Welcome!
Welcome to our cattery Clari Grace located in Basel, Switzerland. We are breeding Scottish Fold & Straight cats. As a breeder of Scottish cats we have got two batches of kittens, refer to our Kittens page.
Scottish Fold
The Scottish Fold is a breed of domestic cat with a natural dominant-gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to “fold”, bending forward and down towards the front of the head, which gives the cat what is often described as an owl-like appearance, see also Wikipedia.
The original Scottish Fold was a white 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 was acquired by William Ross, a neighbouring farmer and cat-fancier. Ross registered the breed in the United Kingdom in 1966 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.
Susie’s only reproducing offspring was a female Fold named Snooks who was also white; a second kitten was neutered shortly after birth. Three months after Snooks’ birth, Susie was killed by a car. All Scottish Fold cats share a common ancestry to Susie.
Scottish Straight
An early study suggested that the fold is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. A cat with folded ears may have either one (heterozygous) or two copies (homozygous) of the fold gene (Fd). A cat with normal ears should have two copies of the normal gene (fd).
Because homozygous folds (Fd Fd) are prone to severe health issues, breeding for them is generally considered unethical. In ethical breeding programs, there will be no homozygous cats available to breed from. A heterozygous (Fd fd) to normal mating will produce only heterozygous folds and homozygous straights (fd fd).
Cats with normal ears who had Scottish Fold cats among their ancestors are desginated as Scottish Fold cats with straight ears or just Scottish Straight cats.
Highland Fold & Straight
Scottish Fold & Straight cats have short hair.
Highland Fold, a.k.a. Scottish Fold Longhair, is a semi-long-haired variant of the medium-sized Scottish Fold breed of domestic cat; sometimes referred to simply as the Highland; has ears folded downward.
Highland Straight, a.k.a. Scottish Straight Longhair, is a semi-long-haired variant of the medium-sized Scottish Straight domestic cat breed (in turn a normal-eared variant of the Scottish Fold, making the Highland Straight the normal-eared version of the Highland Fold).
Temperament
Scottish Folds, whether with folded ears or with normal ears, are typically good-natured and placid and adjust to other animals within a household extremely well. They tend to become very attached to their human caregivers and are by nature quite affectionate. Folds also receive high marks for playfulness, grooming and intelligence.
Please see additional information regarding the Scottish Breed.