Foldex cat
{{Merging|List of experimental cat breeds#Foldex|date=February 2024|discuss=Talk:Foldex cat#Merge discussion}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox Catbreed
|name=Foldex cat
|image=Cachorro de Gato FoldEx ("Belisario del Laberinto").JPG
|imagecaption=Foldex kitten with a blue spotted tabby coat
|country=Canada
|nickname=Exotic Fold
|cross=Exotic Shorthair, Scottish Fold
|stock=Exotic Shorthair, Scottish Fold
|notrecognised=y
|ccastd=https://www.cca-afc.com/documents/BreedStandards/FOLDEX_20231109_172541.pdf
}}
A Foldex cat, also known as an Exotic Fold,{{cite web |url=http://messybeast.com/breeds-f.htm |title=Cat Breeds, Types, Variants and Hybrids |work=MessyBeast.com |access-date=26 July 2016}}{{unreliable source|certain=y|date=January 2024|reason=Just some non-expert's individual blog. Was a popular site in its day, but not a reliable source.}} is a crossbreed of cat developed in the Canadian province of Quebec. The foundation stock is Scottish Fold and Exotic Shorthair (and later Exotic Longhair). Foldexes are medium-sized cats with a rounded face, short legs, and sometimes folded ears; while the latter are intended to be the defining feature of the breed, only about 50% of them exhibit it. The eyes are rounded, the ears small, and the body stout like that of Scottish Fold, with a short face between those of the two originating breeds. The coat may be of any length, colour, and pattern.{{cite web |title=Foldex |date=1 May 2021 |work=CCA-AFC.com |publisher=Canadian Cat Association |url= https://www.cca-afc.com/documents/BreedStandards/FOLDEX_20231109_172541.pdf |access-date=2025-03-07}} The variety is recognized as a breed in its own right by one cat registry, the Canadian Cat Association (CCA),{{cite web |last=Bégin |first=Muriel |url=https://www.showcatsonline.com/tc-sco/foldex.shtml |title=The Foldex |work=ShowCatsOnline |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160730101212/http://www.showcatsonline.com/tc-sco/foldex.shtml |archive-date=30 July 2016}}{{primary source inline|date=March 2025|reason=Written by one of the only Foldex breeders, and an officer of CCA, the only registry that accepts it and which has a promotional interest in it as does the author.}} but not by any of the major international ones. Foldexes have genetic predispositions to multiple medical disorders, primarily inherited from the Scottish Fold, and their breeding has been banned in some countries as a result.
History
In 1995, a Foldex was first exhibited in a cat show by breed Betty-Ann Yaxley in Quebec. It was originally produced by crossbreeding a Scottish Fold with an Exotic Shorthair, resulting in a cat with a comparatively round head, shortened nose, and (ideally) folded ears.{{cite web |last=Bégin |first=Muriel |title=Foldex |date=2007 |work=CCA-AFC.com |publisher=Canadian Cat Association |url= http://www.cca-afc.com:80/en/showcase/desc/foldex.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150703191530/http://www.cca-afc.com/en/showcase/desc/foldex.html |archive-date=3 July 2015}}
Further breeding and promotion by Jeanne Barrette resulted in the Canadian Cat Association (CCA) accepting the nascent breed in its Experimental category in November 1998.
It was promoted to the CCA's New Breed category in August 2006, and granted Championship status in 2010.
Appearance
File:Joven Gato FoldEx ("Bebeto Del Laberinto").jpg
The Foldex is known for its signature small, folded ears with round tips. However, only half of all Foldex inherit this trait. Those with non-folded ears are referred to as "straights" (versus "foldeds");{{Cite web |last=Nevada |first=Shiloh |title=Foldex Info, History, Personality, Training, Kittens, Pictures |date=29 September 2021 |orig-date=February 2016 |work=Cat Breed Selector |url= https://www.catbreedselector.com/foldex-cat.asp |access-date=15 November 2020}}{{unreliable source|certain=y|date=March 2025|reason=Yet another clickbait "blog" consisting of plagiarized material. In this case a pseudonymous poster (WP:UGC) has simply ripped the content from CCA material and slightly reworded it. While the CCA material is a primary source, as the only recognizer of Foldex as a breed and the only publisher of a breed standard, it is the better source to use for this sort of information.}} their ears grow straight in their adult stage as in most other cat breeds. Folded kittens' ears begin to show a visible fold between 21 and 28 days old.
