Cats are the best pets; they are both good friends and fun companions.
Is it the cute cat pictures you love or a friend’s tale about how good they are?
Either way, it is hard to decide what breed best suits you. This list of Scottish cat breeds is a good place to start looking.
Scottish cat breeds are popular. If it is not the beautiful orange kittens, you’d surely see the cute white pictures of this group of breeds.
They are popular and are everywhere. However, you can’t decide just by looking at the pictures.
So, here are some details about the best cat breeds in Scotland to help you decide.
Domestic Scottish Cats
Isn’t it obvious that you should choose a domestic cat for a pet? Yes! But here is why you should choose a Scottish domestic breed.
There is a blurry line between the Scottish domestic cats and the Scottish wild cats. This is because there are many hybrids, and the defining features can be confusing.
However, Scottish domestic cats or Felis catus only exist as Scottish Folds or Scottish straights. Some are born with long hair, and some with short hair.
Scottish Fold
These are the Scottish cat breeds that descended from Susie. She was a white cat who lived in a barn in the Tayside region of Scotland in the 1960s. Susie had a single fold in her ears. When Susie was bred with a male dog, Tom, Snook was born.
However, the first Scottish fold was born when Snook was crossed with a British short-haired breed. They got their name from the fold in their ears, and this fold could be a single, double, or triple fold.
The average weight for this breed of cat is 13 lbs. Further, they can live up to 15 years, and their horizontal length can reach 12 inches.
Scottish folds are generally friendly and have sweet personalities. They enjoy human interactions but only moderately.
Also, they are not clingy, even though they can develop a noticeable attachment to a single, regular face in the family.
Because they only seek attention occasionally, you can channel their intelligence to learn cool cat tricks.
If you are looking for a cool cat to slay your cat pictures on the gram, they’ll do it. They are famous; they strike exciting poses for the camera. And that’s on their good side.
However, these breeds of cats are relatively more expensive. And it only makes sense because celebrities are famous, too.
The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy banned Scottish folds in the UK in the 1970s. They feared some genetic challenges, like deafness; however, they were wrong.
But, because of their fold, you must check their ears regularly to ward off infections or parasites, like termites. Once they show signs of irritation in the ears, that’s your cue to take a look. They also have a near-high tendency to shed their coats often.
Genetically, they are prone to health issues like heart disease and degenerative joint disease.
Scottish Straights
Every time a Scottish fold is crossed, especially with a straight cat, a Scottish straight breed is born alongside folds. They all belong to the Scottish breed group.
The Scottish Straight breed shares the exact origin with the folds. Some of the kittens born to Snook and the short-haired British breed had straight ears.
They are the Scottish Straight breeds. Like their siblings, they are medium-sized, weigh 6 to 13 lbs, and can live up to 16 years.
They are desirable and childlike (only, in this case, kitten-like) nearly all through their life span.
Long-Haired and Short-Haired Scottish Cat Breeds
Your Fold and Straight can come either long-haired or Short-haired. However, the difference is not just the hair length. Unlike the long-haired cats, these short-haired Scottish cat breeds have compact and full coats.
If you can care for the Short-haired breeds, you can care for the Long-haired breeds. But the latter requires more frequent attention on the coats.
It would help if you brushed the coats weekly for the Shorts and as often as thrice a week for the long-haired. This prevents the coats from tangling and maintains an even appearance.
Kellas Cat
Kellas is the happy medium-sized cat, but not so medium. They are an unbalanced mix of a Scottish wild cat and the tamed ones.
And they were named after Kellas, Moray in Scotland, where people first spotted them after years of mere news about them. Their color is usually black.
Please don’t use a Kellas cat for a pet because they tilt more on the wild side. They are aggressive, and their hunting instincts never leave them, even at home.
Scottish Wild Cats
Some Scottish wild cats look tamed. This is because breeders have crossed the wilds with the tamed so vastly. There’s now a thin line between the Scottish wild cats, Hybrids, and Scottish breeds group. That’s why you should know about them.
The only near-clear feature that helps you suspect a wild cat is their jaw which is visibly more prominent. Otherwise, it is hard to spot many features by sight.
Some cat fanciers bring up their spot pattern for differentiating, but even these spots come in variations because of hybrids. Also, the wild cats are bigger and appear to be more muscular.
It is even harder to define differences since, as their name suggests, they are wild and aggressive. So, unless it is a post-mortem study, you get little to nothing to show.
There are fewer Scottish wild cats by the day. So, if you see a Scottish wildcat, you should call for the cat to be rescued because we want them alive and unharmed. They are a highly endangered species.
Conclusion
Scottish cat breeds will work the trick for class, cuteness, friendliness, or good company you need in a cat. Watch out, so you don’t buy a cute feline with wild traits. There are a lot of Kellas brothers – a mix of Scottish domestic cats and Scottish wild cats.