A fold-eared kitten's ears go up. Why does a cat flatten its ears: observe and study the pet’s behavior. Scottish lop-eared. About the cat breed: description of the Scottish Fold breed, prices, photos, care
here to all the amateurs, those who are more experienced, well, don’t write, you just never fold will become a straight without explanation. and then they immediately start arguing that my ears are standing up. You mean that the cat was a carrier of the gene and remained so, because the ears stood up, the breed has not changed, and you can still cross only with straight cats (and don’t throw slippers at me, it’s just that the pet class is very often bred, and also they sell it, so let them at least understand that you can’t cross 2 folds, otherwise there will be mutants, I feel sorry for the kittens).
A fold will never become a straight! A fold with ears up is a pet-class fold, but this will not turn him into a straight!
There is no formation of ears on folds! Curls and folds are two ABSOLUTELY different breeds, it is very stupid to compare them and equate them to each other!
All Scottish kittens have the same ears up to 3 weeks; after 3 weeks, the ears of folds droop, while those of straights remain the same. At 1.5 months it is already clearly visible who is straight and who is fold in the litter. With age, ears can only go up and never go down!
Folds have:
Single fold
Double fold
Triple fold
Most often, animals with a single fold are found; such kittens are born with slightly pressed ears, which by 5-6 months already rise strongly, and by one year they become helicopters. A double fold is less common; the ears may rise with age if genetics are poor. Basically, in cats with a double ear fold, the ears rise after birth. A larger number of animals in breeding have a double ear fold. And the triple one is the most precious and is very rare.
Whether a kitten's ears go up or not depends on its genetics (lines). NOT from foods with a high calcium content, but genetics! The fact that folds cannot be fed dairy products, and especially cottage cheese, as if their ears will stand up, is bullshit! A kitten definitely needs dairy products and calcium, but its lack can lead to very serious health problems!
If the parents’ ears did not fit well to their heads, then it is 100% that the kitten’s ears will also rise. Aspen trees will not produce oranges; you need to look at the parents and breeding lines to see how the genes are formed.
If your kitten's ears are raised significantly at 4 months, then by the age of one year they will rise even more.
Not a single breeder will guarantee that a kitten from a breed class will not develop into a pet. Moreover, Scottish is a difficult and problematic breed. It’s a shame that everyone who is not too lazy is trying to breed this particular breed, one of the most difficult. The breed has simply been ruined over the past 5-7 years! E is being destroyed right before our eyes by amateurs and breeders, and all this for the sake of easy money! Now we still have to look for a really worthy fold, and if we do find it, the price for it will be high.
You know, many people confuse the British with the Scots, so taking advantage of inexperience, sellers can slip the wrong kitten. Moreover, in order to make money, British kittens are crossed with Scots, and most likely for these two reasons, you ended up with the wrong kitten. What is laid down at the genetic level will come out and no other way.
I don’t think it’s possible for a real fold-eared cat to suddenly have his ears rise out of nowhere. This means the kitten is of mixed blood, and you took the word of the owners that the cat is a purebred Scotsman. It’s a pity, of course, but the British cat is also touching, has very rich fur, is smart and extraordinary in her own way.
A lot also depends on nutrition. If a small Fold is given natural food with a lot of calcium (bone broths, sour milk, eggs, etc.), then the ears may rise a little, but not to the same extent as Straights. It all depends on genetics. It can be damaged if the ears stand up. The food you need is meat and dry food, which is low in calcium (lowest content). Royal Canin and Hills are not allowed, as one contains milk and the other contains a lot of calcium.
Whether your cat's ears will rise depends on the gene. If the kitten’s parents’ ears did not fit well, then the kitten’s ears will definitely rise. You need to look when crossing the kitten's parents. The kitten's ears rose at about four months, most likely by about twelve months they will rise even more.
This happens in breeds with mutated ears. I have American queen cats, their ears are curved back, like a crown. So in this breed, the formation of ears (curl angle) occurs up to 4 months. The ears curl up and then straighten out, this is a normal phenomenon for ears. in your case it’s the same, the process of ear formation is underway, and it may turn out that your lop ear will become a straight. There's nothing you can do about it, it's nature.
