Breeding Scottish Fold cats is inherently unethical because they all suffer from degenerative joint disease.

Question

Breeding Scottish Fold cats is inherently unethical because they all suffer from variable degrees of painful degenerative joint disease, which can result in fusing of the tail, ankles, and knees.

Answer 1

According to WebMD, all Scottish Fold cats with folded ears have osteochondrodysplasia. Scottish Fold disease affects cartilage throughout the cat's body and can cause serious issues such as: Arthritis Spinal abnormalities Thick, inflexible tails Short, stiff legs Limb deformities The disease can be evident as early as seven weeks after birth. While it is true that these cats suffer from illness that causes their ears to droop, it is an opinion to say it is unethical to groom them.

https://icatcare.org/advice/scottish-fold-disease-osteochondrodysplasia/#:~:text=The%20genetics%20of%20osteochondrodysplasia&text=All%20Scottish%20Fold%20cats%20suffer,)%20and%20stifles%20(knees).

https://www.webmd.com/pets/cats/what-to-know-scottish-fold-cat

https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-023-03811-0