Scottish Fold vs Highland Fold – Differences and Similarities
What is the difference between the Scottish Fold and Highland Fold breeds?
Have you ever wonder why some people call the Scottish Fold breed Highland Fold, although it is a wrong statement? I know I did. There isn’t a whole theory about it, so in the next couple of lines, I’m going to explain the difference, which not many people know.
What is the difference between the Scottish Fold and Highland Fold?
Unfortunately, many people still admit that both Scottish Fold and Highland Fold are synonyms. Although that is not entirely false, it isn’t true either. They are pretty much the same cats, with the same size, shape, and even ears.
They can still develop the same diseases, but the difference lies in their appearance. Unlike the Scottish Fold, they have long hair. Besides that, the fur is a lot denser around their upper thighs, toes, ears and even tail.
Like most long-haired cats, they require daily brushing and even additional grooming when they are shedding. That’s why I recommend you get a quality comb in order to remove unnecessary hair, preventing the same time mats.
This type will also need proper and quality food to make sure the fur will remain beautiful, dense and nice to touch and pet. As a result, the skin and coat will look nice no matter what if you follow these steps.
What is a Scottish Fold?
As you probably know, the most popular name of this breed is the Scottish Fold. It is a medium-size cat with a rounded hand and big round eyes.
However, they do have a distinguishing feature that makes them really easy to recognize.
They are born with a mutation that affects the cartilage throughout the body, making the ears “fold” like their name.
However, as a funny fact, they are actually born with straight ears. You actually can’t differentiate them from a normal cat until about 20 days old. That is the moment when the ears finish bending. About 50% of the litter will fold, the rest being called straight eared Folds. However, the cute ears have a sad story.
What makes them fold is the abnormality called OCD that affects cartilage and bone development throughout the body. This could be a very painful experience for the kitty at an early age. They are also susceptible to PDK and cardiomyopathy.
The Scottish Fold breed has short hair and comes in a bunch of combination of colors. The fur is thick and soft and because of that, the breed requires very little in the way of grooming. However, that depends on the color. They may need regular brushing to stay clean and healthy.
Conclusion
Overall, the difference is not too big, but it is enough to confuse a few people in buying the wrong breed. Also, not knowing what cat you own can mislead you and make you forget about essential actions like the need for brushing daily and buying special food for long-haired cats. Now I’m going to ask you, did you know about this difference? What breed do you think looks more beautiful and why would you choose a harder to maintenance?