The Foldex's body stature is medium-built with strong muscles, short legs and a short neck. Their ears may resemble those of the Scottish Fold breed, but they only have one crease which folds forward and downwards, while Scottish Folds have multiple creases that result in their ears laying flat. Their coats are dense and soft{{cn|date=August 2022}} with variety of colour, patterns, and lengths; the CCA standard permits any coat colour and pattern, and any length, since it also permits outcrossing to Exotic Longhair. The Foldex breed has a round face with wide-open eyes.{{Cite web |date=6 March 2018 |title=Foldex Cat:Step-by-Step Instructions, Easy-to-Follow Guide |url=https://catspro.com/foldex-cat.html |access-date=15 November 2020 |website=CatsPro |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930222611/https://catspro.com/foldex-cat.html |url-status=dead}}{{unreliable source|certain=y|date=March 2025|reason=Clickbait pseudo-blog by 3 no-credentials randos who never cite sources, and make all sorts of aggrandizing and even pseudoscientific claims. Worse, they were not even writing their content, but plagiarizing it from random websites (without credit), and had a "curation policy" that made it clear they were not going to stop unless you filed a DMCA complaint with them. It's no wonder this junk site is dead and buried.}} Their nose is longer than an Exotic, but shorter than a Scottish Fold.{{cite web |title=Cat Breeds That Come from Canada Part 3: The Foldex |date=14 November 2024 |orig-date=July 2019 |work=Pet Life CA |url=https://petlifeca.ca/breeds-profiles/cat-breeds-that-come-from-canada-part-3-the-foldex/ |access-date=14 November 2020}}{{unreliable source|certain=y|date=March 2025|reason=And another anonymous "blog" regurgitating material ripped from CCA and other sites without credit. If this claims is found in CCA material, cite it instead.}}
Health
Foldex cats are genetically predisposed to a risk of feline polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which can cause renal failure. This predisposition is inherited from the Exotic ancestry, being a trait of Persian and related breeds. A Foldex cat can be pre-screened for the genetics that cause PKD.{{Cite web |title=Foldex |work=VGL.UCDavis.edu |publisher=Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, Davis |url= https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/breed/foldex |access-date=16 November 2020}}
Foldexes are also be genetically predisposed to health conditions inherited from the Scottish Fold, including congenital osteochondrodysplasia, chondrodystrophy, osteodystrophy, and epiphyseal dysplasia, caused by the folded-ear genetic mutation{{cite web |last1=Herzog |first1=A. |last2=Bartels |first2=Th. |last3=Dayen |first3=M. |last4=Loeffler |first4=K. |last5=Reetz |first5=I. |last6=Rusche |first6=B. |last7=Unshelm |first7=J. |last8=Arndt |first8=J. |display-authors=etal |title=Gutachten zur Auslegung von § 11b des Tierschutzgesetzes (Verbot von Qualzüchtungen) |language=de |trans-title=Opinion on the Interpretation of § 11b of the Animal Welfare Act (Ban on Torture-breeding) |date=26 October 2005 |publisher=Expert Group on Animal Welfare and Pet Breeding, German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture |pages=43–44 |url= https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/_Tiere/Tierschutz/Gutachten-Leitlinien/Qualzucht.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 }} Addresses "Anomalies of the outer ear (tilt ear or fold ear)", and names the Scottish Fold and related breeds in particular, including specimens not exhibiting the feature but still inheriting the Fd gene for it, because the gene causes cartilage and bone disorders "leading to permanent pain, suffering and damage". The nature of this document is not a "list of banned breeds" {{lang|la|per se}}, but rather a list of conditions, including breeds known to suffer them, that will fail to satisfy the requirements imposed by the ban on "torture-breeding" in Section 11b of the Animal Welfare Act of Germany, as explained on the document's [https://www.bmel.de/DE/themen/tiere/tierschutz/gutachten-paragraf11b.html abstract page].{{Cite web |title=Scottish Fold |date=2020 |work=VGL.UCDavis.edu |publisher=Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, Davis |url= https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/scottish-fold |access-date=8 March 2025}} (the Fd or SF gene) which leads to generalized cartilage and bone malformation, not just in the ear. This gene can also be tested for (including in potential breeding stock).
