participated in exhibitions, communicated with serious breeders, you would not have such a question either. Giving birth will not improve your cat's health. So what is mating for? For profit?
folds are crossed with straight-eared ones, this is cat law)))) otherwise there may be problems with the offspring
straights are knitted with the British, folds are also knitted only with the British, straights with folds are not knitted
Folds cannot be combined with folds, only with straights.
Scottish Straight needs to be mixed with Scottish Fold, what’s so difficult? what do the British have to do with it?! This is a completely different breed!
I’m not lying to Lozinka that giving birth won’t improve a cat’s health. Although I have not completed the course, experienced breeders unanimously tell me that a cat must give birth at least once in its life. I know for sure that folds are not mated with folds - there is this gene for lop-earedness. But I see no reason why two Straights cannot be mated. It’s better to call the breeder from whom you took the kitten, or the club you’re a member of - they’ll tell you for sure. or search here: mauforum.ru
I strongly advise you to still get documents for the cat (the breeder should have kept the birth certificate or pedigree, you can buy it), complete felinological courses and, if you really want to, engage in breeding with intelligence and knowledge of the matter, and not just “I heard somewhere, that folds don’t go together with folds.” There are a lot of subtleties and peculiarities of inheritance in pedigree breeding; the breeding program is also not written out of the blue. There are many more reasons for kittens to be born deformed than just lop ears. Again, you probably don’t know why your cat was sold without documents - that is, you were probably told like “we just don’t want to bother,” but what really happened there (maybe an inherited growth along the white line? or something worse) - no one will say, that’s why pedigrees are needed - to know exactly what kind of children they will get and to minimize the chance of deformities. Childbirth, again, did not improve the health of any cat. Well, cats also have AIDS and other STDs. Among them, for example, feline viral peritonitis is a fatal, untreatable disease that guarantees a painful, slow death from sepsis. You probably won’t check your cat for the full range of viruses - it’s probably just as undocumented.
Basic rules for mating a Scottish Fold cat - expert advice
In general, all the subtleties cannot be described in the “answers” - that is why felinological courses are at least 10 lectures, because there is a lot of material, and all of it is important, there is nothing to throw out from there. I highly recommend visiting it if you really want to engage in breeding. And kittens without documents only lead to poverty; there is no way to prove the breed of a kitten except by pedigree, it’s just phenotypic, even if you know that it is from purebred parents.
only with folds
In general, every woman is advised to give birth. many gynecological diseases disappear or stop developing after a woman gives birth and breastfeeds. I don’t think that in terms of technology we are much different from cats. They have almost the same female diseases as we do.
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