Scottish Fold Grooming

Scottish folds. They come in so many flavors, you have Scottish fold munchkins Highland Folds, Scottish Straights and practically many many other types. This is because Scottish Folds cannot be bred with one another. Breeders are forced to cross breed them, hence there is so much diversity. Scottish Folds coats are all different from each other, each one has its own unique grooming needs, with the long haired ones needing the most attention of course.

Grooming the coat of a Scottish fold

Most of the cats in this breed have a very dense coat, both short and long haired cats. Regular grooming is needed to maintain the coat in a perfect shape. In addition to keeping your pet clean and tidy, grooming is necessary to reduce the chances of allergies from the cat. Although considered a hypoallergenic breed, frequent washing and brushing goes a long way in preventing allergies from the cat’s saliva.

Long Haired

Long haired folds require more attention to prevent matting. They will probably have to be brushed and combed three to four times per week. For some owners this is very exhausting to do it week after week, but it is absolutely essential for your urban cat. Have in mind that other long haired breeds need daily brushing to maintain their shiny fair, so folds are very convenient compared to them. If you are not into brushing there is always a choice to adopt or buy a short haired scottish fold. I wouldn’t recommend using a cat grooming salon unless you absolutely trust the people who work there, I have heard very bad stories about these places.

Short Haired

The short coated folds don’t need that much grooming as their long coated brothers. It is usually enough if you brush and comb them once a week.

Outdoor vs Indoor Scottish Folds

Cat’s lifestyle is always a factor when it comes to brushing and combing. If your cat is allowed outdoors then she/he will need more attention during the spring and fall. In these periods cats tend to shed more, so increased frequency of brushing and combing is suggested. If on the other hand your cat is always indoors then you have no worries. Indoor cats shed evenly around the year. so a consistent weekly schedule will work perfectly for you and your fold in this case.

Bathing

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Bathing is a strange topic. In general your Scottish Fold will be OK with bathing no more than once a month but just like humans and clothes, you can see for yourself if he needs a bath or if he can wait for one more week. You should avoid frequent baths because they remove essential oils from your fold’s fur and can cause dryness. Only use shampoos specially formulated for cats and after the bath is over, use towels to dry him thoroughly.

Brushing activities should be avoided after bath, while the fur is still wet.

Nail Maintenance

Some people believe that nail clipping is brutal and should not be done, because cat’s natural state is to have long nails. This is even though it has some true in it is wrong. Firstly, most modern breeds, including scottish folds, are breeds “designed” for homes and families, not for wild life and forests. That means they share similarities with their wild cat friends, like tigers, but they also have many differences. Modern cats are not exactly wild animals and they are totally dependent on humans for their survival.

Another thing we need to have in mind is that your Scottish fold and all other modern cats live in an urban environment, not in the jungle. They will live in your home, or if you live in a village she might live in your garden and walk around the neighbourhood. Village life is usually the closest they can go to “wild” life. Urban environments have some requirements not very natural for and for our pets. Nail clipping is one of them. Just like you trim and clip your nails every once in a while, the same should happen for your cat. Why? Because life in a modern house is easier with trimmed nails, rather than with long nails. Long nails are useless for urban cats just like they are for humans. Let alone that long nails can damage furniture and other staff.

Nail trimming should be done twice a month, every 15 days. It is scary in the beginning because you haven’t done it before. Just like you were probably scared when you first clipped your own nails by yourself. Fortunately enough, the principles are the same, in any case you shouldn’t clip in the pink. First, push on the top of the toe to get the nail exposed. Then simply clip just above the place where the pink and white meet. This means that you should leave a little white uncut. You do this to avoid extremely painful situations for your scottish fold, we all know how much it hurts to cut your nail in the pink.

Mouth Hygiene

It is very likely that your Scottish fold won’t like this part at all, but it is good for the health of your cat’s teeth. If you can manage to brash his teeth once a week that would be great. Use medicated toothpastes and a soft toothbrushes specially designed for cats. Average mouth wash should be about 5 minutes long. You can always use a breath freshener as a quick alternative to the whole tooth brushing procedure.

Cleaning the Ears

Scottish fold ears are one of the characteristics that make it very unique as a breed, but unfortunately, they can trap germs and dirt inside. Grooming of your fold’s ears is very important for him/her. There is a great article on ear grooming here, so we won’t get into details, you can read there everything you should know. The article is about grooming for all pets, but it applies perfectly for Scottish folds.

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