Sources disagree on whether straight-eared specimens of this and related breeds can still carry and pass on the gene for it. A laboratory at University of California, Davis, states that even having one copy of the gene will cause a folded ear and a predisposition to some medical problems, while having two copies of it will produce folded ears and debilitating joint disorders, but that any straight-eared specimen will not have the gene at all. A veterinary experts group empaneled by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, disagreed, finding that straight-eared offspring may also carry the gene and simply not exhibit ear-folding; the Austrian government has also accepted the findings of the German body,{{Cite web |last=Tierschutzombudsstelle Wien |title=Qualzucht bei Katzen |language=de-AT |date=2025 |orig-date=2020 |publisher=Animal Welfare Ombuds Office Vienna |url= https://www.tieranwalt.at/de/Projekte/Qualzucht_ALT/Qualzucht-bei-Katzen/iActivityId__433.htm |access-date=1 April 2023 |website=Tieranwalt.at}} Indicates the legislature of Austria has banned fold-ear and other deformity-based breeds entirely, with fines up to 7,500. Uses the same disorder and breed definitions as Germany.{{Cite web |title=Tierschutzgesetz - Bundesrecht konsolidiert |language=de-AT |trans-title=Animal Welfare Act - Federal law consolidated |date=1 April 2023 |at=§ 22 – § 22b |work=Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes |trans-work=Federal Legal Information System |url= https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20003541 |access-date=1 April 2023}} As in Germany, the Austrian law addresses known genetic defects (in this case defined in follow-on regulations) rather than "banning particular breeds". Rather, it is illegal to breed animals likely produce genetic defects, and this will necessarily exclude particular breeds in their entirety if even specimens that do not exhibit a selectively-bred mutant trait (like folded ears) still possess and can pass on the gene for it or may themselves suffer some of the gene's other debilitating consequences (both are true in the case of Scottish Fold and descendant varieties). and the government of Flanders (Belgium) has taken a similar position.{{Cite web |title=Verbod op de kweek en het verhandelen van fold katten |language=nl |trans-title=Ban on breeding and trade of fold cats |date=1 October 2021 |website=Vlaanderen.be |publisher=Government of Flanders |url= https://www.vlaanderen.be/verbod-op-de-kweek-en-het-verhandelen-van-fold-katten |access-date=1 April 2023}} Regulations (adopted 13 April 2021, in effect since 1 October 2021) ban, among "animals that exhibit a hereditary disorder", fold-eared cats, including the Scottish Fold and Highland Fold in particular, on the grounds of osteochondrodysplasia: "The only way to avoid this condition is to prohibit the breeding of cats that carry the gene." Such cats possessed before the ban are not confiscated, if neutered, but even giving them away for free is prohibited along with sale and breeding.
Breeding, trade, and registration bans
Several countries and sub-national jurisdictions have enacted animal welfare laws or regulations that prohibit breeding of fold-ear cats, including: Germany in 2005, the Netherlands in 2014,{{Cite web |title=Honden en katten: Fokken met katten |language=nl |trans-title=Dogs and cats: Breeding with cats |date=31 October 2022 |work=NVWA.nl |publisher=Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority |url= https://www.nvwa.nl/onderwerpen/honden-en-katten/fokken-met-uw-hond-of-kat/fokken-met-katten |access-date=7 March 2025}} Prohibits breeding of "{{lang|nl|Scottish Fold en andere vouwoorkatten}}" ('Scottish fold and other fold-eared cats') on account of likelihood of developing debilitating osteochondrodysplasia. Austria in 2020, Flanders, Belgium, in 2021, Victoria (Australia) in 2020,{{Cite web |title=Code of Practice for the Breeding of Animals with Heritable Defects that Cause Disease |date=6 July 2020 |website=Agriculture Victoria |publisher=Government of Victoria, Department of Jobs, Precincts, and Regions |url= https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/animal-welfare-victoria/domestic-animals-act/codes-of-practice/code-of-practice-for-the-breeding-of-animals-with-heritable-defects-that-cause-disease |access-date=1 April 2023}} and even the birthplace of the Scottish Fold breed, Scotland since 2018.{{Cite news |last=Schofield |first=Claire |title=Scottish Fold cats: Why the adorable breed is banned in Scotland but is huge in the US and Japan |date=2019 |work=The Scotsman |url= https://www.scotsman.com/regions/scottish-fold-cats-why-adorable-breed-banned-scotland-huge-us-and-japan-81070}}{{Cite web |title=Question reference: S5W-15391 |date=2018 |website=Parliament.scot |publisher=Scottish Parliament |url= https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers/question?ref=S5W-15391 |access-date=1 April 2023}} Some countries have also banned selling or giving away fold-ear cats, or breeding with any cat that bears the fold-ear gene mutation, including any straight-eared offspring that carry it. The Flanders ban makes no straigh-ear allowances and bans entire breeds that carry the gene.
Furthermore, some of the major cat registries, including the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF){{Cite web |last=Governing Council of the Cat Fancy |author-link=Governing Council of the Cat Fancy |date=2021 |title=Cat Breeds not recognised by GCCF but with some recognition by WCC members |url=https://www.gccfcats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Unrecognised-breeds.pdf}} and Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFé),{{Cite web |last=Fédération Internationale Féline |author-link=Fédération Internationale Féline |date=2023 |title=Breed standards |url=http://fifeweb.org/wp/breeds/breeds_prf_stn.php |access-date=1 April 2023 |website=fifeweb.org |archive-date=20 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151220123955/http://fifeweb.org/wp/breeds/breeds_prf_stn.php |url-status=dead}} do not recognise, nor allow for the registry of, Scottish Folds and related breeds due to their health issues.
See also
{{Portal|Animals}}