Who FIFe is
FIFe (Fédération Internationale Féline) began with the idea of a French cat lover, Marguérite Ravel, who wanted a European federation. The first show was held in Paris in 1949, with more than 200 cats, and the federation was officially founded in Ghent, Belgium, on 10 December 1950. It took its present name in 1973, when a Brazilian club took it beyond Europe.
Today it is a federation of national organisations from 41 countries. Each keeps its own identity, but all follow the same rules for breed standards, breeding, registration and shows. In Portugal the member is the CPF (Clube Português de Felinicultura) and in Spain the ASFE (Asociación Felina Española). So a pedigree from these clubs follows FIFe's rules.
FIFe's biggest aim is to help breed healthy and happy cats, and that shows in its health and welfare rules.
Why FIFe does not recognise the Scottish Fold
FIFe's breeding and registration rules are hard on genetic disease. They do not accept new breeds based on abnormalities that cause health problems or impede a cat's normal life. And they do not recognise or register a breed whose main characteristic is a disease caused by a gene that deforms joints, bones and cartilage (osteochondrodysplasia).
The Scottish Fold is one example of these.
There are other examples too, such as achondroplasia, which causes dwarfism and short legs, the traits of the Munchkin.
The rule goes beyond the breed. A cat with this disease, or with such a cat in its family, cannot be bred, registered with FIFe, shown or advertised.
So FIFe does not issue a pedigree for a Scottish Fold. It does not issue one for a straight-eared kitten with a Fold in its family either, the kind called a Scottish Straight.
Why the ears are the problem
The first Scottish Fold was a white female called Susie, seen in 1961 on a farm in Scotland by a shepherd, William Ross, who asked for one of her kittens. The folded ears come from a dominant gene, a spontaneous mutation: one copy is enough to fold the ears.
In 2016 a team identified the gene, TRPV4, which makes a calcium channel in cells. The change is linked to the folded ear and to the joint disease, and did not appear in 648 cats without the disease. Another study explains the link: the gene affects how cartilage develops. The different cartilage is what folds the ear, and it is what affects the joints. In the two small studies that tested folded-eared cats, every one had the change and the straight-eared cats did not.
To try to raise healthy cats, breeders began mating Folds with straight-eared cats, to get half folded and half straight kittens. Cats with two copies of the gene are the ones that become most ill.
That is what FIFe's rule is about: the trait that defines the breed and the trait that worries come from the same gene.
What the risks are for the cat
The disease is called osteochondrodysplasia, and it is painful and progressive. Affected cats limp, avoid jumping and walk stiffly. They have short, misshapen lower legs and a short, thick, stiff tail. Radiographs show irregular bones, narrower joints and new bone around the joints; in advanced cases, a growth of bone behind the heel.
It starts at different ages. The first cases described in 1999 were between 5 months and 6 years old, and a 2023 Australian study diagnosed most cases before 30 months. In a 2020 case, bony growths on the paw of a 4-year-old cat stretched the skin until it ulcerated and bled.
The treatments described, such as radiotherapy, surgery, pentosan and glucosamine with chondroitin, try to control the pain and improve movement. A 2020 report says there is no single treatment that works for all cats. Cats with two copies of the gene are the most affected: two cats crossed with a Munchkin and an American Curl, both with two copies, had severe bony growths at about one year.
What is not yet known
The studies do not all show the same. In a 2008 study, every folded-eared cat in a three-generation family had some degree of disease in the paws, although the mild cases showed no signs. In 2021, reviewers who did not know each cat's ear type assessed radiographs of 22 cats and found much milder changes than those published before. In 2023, of 12 Folds studied, all had the gene but only one showed signs, and, after a year and a half, three of four cats re-examined showed no skeletal changes. Also in 2023, records from Australian veterinary clinics showed 12 diagnoses among 1,131 Folds, plus 64 suspected cases.
Part of the difference comes from the studies themselves: the authors point out that the older ones chose their cats, had no comparison cats, assessed knowing each cat's ears and did not know each cat's gene. The recent samples are small, and the authors ask for more evidence.
So the studies cannot predict how a particular kitten will turn out, and this guide does not say that a Fold is ill or that it is healthy. FIFe's rule does not wait for this debate either: it is about the gene, not about how each cat is doing. We did not find the date FIFe adopted the rule, or any study cited in its text.
Even knowing the risks, do you still want a Scottish Fold? Then ask
If you decide to go ahead, do not pay before you have the answers to five questions. Four are for the seller: which registry issues the pedigree, whether a relative has had problems with their paws, whether it is a cross with another breed and whether it is a Scottish Straight. The fifth is for the vet: ask for an examination of the joints and tail.
A cat that limps, avoids jumping or has a short, thick, stiff tail needs a vet. Joint pain in a young cat is not normal.
What this guide does not say
This guide does not say whether a particular Fold is ill, and it is not a veterinary opinion. That is why the fifth question is for the vet: only whoever examines the cat can say how its joints are.
Other registries decide differently: only FIFe's rules are here, which are the ones that apply to a pedigree from the CPF or the ASFE.