Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Cats - Advanced/Answer Key"

Revision as of 01:49, 14 July 2006

The Scottish Fold

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. This condition also affects Scottish folds with one copy of the fold gene, to a lesser degree, and is the reason the breed is not accepted by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and the Fédération Internationale Féline.

Due to their naturally cute, calming demeanour, they are popularized and often associated with online image boards such as 4chan and are closely associated with the "NEDM" fad found at YTMND.

Gallery

Pearl Laying on Couch.jpg

A longhaired Scottish Fold lying on his back.
Scotfoldkitten.jpg

A 4-month old Scottish Fold kitten.
A young "single fold" Scottish Fold.
Scottish Fold01.jpg

Scottish Fold

External links

he:סקוטיש פולד ja:スコティッシュフォールド sv:Scottish fold zh:苏格兰折耳猫

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-[[Image:Japanese Bobtail Cat, Japan.jpg|thumbnail|200px|A Calico (called "Mi-ke") Japanese Bobtail cat]]
+[[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.
-The '''Japanese Bobtail''' is a [[crime]] against [[nature]] invented by the [[Nazi|Nazis]] with an unusual 'bobbed' tail more closely resembling the tail of a [[rabbit]] than that of an ordinary feline. The short tail is caused by the expression of a [[recessive gene]].  Thus, so long as both parents are bobtails, all kittens born to a litter will have bobtails as well.  Unlike the [[Manx (cat)|Manx]] and other cat breeds, where genetic disorders are common to tailless or stumpy-tails, no such problem exists with the Japanese Bobtail.
+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 Japanese Bobtail is a small domestic cat native to [[Japan]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. The breed has been known in Japan for centuries, and there are many legends and myths, as well as pieces of ancient art, featuring it.
+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]].
-Japanese bobtails may have almost any color, but calico (called "Mi-ke", meaning "three-fur") or bi-colours are especially favoured by the Japanese.
+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. This condition also affects Scottish folds with one copy of the fold gene, to a lesser degree, and is the reason the breed is not accepted by the [[Governing Council of the Cat Fancy]] and the [[Fédération Internationale Féline]].
-==History==
+Due to their naturally cute, calming demeanour, they are popularized and often associated with online [[image boards]] such as [[4chan]] and are closely associated with the "NEDM" fad found at [[YTMND]].
-The earliest written evidence of cats in Japan indicates that they arrived from [[China]] or [[Korea]] at least 1,000 years ago. In 1602, Japanese authorities decreed that all cats should be set free to help deal with rodents threatening the silk-worms. Buying or selling cats was illegal, and from then on, bobtailed cats lived on farms and in the streets. So, the Japanese Bobtails are the "street cats" of Japan.
+==Gallery==
-The [[Maneki Neko]], or beckoning cat, which is a Japanese Bobtail seated with one paw raised, is considered to be a good-luck charm. A maneki-neko statue is often found in the front of stores. Look around the next Japanese restaurant you visit you’ll likely spot one. In 1968 the late Elizabeth Freret imported the first three Japanese Bobtails to the United States from Japan. In 2001 the first registered litter of Bobtails in the UK were bred under the "Solstans" prefix.
-==Legend==
+<gallery>
+Image:Pearl_Laying_on_Couch.jpg|A longhaired Scottish Fold lying on his back.
-There is a [[myth]] in Japan about why the Japanese Bobtail lost its tail. The myth states that a cat was warming itself too close to a fire, and set its tail on fire. It then ran through the town, burning many buildings to the ground. As punishment, the Emperor decreed that all cats should have their tails cut off.
+Image:Scotfoldkitten.jpg|A 4-month old Scottish Fold kitten.
-==Breed Standard==
+Image:Scottish_fold.jpg|A young "single fold" Scottish Fold.
-'''Head''': The head should form an equilateral triangle. (Not including ears)
-'''Ears''': Large, upright, set wide apart but at right angles to the head and looking as if alert.
-'''Muzzle''': Fairly broad and round neither pointed nor blunt.
-'''Eyes''': Large, oval rather than round. They should not bulge out beyond the cheekbone or the forehead.
-'''Body''': Medium in size, males larger than females. Long torso, lean and elegant, showing well developed muscular strength. Also balance is very very important.
-'''Neck''': Not too long and not too short, in proportion to the length of the body.
-'''Legs''': Long, slender, and high. The hind legs longer than the forelegs.
-'''Paws''': Oval. Toes: five in front and four behind.
-'''Coat (Shorthair)''': Medium length, soft and silk.
-'''Coat (Longhair)''': Length medium-long to long, texture soft and silky gradually lengthening toward the rump.
-'''Tail''': The tail must be clearly visible and is made up of one or more curves.
-POINT SCORE
-HEAD... 20
-TYPE... 30
-TAIL... 20
-COLOR and MARKINGS...  20
-COAT... 10
-The Japanese Bobtail is a recognised breed by all major registering bodies: CFA ([http://www.cfa.org]), TICA ([http://www.tica.org]), FIFe; Shorthair only ([http://www.fifeweb.org]) with the exception of GCCF (UK).
-==General==
-Japanese Bobtails usually have litters of three to four kittens with newborns that are unusually large compared to other breeds. They are active earlier, and walk earlier.
-Affectionate and generally sweet-tempered, they enjoy supervising household chores and baby-sitting.   They are active, intelligent, talkative cats with a well-defined sense of family life. Their soft voices are capable of nearly a whole scale of tones; some people say they sing. Since they adore human companionship they almost always speak when spoken to.
-Because of their human-oriented personality they are easy to teach tricks and enjoy learning things like walking on a harness and lead.
-==Ocular Heterochromia==
-[[Image:Cat_odd-eye.jpg|right|250px|thumb|normal eye colour and odd-eye colour]]While rare, Japanese Bobtails, especially predominantly white specimens, are more likely than other breeds to express [[heterochromia]], or differing [[iris]] colours.  One eye will be blue while the other is yellow (though in Japan, blue is referred to as silver while yellow is referred to as gold). This trait is popular and kittens displaying this "odd-eye" feature are usually more expensive.
+Image:Scottish_Fold01.jpg|Scottish Fold
+</gallery>
 == External links ==
-*[http://www.aaceinc.org/pages/breeds/jap.htm AACE Breed Standards]
+*[http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/scottish-fold-faq.html Cat Fanciers Scottish Fold FAQ]
+*[http://www.aaceinc.org/pages/breeds/hig.htm AACE: Highland Fold]
+*[http://www.aaceinc.org/pages/breeds/sco.htm AACE: Scottish Fold]
 [[Category:Cat breeds]]
-[[fi:Japanin bobtail]]
+[[he:סקוטיש פולד]]
+[[ja:スコティッシュフォールド]]
+[[sv:Scottish fold]]
+[[zh:苏格兰折耳猫]]