Many people ask how to determine whether a newborn kitten is lop-eared. In a newborn it is not visible at all. Look at the photo above: do you even see anything in it? But from the 18th day it is already clear what kind of ears the kitten will have - straight or curved. Then you will see that some kittens’ ears have fallen a little forward and down.
When kittens develop lop ears, it is already clear that their ears droop with one, two or three folds or do not have them at all. There is an opinion among breeders that if there is only one fold, then, most likely, with age the ears will rise completely or rise. If there are two folds, then depending on your luck: they can rise only a little, or they can rise a lot and become so-called helicopters. However, other breeders will object: sometimes the quality of ear fit does not depend on the number of folds.
So, the signs of lop ears in a kitten are as follows: curved down and forward + folds + smaller size of the ear. There are no other signs, such as the color of the fur on the ears, etc. degrees
How to distinguish a straight-eared cat from a fold-eared one with erect ears?
As we have already said, sometimes over time a lop-eared kitten's ears will rise. Why can cats' ears go up? This is influenced by various factors, including the number of folds. As a result, if a fold's ears rise, it may be considered a straight. This is not particularly important if you do not intend to crossbreed your pet. But if there are such plans, you will have to conduct a genetic examination: folds cannot be crossed with folds, therefore, if your cat is a fold, and you, thinking that he is a straight, pair a fold, the offspring will be sick. At the same time, it is recommended to sterilize Folds with mature ears.
Experienced breeders advise those who want to distinguish a Straight from a Fold with erect ears to pay attention to their size. Straights have quite large ears, sometimes even too large. And with folds they are always noticeably smaller.
The article was checked and approved by Natalia Shevchenko, a felinologist and owner of the Shen-Alin Scottish cattery. Natalya has accumulated a wealth of experience in cat breeding, because... her nursery has been operating since 2007. The cattery breeds all four varieties of the Scottish cat breed: Scottish Fold, Scottish Straight, Highland Fold and Highland Straight.
He is a Scottish Straight (that is, the breed is Scottish, but with straight ears - “Straight”). Scottish Fold kittens are born with straight, regular ears. Can a cat participate in exhibitions and breeding? D So the owners of Jer’s mom and dad even sat down, they’ve never heard anyone straighten their lop-eared ears!! Or maybe they will go down. We bought a kitten at the age of 2 months. Often, breeders scare owners of Scottish Fold kittens that if they are given milk and other dairy products, their ears will stand up, due to the high calcium content in these products.
We bought a one-month-old Scottish Fold kitten in June, everything is as it should be - the ears are hanging! It happened that he straightened them when he was very angry! That is, they are located not like those of ordinary cats, not on the top of the head, and are tilted forward (I apologize, but I can’t explain it more precisely, I hope the owners of fold-eared cats will understand me), but they don’t hang!!!
Who is the Scottish Fold?
Or will he now remain half-loop-eared? If your kitten has no pedigree, even if it remains with such ears, it doesn’t matter to you, does it? And in theory, any cat can be treated with vislokhim by gluing his ears with a band-aid at the right time? D We are the only ones! 8) To be honest, I like him this way too, I can’t even decide which is better for him (sometimes we bend the ears, try them on...), but my husband wants exactly the LOBBY EAR!
No...I probably didn't formulate my thought very clearly. It was meant that if the ears stood up thoroughly, then there is a high probability that they will remain so. It is precisely in the Scottish Fold breed that raised ears are not uncommon, although breeders sometimes assure buyers of the opposite. Many owners are concerned about the question: is it possible to give milk to a fold-eared kitten? Representatives of this breed need calcium, like any other cat.
If a kitten has a strong lop ear gene, then due to the consumption of milk and foods containing calcium, the folds should not straighten. If the ear is only slightly bent, it may straighten out over time even without calcium. They can only be combined with bran and eggs. Can fold-eared kittens have milk? Such ears can sometimes straighten completely with age or after childbirth. With such ears, cats are the most valuable.
