Why are Scottish Folds still bred?

molly92

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I understand there are many Scottish Fold lovers out there, but I do not understand why there is so much demand for a cat who is certain to have a painful genetic condition. There is much info about how creating homozygous folds is detrimental, but ALL Scottish folds, even heterozygous, have osteochondrodysplasia to some degree: 

http://web.archive.org/web/20060827095454/http://www.ava.com.au/avj/9902/99020085.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18339089

Even if a cat does not display symptoms, the x-ray can show the deformities in the skeleton, and we all know how good cats are at hiding their pain. The supposed docile and relaxed nature of Scottish folds is likely because they are in chronic pain. Breeding is supposed to reduce the risk of unhealthy genetic deformities, not cause them. I am baffled why these problems are not more widely known, and saddened that cats are being doomed to a life of pain for aesthetic reasons.

The FIFe decided to remove Scottish folds as a recognized breed for this reason: http://www.kolumbus.fi/minna.peltonen/fifenpts.htm

I'm sorry my tone is not very diplomatic, but I am emotional about this topic. I believe this is a huge ethical problem in the cat world that needs to be addressed, and I decided to finally make a post addressing it on this site.
 

kskatt

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Oh my! I can't add anything, and will try to educate myself. All my "kids" are rescues, never had a pure bred in my life. What you are describing is horrible. I guess it's one more breed that nobody seems to care about health, just looks. Persians, Manx, even Pugs. Just keep pushing that face in, who cares if the animal can breathe, they're "just so cute". The spinal issues with the Manx. I know nothing about pure bred cats (or dogs), yet even I know that some things are just wrong when breeding for certain traits. 

I'm going to sub here to get as much info as possible.
 

Norachan

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Thank you for posting this @Molly92  I had no idea that Scottish Folds suffered so much. It's a real eye-opener.

I have one pure bred cat, a Doll Faced Persian. (Not one I paid for, he was dumped by his previous owners) Being Doll Faced he doesn't have the breathing problems other Persians have. However, the trouble he has keeping himself clean and the amount of grooming he needs really affect him. He hates being groomed, so we have daily battles, and has to be shaved once a year which is also stressful for him.

Obviously not as serious a problem as skeletal deformities or chronic pain, but one that has an adverse effect on his quality of life all the same.

Cats are perfect as they are, no need to breed short-legged or folded-eared varieties to satisfy our appetite for "cute".
 

posiepurrs

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I agree that breeding for a gene mutation is not healthy, but I DO have to point out that it isn't the length of the nose in Persians that cause the breathing difficulties. It is the size of the nares (nostrils). Responsible breeders who breed to the show standard -(non doll face), breed for larger nares.
 

kskatt

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I agree that breeding for a gene mutation is not healthy, but I DO have to point out that it isn't the length of the nose in Persians that cause the breathing difficulties. It is the size of the nares (nostrils). Responsible breeders who breed to the show standard -(non doll face), breed for larger nares.
I apologize, I do want to acknowledge that there are some wonderful, responsible breeders. I do know enough about selective breeding to know that no one can guarantee every kitten get the selected traits. Sometimes there are babies that go the other way. There can be casualties, and I have trouble with even one life being sacrificed for looks that humans deem preferable.

I believe you are one of the "good guys" who try their best. Norachan's cat is a perfect example of how there are issues created that may not be "bad" enough to count. But what kind of life is that? I'm certain that her cat is far from being unique. 

Cats, dogs, horses, it seems that no species is exempt. Except humans, where I believe some selective breeding would be beneficial. Sorry if I sound callus, I'm talking about the abusers; dog fighters for example. They should be euthanized. 
 

posiepurrs

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No need to apologize! I believe any breeder (or owner) who does something to lessen the quality of life for the animal is wrong - be it health or life style. While it isn't a health issue, I have retired cats from showing who were capable of going to at least regional level, if not higher because they were unhappy in the ring. As my favorite judge says - remember, it is about the cats. Their happiness and well being is our charge when we take them into our home. I take that very seriously.
 

bemba

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Ethical breeders are only breeding from the least affected and heathiest of cats, this selective breeding will in itself breed in favour of a healthy pain free cat.

The problem is homozygous (double factor folds) and poorly selected heterozygous (single factor) folds.

It's easy to target one breed but the truth is many breeds have specific inheritable diseases that need to be addressed not just folds.

I've personally seen many folds well into double digits who live a completely normal and happy life, still jumping, running just like any other cat.
 

Willowy

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It's not possible to breed for non-affected folds. The fold itself is a abnormality in the cartilage, so by breeding for folded ears, you're breeding for cartilage abnormalities. But you can't choose what cartilage will develop those abnormalities. The abnormality could develop in any cartilage anywhere in the body. It would be nice if it were only the ears that were affected (and some cats may be that lucky), but you can't specify that kind of thing. So, sadly, it's not the kind of thing that responsible breeders can fix; it's inherent to the breed :(.
 

bemba

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Yes but with any genes there are modifier genes at play too, so although they may always carry a disability it could potentially be "watered" right down to the point where it does not affect them much if anything at all.
 
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molly92

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Yes but with any genes there are modifier genes at play too, so although they may always carry a disability it could potentially be "watered" right down to the point where it does not affect them much if anything at all.
But it doesn't, not in this case. Osteochondrodysplasia is present in every heterozygous cat that has been x-rayed. Just because a cat is acting "normally" does not mean they are not in pain. Only the x-ray can reveal structural problems in the skeleton.

This is a more recent article with a larger sample size: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1063458416300139

44 Scottish folds were used, and while there was a range of severity of the deformities, all of the Scottish folds had at least some malformations. Given that breeders thought osteochondrodysplasia was impossible in heterozygous cats (even though many display clear symptoms!) until the evidence came to light about 20 years or so ago, it is not realistic to expect that they would be adept at breeding for pain-free folds. Also, since there are specific skeletal mutations like the shortening of metacarpal and metatarsal bones that are present in every cat with folded ears, it would make sense to conclude that the same gene is causing both and you cannot have one without the other.
 

DreamerRose

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I had no idea that there was any other deformity in a Scottish fold other than the ears. Thank you for bringing this to light.
 

bemba

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But it doesn't, not in this case. Osteochondrodysplasia is present in every heterozygous cat that has been x-rayed. Just because a cat is acting "normally" does not mean they are not in pain. Only the x-ray can reveal structural problems in the skeleton.

This is a more recent article with a larger sample size: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1063458416300139

44 Scottish folds were used, and while there was a range of severity of the deformities, all of the Scottish folds had at least some malformations. Given that breeders thought osteochondrodysplasia was impossible in heterozygous cats (even though many display clear symptoms!) until the evidence came to light about 20 years or so ago, it is not realistic to expect that they would be adept at breeding for pain-free folds. Also, since there are specific skeletal mutations like the shortening of metacarpal and metatarsal bones that are present in every cat with folded ears, it would make sense to conclude that the same gene is causing both and you cannot have one without the other.
Very interesting studies, but the reality is that many Scottish folds live a very long normal happy life, and the variability of how they are affected is just that extremely variable. What I'm saying is that through selective breeding it could be possible to uniformly breed cast to the lowest affected rate. Yes many folds are lazy etc but so are Brittish Shorthairs which are widely used to outcross. Not to mention many other breeds. A cat in pain is not going to attempt normal cat activity like jump up high, run around etc. I'm not tyring to disregard that it's a problem or the studies but I don't think it's quite so black and white, that's my opinion.
 
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