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A blue Scottish Fold with copper eyes sits at the end of an old wooden jetty on a still lake, watching a dragonfly

Scottish Fold

A round, calm cat with folded ears. The gene behind those ears also makes cartilage and bones grow poorly.

The Scottish Fold has ears that fold forward, like a little cap. That makes its head look completely round, a bit like an owl. Every Fold descends from Susie, a white farm cat found in Scotland in 1961. By nature it is calm, sweet and home-loving. There is something important to know, though: the gene that folds the ears also makes cartilage and bones throughout the body grow poorly. Every cat with folded ears is affected, some much more than others. That is why, since 2026, you may not take on a new fold-eared cat in the Netherlands. Cats that were already there may stay.

Origin
Tayside, Scotland
Weight
4–6 kg male2.7–5 kg female
Size
Medium
Lifespan
9–15 years

Character

  • Calm and home-loving
  • Follows you around
  • Sits up like a prairie dog
  • Quiet, with a soft voice

  • Affectionate

    Sweet and affectionate with its own people.

  • Lap cat

    Likes to be near you, but usually does not always want a lap.

  • Playful

    Likes a game with its people, sometimes even fetch, but is not wild.

  • Energetic

    Calm and home-loving: it plays in short bursts and rests a lot.

  • Talkative

    A quiet cat with a soft voice.

  • Learns tricks

    Clever enough to learn simple tricks.

  • With strangers

    A bit shy with visitors. It needs time to come to them.

  • With children

    Usually patient with children, but its tail and legs must be handled gently.

  • With dogs

    Can live with a calm dog, ideally one it has known since kittenhood.

  • With other cats

    Usually fine with other cats, though some cats seem to misread its folded ears.

  • Home alone

    Does not like being left alone for long days.

  • Indoor cat

    Well suited to life indoors.

Photos

Story or true?

  • The folded ears make a Scottish Fold deaf.

    No. The fold does not affect hearing. The first Folds were white, and deafness sometimes comes with the gene for a white coat, not with the fold.

  • A straight-eared kitten from Fold parents never has the fold gene.

    Usually true, but not always. In a 2026 study, about 1 in 8 cats with the gene had ears that straightened as they grew up. Only a DNA test knows for sure.

  • A Scottish Fold is simply a calm, laid-back cat.

    Partly. It is calm by nature, but animal welfare charities warn that a Fold that seldom jumps may also have sore joints. So watch closely how it moves.

History

In 1961 a white cat with folded ears called Susie was found on a farm near Coupar Angus in Scotland. William and Mary Ross took one of her fold-eared kittens and bred on with British Shorthairs and house cats. The British registry soon dropped the breed again over worries about its health. In America the breed did grow. In 2016 scientists found that the fold comes from one change in a gene, which also affects the cartilage throughout the body.

  1. 1961

    Near Coupar Angus in Scotland, a white farm cat with folded ears is found. She is called Susie.

  2. 1966

    William Ross registers the breed with Britain's registry GCCF. From now on the cats are called Scottish Fold.

  3. 1971

    The GCCF stops registering Scottish Folds, out of concern for their health.

  4. 1978

    America's CFA fully recognises the shorthaired Scottish Fold.

  5. 1992

    CFA also recognises the longhaired Fold, called the Highland Fold in Europe.

  6. 2014

    The Netherlands bans breeding animals with harmful inherited traits. That includes cats with folded ears.

  7. 2016

    Scientists find the cause of the folded ears: one change in the TRPV4 gene, which also affects cartilage and bones.

  8. 2021

    From 1 October, Flanders bans breeding and selling cats with folded ears.

  9. 2022

    CFA also lets straight-eared Scottish cats compete at shows.

  10. 2026

    The Netherlands bans keeping new cats with folded ears. Cats chipped before 1 January may stay.

Looks

Medium-sized, sturdy and round. According to America's TICA, one word says it all about this breed: round, from head and eyes to body and paws.

Head
Round from every side, with full cheeks, a firm chin and a short, broad nose. Males have heavy jowls.
Ears
Small and folded forward and down, like a cap with rounded tips. Kittens are born with straight ears that start to fold at 3 to 4 weeks.
Eyes
Large, round and wide open, with a sweet expression. The colour goes with the coat.
Body
Round, well padded and muscular, as wide at the shoulders as at the hips. A short neck and strong legs with round paws.
Tail
Medium to long, tapering and flexible all the way to the tip. A stiff or short tail is a fault, because stiffness is an early sign of the bone disorder.
Coat
Short, thick and plush, with a dense undercoat that stands slightly away from the body. The Highland Fold has semi-long hair.
At shows
Europe's FIFe and Britain's GCCF do not recognise the breed, because of the bone disorder. WCF, TICA and CFA do, and there two Folds may never be mated with each other.

Varieties

  • Scottish Straight

    The same cat, but with ordinary upright ears. Every litter of a Fold and a straight-eared cat also has straight-eared kittens. Without the fold gene it does not get the bone disorder.

    Recognition: Recognised by TICA, WCF and, since 2022, CFA.

  • Highland Fold

    The longhaired Fold, with soft semi-long hair, tufts between the toes and in the ears, and a ruff. Otherwise the same cat, with the same health and the same rules.

    Recognition: Recognised by TICA, WCF and CFA (since 1992).

Colours

The codes in brackets

Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).

