Whether you’re a cat or a dog person, there are certain breeds that are more problematic than others.
In 2011, Taylor Swift adopted her first cat, Meredith Grey – named after the main character of TV show Grey’s Anatomy. She then later adopted another called Olivia Benson.
Both cats are the Scottish fold breed, characterised by their distinct ‘folded’ ears, which are a result of a natural dominant gene mutation associated with osteochondrodysplasia.
Swift also has another cat, Benjamin Button, but he’s a Ragdoll.
But vet and content creator @ben.the.vet, who often shares animal health and advice, has said that certain types of cat should not be bred and warns the public against purchasing these types of pedigree pusses.
On his TikTok page, Ben said: ‘I’m a vet, and in my opinion, you cannot call yourself a true cat lover and have a Scottish fold cat.
‘Because surely if you love cats you want your cat to be able to run and jump without difficulty and not be in constant pain.
‘And Scottish fold cats do experience more pain than other cats because they are plagued with arthritis.’
To back up his claims, Ben shared x-rays of a Scottish fold’s limbs, saying: ‘You probably don’t have to be a vet to see that there’s some abnormality here.
‘You can see around the joints… lots of extra new bone formation and that is 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 which means the cartilage in their ears is defective.
‘It’s weak and that’s why the ear flap can’t support itself and folds over.
‘But they also have cartilage in all of their joints and that cartilage is also defective.
‘This arthritis is painful and incurable and I’ve seen two or three-year-old Scottish fold cats that are crippled.’
Now, as mentioned, both of Swift’s Scottish folds were adopted, and Ben does not necessarily see an issue with this. He does, however, urge people not to buy them from breeders.
‘I am not against people genuinely rescuing a Scottish fold cat that is being re-homed and would otherwise have no owner. But buying one from a breeder is what I have an issue with.’
He went on to say that owners of Scottish fold cats were somewhat responsible.
‘Now this is going to sound very blunt but someone with a Scottish fold cat will fall into one of two categories,’ he said. ‘Either you got the Scottish fold and you didn’t know about the arthritis problem, and to be honest, you should have done more research. You just Google Scottish fold cat, this information comes up.
‘Or, you knew about the arthritis and you still chose to get the Scottish fold cat. And basically, what you’re saying there, is that your desire to have a cute cat outweighs the cat’s right to live a pain-free life.’
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