More than a year ago, the article “Mating of British and Scottish cats” was written. Ears are the main breed characteristic of the Scottish Fold cat. According to the standard, they should be small, with slightly rounded tips. Thus, abnormalities in cartilage development can have major consequences for joint and bone formation. The breeding of the Scots was transferred to the USA, where geneticists found a solution that made the existence of the breed possible.
Mating of British and Scottish cats -2
And then I can turn him into a straight guy, even though his ears were hanging when he was a child? Please tell me, if I have a Scottish Fold cat with erect ears, is it possible to breed with a Scottish Fold cat also with erect ears, or will there still be deformities? If a kitten receives the Fdfd (loose-eared) gene set from birth, then it remains that way for the rest of its life, regardless of whether the ears straighten or not. He always!
Straight-eared cats have a set of fdfd genes, and the fold-eared gene Fd will not appear from their mating. That is, two straights (whether Scottish or British, it doesn’t matter) will not fold! The normal age for buying a kitten is 2.5 months or more. But the fact that your kitten’s ears stand up does NOT make him British. Your cat was still a Scottish Fold. I have a lilac Scottish Straight cat, 2 years old. Could you explain about the dark rings on the tail - is this a color defect?
And now he is 3 months old, but here’s a miracle: the cat has straightened his ears and is now refusing his breed! So I wanted to ask knowledgeable people: maybe he is at a transitional age, and then everything will be as it should be? Those. It turns out that they are lop-eared artificially? To do this, there must be a special structure of the ear, genetically determined.
The benefits and harms of milk
This is how they help. This is the same as treating over the phone - taboo. It’s better to go to the club, where specialists will look at it and advise what is best to do. My first dog (a collie) had the tips of his ears stick up at three months (according to the standard they should be down). I was advised to use an adhesive plaster.
The tip sank under her weight. But the ears have become a sight for sore eyes. I haven’t tested this method on cats, I only have Siamese, and lop ears don’t suit them; D But maybe it will also work. The main thing is to choose a piece of the right size and weight so that it does not irritate the animal, but the tip of the ear drops. Ears stand up from the heat, from stress, in cats after lambing... I have never given birth to more than one kitten. 2 months later another miracle happened. Her ears stood up, while those two's went down. But even with straight ears, my baby was very pretty.
Hello! I have a British cat and a straight-eared Scottish cat, can their mating result in fold-eared kittens? And now our ears are standing up too, at about 4 months. We bought it as a Scottish Fold, the ears were tightly pressed down, another kitten had them. The color can be any, including blue.
I believe that the Scottish Fold cat is one of the smartest and most obedient creatures. This breed is in good health and there are practically no problems with them. The physique is strong, even the muscles are visible)) The coat is thick and very soft.
My favorite name is Monica. Despite her young age (half a year old), the girl is very smart. There were no problems with toilet training, although I had to pick her up from her parents' house very early.
She eats exclusively natural food (lean meat, fish, raw eggs), drinks only homemade milk, loves kefir and cottage cheese. I heard that the Scots should not be constantly given food rich in protein and calcium. Therefore, I tried to give her a balanced food designed specifically for this breed. Monica did not like this artificial food.
My favorite feature of this breed is the ability to stand on its hind legs for a long time, like a meerkat. Monica loves to sit on the windowsill in this position and watch the birds. Loves to play and watch TV. Sleeps on his back.
Scots are easy to train. Monica quickly got used to the scratching post, but in the future I plan to remove her claws (when she plays, she might run over me and accidentally scratch me).
Only for some reason my girl’s ears have risen a little for winter. I don’t know what this is connected with, maybe with protein foods. But this doesn't bother me at all.
Why does the cat shake his head and scratch his ears? We will talk about this in our article. We will look at the main reasons for this behavior of the animal. But before that, let's talk about keeping a cat at home. This topic is very important for owners. After all, their condition depends on proper ear hygiene. Of course, the cleaning procedure is not particularly pleasant for cats. But such an event cannot be avoided. It is worth getting used to the procedure from early childhood.
