Hey guys, I have already had a thread that was sort of about this in the stray and feral cat care forum, but I figured I might catch a breeder's attention better here.
I took in a momma cat with 7 kittens about 6 weeks ago give or take (their birthday was August 5). She had seven kittens that were scattered over the yard, so of course I had to take them in. She was extremely thin. Only two survived: zinc and violet.
Violet is a long haired kitten that has straight ears, but Zinc has lopped ears and has since he was 3 weeks old. He's short haired.
I live in West Virginia, so as you can imagine lop eared cats aren't common. I've never even seen one in person. The mom cat was a stray, so there was no selective breeding going on there. She was a known stray at my neighbors house who fed the local cats. None of them were lop eared. I want to reiterate that there has never been a known lop eared cat anywhere in my neighborhood, but somehow zinc's ears are down.
I took some close up pictures of his ears, and I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me if they look like a Scottish fold's ears. I've read that they can have bone problems, and that really concerns me. A few people on the other thread have suggested that he could just be an original lop eared cat because of a mutation rather than breeding. Ive also thought maybe his ears just need a little time and they'll straighten out. I'm thinking that they would have done this by six weeks, though. Any help is greatly appreciated! I'm worried he may have some deformities that other cats like this have, and would like some advice on what to look for if you think that's what the deal is. He's not showing any apparent signs and is jumping around like a mad man, but I'd still like to know what to look for. Thanks!
This is him when his ears first started to lop
this is him as a baby
I took in a momma cat with 7 kittens about 6 weeks ago give or take (their birthday was August 5). She had seven kittens that were scattered over the yard, so of course I had to take them in. She was extremely thin. Only two survived: zinc and violet.
Violet is a long haired kitten that has straight ears, but Zinc has lopped ears and has since he was 3 weeks old. He's short haired.
I live in West Virginia, so as you can imagine lop eared cats aren't common. I've never even seen one in person. The mom cat was a stray, so there was no selective breeding going on there. She was a known stray at my neighbors house who fed the local cats. None of them were lop eared. I want to reiterate that there has never been a known lop eared cat anywhere in my neighborhood, but somehow zinc's ears are down.
I took some close up pictures of his ears, and I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me if they look like a Scottish fold's ears. I've read that they can have bone problems, and that really concerns me. A few people on the other thread have suggested that he could just be an original lop eared cat because of a mutation rather than breeding. Ive also thought maybe his ears just need a little time and they'll straighten out. I'm thinking that they would have done this by six weeks, though. Any help is greatly appreciated! I'm worried he may have some deformities that other cats like this have, and would like some advice on what to look for if you think that's what the deal is. He's not showing any apparent signs and is jumping around like a mad man, but I'd still like to know what to look for. Thanks!
