All you need to know about Scottish Fold Munchkin

Scottish Fold Munchkin’s are also known as Scottish Kilt’s. These are cats that are bred to have both the folded ears of the Scottish Fold and the shorter legs of the Munchkin breed. They have a cute appearance, folded ears, and short legs.

These cats make people fall in love with them with their big round eyes and small stature. Their shorter legs don’t stop them from running or being agile though, they are as quick as any other cat.

If you are in the market for a Scottish Fold Munchkin it’ll please you to know they are very sweet and playful cats. The breed can also be very intelligent and have a placid temperament.

These cats will thrive in environments with lots of stimulation and play to keep them active. They are also able to get along well with other animals. While they can fetch a high price in some places, they are worth it for their loyalty and devotion.

 

 

History

It’s always nice to know where the breed came from when you purchase an animal. One interesting fact about the entire Scottish Fold breed is that the entire breed is narrowed down to a single white barn cat named Susie. She was found in 1961 on a farm in Scotland.

The farmer noticed her ears had an unusual fold in the middle, never seen before. When she had kittens two of them inherited this trademark fold and so the breed was born. One of the kittens, Sans, had kittens and from where they registered the breed, and the Scottish Fold was born.

Meanwhile, the Munchkin is a newer breed of cat. The name comes from L. Frank Baum’s characters ‘munchkins’ from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The breed, known for their short legs, was only registered in 1995. However, there were Munchkin cats seen in the UK after the Second World War.

Although the name given to them was kangaroo cats due to their tiny legs. They were so rare that people believed the breed had vanished. There were also instances of Munchkin cats in Russia during the 1950’s, but they weren’t bred until the 1980’s when the cat reappeared in America.

People then crossed the two breeds together to develop the Scottish Fold Munchkin. This popular cat breed has inherited both the famous folded ears and the short legs.

The dwarf Scottish Fold?

Some people refer to Scottish Fold Munchkin mix as Scottish Fold Dwarf. You can tell why, but personally, I don’t like this term. Scottish Fold Munchkins is a breed and must be called by its name. “Dwarf” is not a cool term for a cat.

Size and Weight

We have an entire article about the size and weight of the Scottish Fold Munchkin cat. If you want to know how big does a Scottish Fold Munchkin gets and details about its lifespan read it here.

Personality

Scottish Fold Munchkin’s are good at adjusting to other animals and are pleasant cats. They can develop close bonds with their caregivers and be very loving towards them. But they also have a playful nature. If you give your cat plenty of attention they are sure to reward you with love, and affection.

Scottish Fold Munchkin’s are also known to be quite intelligent, they are suited to both indoor and outdoor environments. Their short legs don’t stop them when it comes to running. But some sources have said it can affect their ability to jump as high. Others would suggest that their jumping isn’t affected at all, so it’s best to watch how your cat behaves.

Health Problems Associated

The breed has both the folded ears of the Scottish Fold and the short legs of a Munchkin. This also means they carry the health risks associated with each individual breed. If you are looking to buy a Scottish Fold Munchkin you should think about what health concerns may come with it.

Scottish Fold Health Concerns

Osteodystrophy is a common disease for a Scottish Fold or Scottish Fold Munchkin. This is from the genetic abnormality that creates the folded ears in the cat. If two fold-eared cats are bred together this causes osteodystrophy which can be extremely bad for the kittens.

Osteodystrophy can cause extreme arthritis and affect the limb bones. This major genetic condition can appear in kittens as young as seven weeks. If a cat has the condition they will suffer severe chronic pain throughout their lives. This is why breeders should only breed fold-eared cats with straight-eared cats to ensure a healthier and longer life for the kittens.

Another thing Scottish Fold Munchkins are susceptible to is Feline Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). This occurs when the cat is at an average age of seven. However, it can affect kittens who may die from the condition before reaching one year old. Cats who are suffering from PKD might seem tired or lose weight easily.