  • Blue(a)
  • White(w)
  • Black classic tabby(n 22)
  • Red classic tabby(d 22)
  • Black silver classic tabby(ns 22)
  • Black tortie and white(f 03)
All colours and patterns (49)

Solid

  • Black (n)
  • Blue (a)
  • Chocolate (b)
  • Lilac (c)
  • Cinnamon (o)
  • Fawn (p)
  • Red (d)
  • Cream (e)
  • White (w)

Tortoiseshell

  • Black tortie (f)
  • Blue-cream (g)
  • Chocolate tortie (h)
  • Lilac-cream (j)

Tabby

  • Black classic tabby (n 22)
  • Black mackerel tabby (n 23)
  • Black spotted tabby (n 24)
  • Black ticked tabby (n 25)
  • Blue classic tabby (a 22)
  • Red classic tabby (d 22)
  • Red mackerel tabby (d 23)
  • Cream classic tabby (e 22)
  • Black tortie mackerel tabby (f 23)

Smoke and silver

  • Black smoke (ns)
  • Blue smoke (as)
  • Red smoke (ds)
  • Black tortie smoke (fs)
  • Black silver classic tabby (ns 22)
  • Black silver spotted tabby (ns 24)
  • Black shaded silver (ns 11)
  • Black shell silver (chinchilla) (ns 12)
  • Red shell (cameo) (ds 12)

Golden

  • Black shaded golden (ny 11)
  • Black shell golden (chinchilla) (ny 12)

With white

  • Black van (n 01)
  • Black harlequin (n 02)
  • Black and white (n 03)
  • Blue and white (a 03)
  • Red and white (d 03)
  • Black tortie and white (f 03)
  • Blue-cream and white (g 03)
  • Black classic tabby and white (n 03 22)

Small white spots (lockets or buttons) are fine with CFA, but not at WCF shows.

Colourpoint

  • Seal point (n 33)
  • Blue point (a 33)
  • Chocolate point (b 33)
  • Lilac point (c 33)
  • Red point (d 33)
  • Cream point (e 33)
  • Seal tortie point (f 33)
  • Seal tabby point (n 21 33)

WCF accepts points only without white. CFA also allows points with other patterns.

Not in WCF and TICA

  • Seal point and white (n 33 03)
  • Seal mink (n 32)
  • Seal sepia (n 31)

The Fold may come in almost any colour. WCF does not accept points with white, and mink and sepia are only on the list of Australia's ACF.

Did you know?

  • 1961

    Every Scottish Fold descends from Susie, a white farm cat found in Scotland in 1961.

  • 3 weeks

    Fold kittens are born with straight ears. They only start to fold at 3 to 4 weeks old.

  • Prairie dog

    A curious Fold sometimes sits up straight on its back legs, just like a prairie dog.

  • Owl face

    With its flat ears and big round eyes, many people say a Fold looks like an owl.

  • Round

    According to TICA's breed standard, one word describes this cat: round.

Health

How long9–15years

No study has measured how long a Scottish Fold lives. Breed profiles say about 9 to 15 years. Animal welfare charities say some Folds live shorter lives because of their joint disease.

Cartilage and bone disorder (osteochondrodysplasia)

The same gene that folds the ears also makes cartilage elsewhere in the body grow poorly. Every cat with folded ears has it, from mild to severe. The bones of the legs and tail can thicken and the joints become stiff and painful. The cat may then limp, stop jumping or get a stiff tail. It cannot be cured, but pain relief and changes at home help. Cats with two copies of the gene become badly ill while still young; that is why nobody mates two Folds.

How it is found: A DNA test shows whether a cat has the gene, even with straight ears. X-rays and checks of the tail show how far it has got.

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)

Small fluid-filled cysts grow in both kidneys, and later the kidneys can fail. The gene comes from Persian ancestors. It cannot be cured, but diet and care slow it down.

How it is found: DNA test (PKD1) of the parents, and an ultrasound scan of the kidneys.

Ask the breeder for

  • Whether you may keep this cat where you live: in the Netherlands a fold-eared cat is no longer allowed
  • For a Scottish Straight: a DNA test showing it does not have the fold gene
  • A PKD DNA test of both parents

Care

  • Grooming

    Comb the short coat once a week. The Highland Fold needs brushing more often against tangles. It sheds all year, and more in spring and autumn.

  • Joints and tail

    Have the vet check its joints and tail regularly, and ask early about pain relief if it moves stiffly. Always handle its tail gently.

  • Exercise

    Play gently with it every day. Give it low resting places and steps or ramps, because jumping high can hurt.

  • Food

    It likes its food and does not move much. Watch its weight: extra weight puts more strain on sore joints.

  • Allergies

    There is no reason to think a Fold causes fewer allergies than other cats.

Allowed where you live?

Checked on 21 October 2026

  • NetherlandsBannedMore details

    Since 1 January 2026 you may not take on, breed or show a new cat with folded ears in the Netherlands. A cat that was chipped before that date may stay with you for life or go to a new home. You must then be able to show the chip date in writing.

  • BelgiumWith conditionsMore details

    In Flanders you may not breed, sell or give away cats with folded ears since 1 October 2021. A cat you already have may stay with you. Wallonia and Brussels have no separate rule at the moment.

  • LuxembourgAllowed

Recognised by registries

  • WCFWorldwide, mostly GermanyAs Scottish Fold Shorthair and Highland FoldRecognised
  • TICAWorldwide, mostly AmericaTogether with the longhair and the Scottish StraightRecognised
  • CFAAmericaLonghair since 1992, straight ears since 20221978

Breed clubs

  • Are you a Scottish Fold club?

    Let's swap links. We list your club here, with logo, a short text and a link. You link to this page. No costs, no contract.

    Email us[email protected]

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