A British vet has revealed why he thinks true animal lovers wouldn’t own a Scottish cat.
This This breed of domestic cat is characterized by its ears, which fold forward because the animal has one. Natural dominant genetic mutation associated with osteochondrodysplasia, a condition that affects cartilage throughout the body.
Content creator @ben.the.vet shared the list in a video on TikTok, where he has more than 208,000 followers. He often creates clips that share useful information about how to care for animals responsibly and about the different health challenges that different species and breeds face.
In a recent post, she explained how she feels about people who own Scottish Fold cats, like Taylor’s famous feline, Olivia Benson, and why she feels that way.
However, he explained to FEMAIL that there is an exception: “I’m not against people actually rescuing a Scottish Fold cat that is being rehomed and would otherwise be ownerless.” But what I have problems with is buying one from a breeder.’
Ben the vet (pictured) pointed out that while Scottish cats look cute, they suffer greatly from arthritic pain.
Taylor adopted her cat in New York in 2014.
Speaking in the video, he said: “I’m a vet and in my opinion you can’t call yourself a real cat lover and have a Scottish cat.”
‘Because surely if you love cats you want your cat to be able to run and jump without difficulty and not suffer constant pain.
“And Scottish cats experience more pain than other cats because they are plagued with arthritis.”
Showing X-ray images of the paws and feet of a Scottish Fold cat, Ben said: “You probably don’t need to be a vet to see that there is something abnormal here.”
‘You can see around the joints… a lot of extra new bone formation and that’s a sign of severe arthritis. This arthritis is the price these cats pay for looking cute.
“The reason these cats have folded ears is because they have a genetic mutation that means the cartilage in their ears is defective.
‘It’s weak and that’s why the earmuff can’t hold up and bends.
‘But they also have cartilage in all their joints and that cartilage is also defective.
Taylor Swift has a famous Scottish cat named Olivia Benson (pictured: Taylor Swift with Paul Abdul)
“This arthritis is painful and incurable and I have seen two or three year old Scottish cats that are crippled.”
He continued: “This is going to sound very direct, but someone with a Scottish cat will fall into one of two categories.
‘Or you have the Scottish group and you didn’t know about the arthritis problem and to be honest you should have done more research.
‘You simply Google the Scottish Fold cat and this information appears.
‘Or you knew about arthritis and still chose to get the Scottish cat. And basically, what you’re saying there is that your desire to have a cute cat trumps the cat’s right to live a pain-free life.