They may be more prone to vomiting and have a poor appetite. Although some cats can go all their lives carrying the disease and not show any symptoms at all, it could still affect their kidneys. If your cat is showing symptoms of PKD it would be advisable to take them to a vet so for a checkup.

Munchkin Health Concerns

Due to the gene that causes the shorter legs, a Munchkin can also suffer from a spinal condition called lordosis. This is where the spinal muscles are short, and the spine can sink into the body.

The severity of the condition can range from mild to severe. In the worst-case scenario, the kitten will not survive over three months. This isn’t only suffered by Munchkin cats though, it does occur in many other breeds.

Aside from the above conditions, the Scottish Fold Munchkin is known to be a generally healthy breed.

Food:

What to Feed Your Cat

You will need to be careful about what you feed your cat as there are a lot of things they can’t eat. I’ve listed some of those below but first I’ll go through what is healthy for your Scottish Fold Munchkin to nibble on. The diet of your cat is important as it can affect their health throughout their life.

First of all, it’s important to ensure to use only wet food in your cat’s diet. Eating dry food can be hazardous to Scottish Fold Munchkins because they are prone to PKD. Dry food can exacerbate kidney diseases. It also has higher carbohydrates. A healthy diet for a cat should have between 3-5% of carbohydrates.

But dry food can have up to 50% of carbohydrates in it. They can also dehydrate your cat, so you should ensure they are drinking plenty of water. A great way for a cat to ingest more water is to feed them wet food. The ideal amount is for the food to have up to 75% of water to keep them healthy.

Another essential item in your cat’s diet is meat. The Scottish Fold Munchkin, like all cats, is a carnivore. They need plenty of meat to keep them healthy so your cat should have plenty of animal protein in their wet food.

Your vet might also recommend adding supplements to your cat’s diet to prevent digestive diseases. This could include turmeric, fish, or cod liver oil. Studies have shown these additions can benefit your cat’s health. But, the best advice will come from your vet to ensure the additives are suitable for your cat.

Read more about diet and food here.

What Not to Feed Your Cat

Some things are obvious. You shouldn’t feed your cat alcohol, chocolate, or anything with caffeine in it. However, there are some things that you might find quite surprising that are not good for cats.

The main one is cheese and milk. Even though TV shows often show cats lapping up milk happily, dairy products are actually bad for cats. This is because most cats are lactose intolerant. Anything with milk or cheese it can make your Scottish Fold cat have sickness or diarrhea.

They also shouldn’t have fat trimmings, or raw meat, raw fish, or raw eggs. Some of these things carry e-coli or salmonella, which could make your cat very sick. Excessive fat can also cause pancreatitis in cats.

You should avoid feeding your cat anything with the sweetener xylitol in it. This is in most sugar-free foods like chewing gum and can affect their blood sugar. It can give them seizures, liver failure, or even death.

Also off the menu should be excessive quantities of onions, garlic, grapes, and raisins. These can cause stomach upsets in cats.

If you think your cat has eaten anything on this list and they seem unwell, take them to see a vet. It’s always best to ease your mind and make sure everything is okay.

Scottish Fold Munchkin Characteristics

The two primary characteristics of the Scottish Fold Munchkin are their short legs and folded ears. They can also have an ‘owl-like’ appearance due to the folded ears and their big eyes. They are a small to a medium-sized cat with large round eyes and a round face. They can have both a long or short-haired coat, depending on the parents.

Sometimes Munchkin legs can have longer hind legs than their front legs. This creates a rise in their back from shoulder to tail.

The Scottish Fold Munchkin can have a variety of different coat patterns and colors.

How to Care for a Scottish Fold Munchkin

As they have such a placid and easy temperament Scottish Fold Munchkin’s are easy cats to care for. However, they do need attention and play to remain stimulated. The breed is known to become lonely if they are ignored by their caregivers. Being ignored will make them feel depressed. They will flourish in a family home, or one with multiple animals where there is a lot of stimulation. These cats are very loving animals and will show you attention and care if you do the same for them. They are an ideal breed for having in a family home as they can handle children well, and enjoy the stimulation.

