Some specific health concerns are being associated with animal breed types.
One example of this is the Scottish Fold cat.
The life expectancy is around fifteen years.
Some of the veterinarians are recommending Scottish Fold breeding to be banned.
It may be due to genetic mutations.
What are the health issues posing?
A lot of people thought that this breed is prone to an ear infection or ear mites.
It was later on proven to be wrong.
These cats have triple folded ears.
Cleaning their ears are hard and need extra care.
There was some evidence that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is linked to the Scottish Fold breed.
But, it wasn’t proven to be true. It is a rare form of heart disease.
If you spot its symptoms, take it very seriously.
There are no other health issues associated with this breed. They have a high life expectancy.
You can enjoy life with them for a long time.
For short-haired cats, they require once a week of grooming.
For long-haired cats, grooming takes as much as twice a week.
Make sure to provide them annual check-ups and updated vaccinations.
Good dental hygiene and a balanced diet are also recommended.
What are the breeding guidelines?
According to specialists, the Scottish Fold breed has cartilage abnormalities due to genetic mutations.
That’s why their ears appear folded, and they have an owl-like similarity.
The ears are not supported due to the deformity. It may lead to incurable diseases.
One of which is, congenital osteodystrophy which is a form of arthritis.
It causes deformities in the backbone, leg bone, and tail bone.
Many veterinarians recommend breeding your Scottish Fold to an American Shorthair or British Shorthair.
Their offspring can have a lower risk of inheriting congenital diseases.
The idea is to dilute the folded ear gene with a normal one.
The risk of the disease will decrease significantly.
What is congenital osteodystrophy?
If your cat has this genetic condition, the symptoms will likely appear between four to six months of age.
As they grow older, it becomes worse and feels much painful.
What happens inside their body is that the cartilage thickens.
The most common symptoms seen are short and a thick tail.
They have thickened bones but are tender to be touched.
A cat with this condition has a hard time jumping. After jumping, they’ll go limp.
As the condition is progressing, they will have slower movements and a lack of coordination.
When they walk, it will look like the legs are swinging stiffly. This condition is incurable.
It can only be managed through medication.
Glucosamine supplements are administered to reduce the stiffness and discomfort.
Despite the drug, there is a lot of pain. Veterinarians recommend euthanasia in severe cases to avert the cat’s suffering.
What can be noted?
The British are considering banning the breed due to genetic mutations and health problems.
There are circulating articles regarding this controversy.
Scottish Fold breed is associated with an incurable disease.
Genetic mutations are one of the causes of the disease.
Pain and suffering are guaranteed for this breed.
