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| − | [[Image:DorDor.JPG|thumb|right|Most feral kittens have little chance of surviving more than a few months and are vulnerable to starvation, predators, disease and even flea-induced anemia.]] | + | [[Image:Scottish_Fold.jpg|thumb|200px|The Scottish Fold]] |
| | + | The '''Scottish Fold''' is a [[cat breeds|breed]] of [[cat]] with a natural mutation to its ears. The ear [[cartilage]] contains a fold so the ears bend forward and down towards the front of their head. |
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| − | A '''feral cat''' is a [[cat]] which has been separated from domestication, whether through abandonment, loss, or running away, and become wild. The term also refers to descendants of such cats, but not to [[Wild Cat]]s, whose ancestors were never domesticated. Feral cats usually cannot be re-socialized. Feral kittens, however, can be socialized to live with humans if they are taken from a feral colony before they are about twelve weeks old.
| + | The original Scottish Fold was a long-haired white-haired barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near Coupar Angus in [[Perthshire]], [[Scotland]] in [[1961]]. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an owl. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one of the siblings was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier. Ross registered the breed with the [[Governing Council of the Cat Fancy]] in [[Great Britain]] and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist [[Pat Turner]]. The breeding program produced 76 kittens in the first three years - 42 with folded ears and 34 with straight ears. The conclusion from this was that the ear mutation is due to a simple dominant gene. If one parent provides the gene for straight ears, and one parent provides the gene for folded ears, the kittens will be Folds. |
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| − | Feral cats may live alone, but are usually found in large groups called [[feral cat colony|feral colonies]] with communal nurseries, depending on resource availability. Many abandoned [[pet]] cats join these colonies out of desperation; these cats can usually be readopted into a new home. The average [[lifespan]] of a feral cat that survives beyond [[kitten]]hood is usually less than two years while a [[domestication|domestic]] housecat lives an average of sixteen years or more.
| + | The breed was not accepted for showing in Great Britain and [[Europe]] as it was felt that they would be extremely prone to ear problems such as infection, mites and deafness, but the folds were exported to America and the breed continued to be established there using crosses with [[British Shorthair]] and the [[American Shorthair]]. |
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| − | == In the United States ==
| + | Scottish Folds can be either long or short-haired, and they may have any coat colour combination except for Siamese-style points. Pointed Folds have been bred but they are not eligible for showing. The original cats only had one fold in their ears, but due to selective breeding they have increased the fold to a double or triple crease that lies the ear totally flat against the head. |
| − | [[City]]scapes and [[North America]] are not native environments for the cat; the domestic cat comes from [[temperate]] or hot, often dry, [[climate]]s and was distributed throughout the world by [[human]]s. Although cats are somewhat adaptable, feral felines are unable to survive in extreme cold and heat, and with a need for a diet of 90% protein, few cats find adequate nutrition on their own. In addition, they have no [[defense]] against or understanding of such [[predator]]s as [[dog]]s, [[coyote]]s and even [[automobile]]s. The current population of twenty to forty million feral felines in the United States is due, initially, to human interference by environmental introduction and later, by simple human irresponsibility and neglect.
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| − | In the United States "[[Trap-Neuter-Return]]" programs, one of the more humane ways to deal with feral cat populations, are facilitated by many volunteers and organizations. In addition to sterilization, [[inoculation]] against [[rabies]] and the [[feline leukemia virus]] as well as the application of long-lasting [[flea treatment]]s before release are common. Frequently, attending [[veterinarian]]s nip the tip off one [[ear]] to mark the feral as spayed/neutered and inoculated, as these cats will more than likely find themselves trapped again. Volunteers often continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives. Many would like to do more, but most fully feral cats are unadoptable.
| + | There is one medical problem that has been found to be related to Scottish-Fold breeding. If both parents have folded ears, their kittens will be extremely prone to developing a painful degenerative joint disease that fuses the tail, ankles and knees. The disease is not fatal, but as it is easily avoidable, reputable breeders will only breed fold to non-fold. |
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| − | The "[[Trap-Neuter-Return]]" program is considered the most humane, efficient way to deal with the problem for several reasons. The wholesale removal of feral colonies by [[euthanasia]] is rarely effective, since new individuals move into the areas left by the removed animals almost immediately, and the blanket euthanasia of stray and feral cats has proven ineffective in controlling stray and feral overpopulation. TNR posits that, by providing basic care for a stable, neutered colony of feral cats, most of the problems associated with their presence can be eliminated or greatly reduced. As the existing cats are better fed and cared for, their lives are extended, and neutering stops the influx of kittens to replace adults dying from disease or starvation. This stable colony is less likely to compete for food or predate on local wildlife if it is fed regularly, and fighting with domestic pet cats, roaming, and other nuisance behaviours are greatly reduced by neutering.