Considerations Before Buying

Before buying a Scottish Fold Munchkin there are many things that you need to think about. First of all, you should make sure they have a stimulating environment and aren’t going to become bored. As they are intelligent cats they need a lot of stimulation to occupy their attention. If you are out of the house for hours they will get bored and are also known to become depressed in dull environments.

You also need to think about buying pet insurance for your Scottish Fold Munchkin kitten. We’ve already covered some information about pet insurance. For the Scottish Fold Munchkin that may have some of the above health problems,

This is a big one to think about, but luckily the above article goes through some of the top insurance providers in the UK and the US. This should help take some of the work out of your hands. You can also go through some of the pros and cons of getting insurance to work out the best decision for you.

Luckily there aren’t many other considerations with a Scottish Fold Munchkin as they can handle most environments. They are also great around both animals and children.

What to Think About When Breeding

Breeding cats can be a fun and exciting venture if it takes your fancy. However, if you’ve decided to breed a Scottish Fold Munchkin there are certain things you’ll need to think about before you do.

Scottish Fold Ear

The fact is that what causes the fold-ear is a deformity in these cats. So Scottish Fold Munchkin cats that are being bred should always be bred with one straight eared cat and one folded ear cat. If a litter is bred with two folded ear cats this can cause severe arthritis. Cats will have crippling pain and it can drastically shorten their lifespan. Best results will always come from one straight eared cat and a folded eared cat.

Munchkin Legs

Similarly, in order to get a larger litter with the little legs the cats are so well known for, Munchkin cats should be bred with a short-legged cat and a long-legged cat. The gene that gives the breed their short legs is a fatal gene and can cause death. So if you breed two short-legged cats together it is likely that most or all the litter would not make it to birth.

When two long-legged, or even one short-legged and one long-legged, cats are bred together then the litter will likely contain a few short-legged Munchkin kittens in it.

So ideally there will be one long-legged and one short-legged cat. And one with straight-ears and one with the fold-ear to ensure the healthiest litter possible.

Controversy Surrounding The Breeds

There is some controversy surrounding the breeding of Scottish Fold cats primarily. In recent years celebrities such as Taylor Swift have shared photographs on social media of their Scottish Fold cats.

This has caused a huge surge in the demand for this breed. There have been some concerns that this may lead to over breeding of cats with the fold-eared gene. People are worried breeders will get money hungry and stop breeding cats with care. This could lead to animals living their lives in pain with osteodystrophy.

There is no cure and any cat with the fold-ear gene is known to carry the disease to some form. So there have been questions raised if a cat should be bred for its looks over its health.

Similarly, with Munchkin cats, the gene that creates the short legs is a lethal gene. This means that kittens who are bred from two cats with the dominant gene will definitely die. There have been questions about whether continuing to breed cats with this gene is a good idea long-term.

Nevertheless, Scottish Fold Munchkin’s are healthy cats that can live between 11 and 15 years of age. This is despite the genetic health conditions they can carry.

Price

Any time you are looking for an animal with a specific breed it is going to be expensive, and the Scottish Fold Munchkin is no different. In the US a kitten can averagely cost $1000 to $1500.

In the UK some breeders sell them for as low as £500. But if you are going for a show quality cat it’ll be much closer to £1500 or more that you’ll end up paying. It all depends on the breeder, location, and what training, or veterinary care the cat has had.

Conclusion

The Scottish Fold Munchkin is a friendly, smart cat who loves play and attention. They can be versatile, and like being both indoors and outdoors. A cat of this type would be the perfect addition to a family home. Scottish Fold Munchkins develop strong bonds with the people who are looking after them and will reward you with love.

There are some health conditions that you should consider before purchasing. The potential cost of these genetic conditions can affect your cat’s quality of life. However, it is important to note that aside from this they are quite healthy cats.  You should also decide if pet insurance is the right option for you.

Nevertheless, they have such a tranquil temperament and are a wonderful companion to have who will be part of your family for a long time.

Ready to get a cat? Read the owner guide to find out what products you need: Scottish fold owner guide.