Cleaning the ears
At home, so as not to harm the pet? Now let's look at this topic in detail. First, I would like to note that for this procedure you will need sticks with limiters, boiled water and gauze swabs. If the animal's ears are very dirty, you can use a pharmaceutical saline solution NaCl 0.9% (sterile) or lotion, which is sold in pet stores.
You should not use peroxide, soap solutions, alcohol-containing compounds and other folk remedies for cleaning. Such liquids can harm the animal. These products may lead to the formation of small ulcers, drying out of the skin, and increased production of sulfur. The shape of a cat's ear allows the owner to remove excess secretions only from the visible surfaces of the shell. Trying to penetrate deeper, you can scratch the delicate skin and damage the membrane, thereby causing increased production of sulfur. Cleaning should be done regularly.
During this event, do not use force or try to “twist” the cat. You can achieve obedience with affection and persuasion. You can wipe the ear with a gauze swab if a little wax has accumulated in it. If there is a large amount of it, saline solution should be dripped into the ear canal. Afterwards, you should gently massage the ear so that the liquid penetrates deep. The cleaning procedure will go quickly if you let the drops work for at least ten minutes. A cotton swab will help clean hard-to-reach places.
This hygiene procedure should be carried out as needed. There is no need to achieve sterile cleanliness. For most cats, one brushing per month will be sufficient.
The main causes of the disease
Why does my cat often scratch his ears and shake his head? Now let's look at the main reasons. Note that if an animal scratches its head or ear once, this is quite normal.
Normally, a cat may itch several (two to three) times a day. But if this is repeated constantly, and the pet is nervous, tears its skin, and experiences discomfort all the time, this is a real cause for concern. Why does the cat shake his head and scratch his ears? The main reasons that cause such inconveniences include:
- scabies mite;
- untreated hematoma;
- water or a foreign object that gets into the ear;
- accumulation of sulfur;
- infections that cause inflammation;
- injuries from scratches or bites.
Insufficient hygiene
Cats that live indoors are not as susceptible as those that roam the streets. But you need to take care of your hearing hygiene in any case. Therefore, if your cat is shaking his head and scratching his ears, then take him to the vet. If there is an unpleasant odor and an accumulation of brown discharge, then most likely the animal has otodecosis, which we will discuss later. This is a fairly serious disease, so you need to choose the right therapy. In addition to regularly cleaning your cat’s ears to remove plaque, systematic prevention should be carried out. Since such a serious disease can be transmitted to other animals. It is also necessary to periodically examine your pet's ears. Since poor hygiene and advanced disease can lead to more serious consequences.
Ear mite
What are the main signs of this disease? In addition to itching in the ears, in the shells themselves, you can replace brown plaque, as well as sticky liquid. The consequences of such a disease are serious, including membrane rupture, meningitis, and others. If there is a problem with one ear, then both should still be treated.
Ear infection
Why does a cat shake his head from side to side and scratch his ears? It is possible that he has inflammation of the inner, outer or middle ear. This disease may appear due to untreated or severe scabies. Other causes of inflammation:
- sulfur plug;
- hypothermia;
- foreign object in the ear.
Sometimes this disease is provoked by infections. If there is pancreatic or liver dysfunction, the cat may also scratch its ears. Brown pellets are also observed in the shells.
Symptoms of the disease:
- Itching in the ears.
- Uncontrolled head movements.
- Decreased appetite.
- Fluid in the ears.
at the cat's
If your animal has a large sulfur plug, you should contact a veterinarian. You can also get rid of it at home. To do this you will need either peroxide or saline solution. The product should be dripped for a week, three times a day. Afterwards, the cat will be able to get rid of the plug on its own. If you have problems, you should contact the clinic.
Allergy
Why does a cat scratch his ear, but it is clean? It is possible that the animal is allergic to some product. In order to determine exactly what food the reaction is occurring to, various tests are performed. They also give antihistamines and local (drops and other) medications.
Now it’s clear, he’s scratching his ears and head. As you can see, there are many reasons for this animal behavior. Therefore, be sure to clean your pet’s ears on time; we have described how to do this. Proper hygiene of an animal's ears is an excellent prevention of disease.