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| − | By providing this basic support, caretakers insure that the resident colony will stabilize and prevent unknown new cats from moving into the neighborhood. As individuals in the colony die, new ferals move in to take their place, and can be trapped, neutered and vaccinated as they appear. Over time, these stabilized feral colonies can become sources of enjoyment and pride to neighborhoods rather than nuisances. Given the choice between a colony of rapidly reproducing, starving, and diseased animals and a colony of neutered animals given basic healthcare, the desirable choice is obvious to all.
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| − | Recognizing the ineffectiveness of blanket euthanasia as a means of controlling stray and feral cat population, more and more animal shelters throughout the United States are becoming "no kill shelters", and are gradually implementing more humane and effective animal population control methods. Some states such as California and many countries around the world have had tremendous success with humane methods to control feral cat populations. A proposal in the state of Wisconsin to legalize the hunting of feral cats in an attempt to reduce their population was recently (April 2005) blocked by the state's lawmakers. South Dakota and Minnesota still allow wild cats to be shot.
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| − | As is their nature, there is no doubt feral cats will hunt other small species. While control of rats, mice, and other rodents is a cat activity humans support, feral cats kill songbirds and other birds. Some estimate the bird loss at over two hundred million a year. These figures may be questionable, however, with some of the damage due to the resurgence of other small predators such as the gray fox (urocyon cinereoargenteus), fisher or pekan (martes pennanti), coyote (canis latrans), and puma (puma concolor). The loss of species due to overbuilding of native habitat by humans far outstrips that lost to feral cat predation.
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| − | [http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=31029&ntpid=3]
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| − | [[October 16]] is National Feral Cat Day in the United States.
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| − | == In Australia ==
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| − | Feral cats have been present in [[Australia]] since [[European]] settlement, and may have arrived with [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[shipwreck]]s in the [[17th century]]. Intentional releases were made in the late [[19th century]] in the hope that cats would control mice, rabbits and rats.
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| − | The feral cat has been an ecological disaster in Australia, inhabiting most ecosystems except dense [[rainforest]], and being implicated in the [[extinction]] of several [[marsupial]] and [[placental]] mammal [[species]]. (Cats are not believed to have been a factor in the extinction of the only mainland [[bird]] species to be lost since European settlement, the [[Paradise Parrot]]; their role in the loss of rare species on [[Australasia]]n islands, however, has been significant.)
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| − | Control programs are difficult to devise due to the [[nocturnal animal|nocturnal]] and [[solitary]] nature of feral cats, broad distribution in the landscape and continuous additions to the population from abandoned domestic cats. Due to the danger posed to human handling the animal, captured feral cats are almost always [[death|kill]]ed. No program for spaying and neutering, akin to that in the United States exists in Australia.
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| − | == In Rome ==
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| − | [[Rome]], [[Italy]] is perhaps the place with most feral cats, the total number being estimated between 250,000 and 350,000, organized in about 2,000 colonies, some of them living in famous ancient places such as the [[Colosseum]].
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| − | == Feral cats and island restoration ==
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| − | Feral cats [[introduced species|introduced]] to islands with ecologically naive fauna (that is, species that have not evolved or have lost predator responses for dealing with cats) have had a devastating impact on these islands' [[biodiversity]]. They have been implicated in the extinction of several species and local extinctions, such as the [[huita]]s from the [[Caribbean]] and the [[Guadalupe Storm-petrel]] from [[Pacific]] [[Mexico]]. Moors and Atkinson wrote, in [[1984]], "No other alien predator has had such a universally damaging effect." Given the damage they do, many conservationists working in the field of [[island restoration]] (literally restoring damaged islands through removal of introduced species and replanting and reintroducing native species) have worked to remove feral cats. As of [[2004]], 48 islands have had their feral cat populations removed, including [[New Zealand]]'s network of offshore island bird reserves (Nogales ''et al'', [[2004]]). Larger projects are also being planned, including their removal from [[Ascension Island]].
