The Scottish chinchilla cat has become so popular and recognizable today that felinologists even considered it possible to designate this color as a separate pedigree line. Its peculiarity is not only in the name, which is consonant with South American rodents, valued for its luxurious fur, but also in color - the hair of these cats is light gray in color with a delicate bluish tint. Although the breeders have made some other shades.
So, get acquainted - the Scottish fold cat-chinchilla. In the article we will talk about the features and standard of the breed, as well as about some of the subtleties of its content.
Breed history
Initially, kittens with this unusual color appeared in the animal of one of the oldest and most popular breeds - Persian. These pets are characterized by very long hair (up to 12 cm), which is also distinguished by the density of hairs, their thinness and silkiness. All traditional “Persians” also have a peculiar “collar” on their neck and shoulders. The chic look of the fur, however, will delight the owners' eyes only on the condition of daily combing.
Further, the color "chinchilla" was fixed on British cats. That is why among the ancestors of any animal of this color there will certainly be not only Scottish fold and Scottish Straight, but also "British" and "Persian".
Scottish fold, by the way, in Russia was bred on cats of the British breed. Therefore, domestic felinologists have their own Scottish breed standards, unlike, for example, the United States, where selection work was built by fixing the fold gene on the American shorthair.
Description
Scottish fold or straight with a characteristic color are quite rare. Therefore, the description of the Scottish fold chinchilla should be reduced to general standards: the cat's hair should have a perfect white undercoat, the paw pads should, on the contrary, be dark. In addition, it is possible, as the felinologists say, a dark “make-up” in the form of a stroke of the eyes, lips and nose.
As for the length of the coat, it is medium - she got the silkiness from the Persian ancestors, and her thickness and plush - from the British Shorthair. Scottish fold chinchilla has a chiseled, but not small muzzle. Ears, like all "Scots", can be pressed or raised. It depends on who is in front of you - Scottish Fold or Scottish Straight.
Ticked chinchillas
Lop-eared cats are ticked and shaded in color. Let us briefly explain the meanings of these terms, as they often cause misunderstanding among ordinary lovers.
With a ticked (aka Abyssinian) color, each hair of a cat's hair is divided into several colors (usually two or three). When moving, such an animal seems iridescent - from different angles it happens to be a slightly different color. General view of this color is a light “veil”. By the way, there is no ticking on the stomach and chest, as well as on the inside of the legs.
More often kittens of silver fold chinchilla appear, than other shades. Therefore, the color options for chinchillas are as follows: either white (silver), or gold or blue golden. By the way, the latter is the rarest color not only in this species, but in general in Scottish fold cats. By the way, a ticked chinchilla kitten is not cheap.
Shaded color
Traditionally, felinologists cats of this color are divided into three types: shading can be silver, golden or red. With her, the hair is dyed in a different shade by only one third (unlike ticked hair - there the proportion of the color is different, one-eighth).
Shading is also possible in several versions: animals can be shaded golden with cream undercoat or silver with white snow undercoat. Finally, a reddish tint is possible - in this case, the main part of the hair will be bright red, and the undercoat is white.
Breed standards
They are common to the cat breed Scottish fold.
- The head is round, with a characteristic convex forehead, a short neck, protruding, especially in cats, cheeks. The nose is not sharp enough rather short.
- The eyes are large, round, open and expressive. Due to physiological characteristics, they, like the Persians, can water, especially in kittens.
- The color of the eyes of Scottish fold fold chinchillas is most often green, less commonly blue. And in cats with a silver color, the shade of the visual organs can be a match for the color.
- It should be noted that in newborn pets, eye color can finally be determined only at two weeks of age.
- Scottish folds (lop-eared) should have short, leaning forward, firmly pressed to the head, ears with rounded tips. Ideally, they give the cat's head a soft roundness, not protruding from the general outline.
However, a newborn kitten can never understand in advance how successful it can be in an exhibition career - its structure can change with age. In addition, there are several feeding and growth factors that can affect the shape of scottish ears.
The backbone of these cats, unlike the British breed, is more slender and graceful than that of squat and strong "British". In many other respects, the standards are similar.
Character
The habits of the Scottish fold chinchilla are calm and peaceful. In general, the animal gets along well with everyone in the house, even with dogs, never shows aggression to birds. But when meeting with an evil alien, this cat can stand up for itself.
She quickly assimilates in a new house and becomes attached to the owner (most often to one), but she shows this attachment calmly, without imposing her society on man. In general, this animal is quite reserved and does not like to be squeezed.
Sometimes it may seem that the Scottish people are slow and phlegmatic, but in reality they are not averse to playing, especially when the owner himself is the initiator. They play with children with pleasure.
Another feature of Scottish fold is a rare meow. She will never scream, even if she is alone in the apartment. The Scottish people adopted a lot from the British Shorthair, and the representatives of the latter, as you know, are called "a cat for a businessman." This means that she calmly tolerates the absence of the owner, she can always occupy herself, she can be left alone in the house for several days, of course, provided that there is free access to food and water.
Care and maintenance
Scottish fold chinchilla has a rather long coat, so it needs to be combed from time to time. This is especially worth doing during molting. Otherwise, licking itself, the cat may clog the digestive tract. In addition, an animal with unkempt hair will lose all its charm.
It is also necessary to cut the nails and regularly flush the ears and eyes. The latter often begin to water in the folds - in this case they can be washed with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate, after carefully examining it in the light so that there are no undissolved crystals in it.
As for the bathing of the animal, the opinions of the felinologists diverged. Some experts argue that it is possible and necessary to bathe Scottish fold fold chinchillas, especially since the animal itself usually calmly transfers this procedure. Others are of the opinion that if the cat is not walking, and she is constantly in the house, with regular combing, it is not necessary to arrange bathing days for the pet.
Nutrition
You need to feed a Scottish chinchilla cat in the same way as pets of a different color - a well-balanced food. As a rule, these include premium goods and holistic products that do not contain offal and gluten. This is mainly about grain-free dry feed. Or you can feed your pet with natural food, but then you should correctly compile a diet that should consist of meat, vegetables and dairy products.