Question Regarding Scottish Folds.

[shmendan]

My cat is a scottish fold that turned 11 years old in july. His ears are not folded, as some scottish folds ears just never fold. I know the folding in the ears affect other cartilage in the body, causing arthritis in most, so i was wondering if my scottish fold doesn't have folded ears, will he still have damage in the rest of his body? I know he has minor arthritis but i'm not sure if thats due to his breed or not. We got him as a rescue. Also, his eyes water a lot and our vet reccomended this probiotic powder that you put on food, that is supposed to taste like beef boullion. Have you ever heard of or tried this product and how did it work out? Our vet also thinks my cat has slight damage of the respiratory system due to an untreated infection as a kitten. Do you think that is possible? And finally, are scottish folds brachycephalic?

 

[valentine319]

I'm unsure on the Scottish folds question. As far as the beef flavored supplement would it happen to have lysine in it? Do you have the name? A version of Herpes is very common in cats.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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This:

Scottish Fold disease – osteochondrodysplasia | International Cat Care

is an excellent and straightforward article on osteochondrodysplasia in Scottish Folds, and addresses the question of incomplete penetrence quite clearly.
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[abyeb]

I think straight-eared Scottish Folds are at less risk, but let me check my copy of Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and I'll tell you what I find.

 

[abyeb]

I think straight-eared Scottish Folds are at less risk, but let me check my copy of Robinson's Genetics for Cat Breeders and I'll tell you what I find.

They say it's the homozygous FdFd that causes problems in pretty much all Scottish Folds, but occasionally in the heterozygous Fdfd. But since your cat is homozygous for fdfd, it should be okay.

 

[shmendan]

Sorry for the late reply. My cat's ears are not folded, does that mean he still has osteochondrodysplasia? I'm glad to hear my cat isn't at as much risk as other scottish folds. By the way, i will look for the brand of the probiotic stuff. If i can't find it, my cat is getting dental surgery on tuesday, so i will ask then. As for the herpes, how do you think my cat would have got that?

 

[abyeb]

I'm pretty sure no- it's the gene Fd that causes osteochondrodysplasia- your cat is homozygous recessive for fdfd.

 

[shmendan]

So does that mean my cat does have a form of osteochondrodysplasia, although not as severe as "classic" scottish folds?

 

[abyeb]

So does that mean my cat does have a form of osteochondrodysplasia, although not as severe as "classic" scottish folds?

No- osteochondrodysplasia sits on the gene Fd, the dominant gene coding for the folded ear. Since your kitty has straight ears, he is homozygous recessive (meaning he has two copies of the gene fd), coding for the straight ear. Therefore, he doesn't have that problematic dominant gene, Fd, so you don't have to worry about osteochondrodysplasia.

 

[shmendan]

Thanks for all the help. I appreciste the thorough explanation.