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| − | Feral cats, along with rabbits and some sea birds, are the entire animal population of the remote [[Kerguelen Islands]] in the southern [[Indian Ocean]].
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| − | == Activism ==
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| − | Feral cats are discarded as kittens largely because cats breed rapidly and have multiple-kit litters. Often the owners do not have the capacity or desire to care for a large number of cats.
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| − | Feral cats live in deplorable conditions, living short, dangerous, unhealthy, desperate lives. Because of the dangers to humans, other species, and the cats themselves, and out of compassion toward the animals, many people, including [[celebrity|celebrities]] such as [[Bob Barker]], campaign to encourage people to spay and neuter their pets and support the humane control of feral cats.
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| − | == References ==
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| − | * Moors, P.J.; Atkinson, I.A.E. (1984). ''Predation on seabirds by introduced animals, and factors affecting its severity.''. In ''Status and Conservation of the World's Seabirds''. Cambridge: ICBP. ISBN 0-946888-03-5.
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| − | * Nogales, Manuel ''et al'' ([[2004]]). ''A review of feral cat eradication on islands''. ''Conservation Biology''. '''18''' (2), 310-319. [http://www.issg.org/database/species/reference_files/felcat/Nogales%20et%20al.%202004.pdf]
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| | == External links == | | == External links == |
| − | * [http://www.alleycat.org Alley Cat Allies] Feral Cat Resource - provides information about how to deal with feral cats humanely. | + | *[http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/scottish-fold-faq.html Cat Fanciers Scottish Fold FAQ] |
| − | * Defenders of Wildlife. [http://www.defenders.org/defendersmag/issues/spring03/plightsongbird.html Plight of the Vanishing Songbirds]
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| − | * Australian Department of Environment and Heritage: [http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/cat-impacts/pubs/impacts-feral-cats.pdf Overview of the impact of feral cats on native fauna] (pdf)
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| − | * lovethatcat.com: [http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html List of US spay & neuter programs]
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| − | * [http://www.mikecade.com/wildkingdom/writings_feral_cats_pge_park.html Feral Cats of Portland, Ore.'s PGE Park]
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| − | [[Category:Cat types]]
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| − | [[fr:Chat haret]] | + | [[Category:Cat breeds]] |
| | + | [[zh:苏格兰折耳猫]] |
The Scottish Fold is a breed of cat with a natural mutation to its ears. The ear cartilage contains a fold so the ears bend forward and down towards the front of their head.
The original Scottish Fold was a long-haired white-haired barn cat named Susie, who was found at a farm near Coupar Angus in Perthshire, Scotland in 1961. Susie's ears had an unusual fold in their middle, making her resemble an owl. When Susie had kittens, two of them were born with folded ears, and one of the siblings was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier. Ross registered the breed with the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy in Great Britain and started to breed Scottish Fold kittens with the help of geneticist Pat Turner. The breeding program produced 76 kittens in the first three years - 42 with folded ears and 34 with straight ears. The conclusion from this was that the ear mutation is due to a simple dominant gene. If one parent provides the gene for straight ears, and one parent provides the gene for folded ears, the kittens will be Folds.
The breed was not accepted for showing in Great Britain and Europe as it was felt that they would be extremely prone to ear problems such as infection, mites and deafness, but the folds were exported to America and the breed continued to be established there using crosses with British Shorthair and the American Shorthair.
Scottish Folds can be either long or short-haired, and they may have any coat colour combination except for Siamese-style points. Pointed Folds have been bred but they are not eligible for showing. The original cats only had one fold in their ears, but due to selective breeding they have increased the fold to a double or triple crease that lies the ear totally flat against the head.
There is one medical problem that has been found to be related to Scottish-Fold breeding. If both parents have folded ears, their kittens will be extremely prone to developing a painful degenerative joint disease that fuses the tail, ankles and knees. The disease is not fatal, but as it is easily avoidable, reputable breeders will only breed fold to non-fold.
External links
zh:苏格兰折耳猫
