Cats Protection strongly criticize Claudia Schiffer for carrying a Scottish Fold to a premiere

 You may have seen the photos of the German model Claudia Schiffer on the red carpet at the premiere of the film Argylle in which she and Chip the Scottish Fold appear.

Claudia Schiffer and Chip the Scottish Fold in a glamorous carrier but the model, cat and carrier have all be criticized by Cats Protection.

She attended the event carrying Chip in one of those fancy cat carriers with a big clear perspex window and vent holes. It was all very glamorous but behind the veneer of glamour there is sadness really if you want to stand back and not be taken in - which is what Cats Protection have done.

They see two problems with the photos:

1. Because of the presence of a mutated gene that causes the Scottish Fold ears to fall into their signature position against the head, osteochondrodysplasia is seen in all cats of this breed to varying degrees. Read about this by clicking on this link: Osteochondrodysplasia is seen in ALL Scottish Fold cats. Claudia (as has Taylor Swift) promotes and glamourises a very unhealthy breed which some would argue should not exist. You would not be able to start the breed nowadays because there is a heightened awareness of cat health.
2. Chip would have been anxious with nowhere to hide. This is bad cat caretaking for which Schiffer is responsible at that time!

"It's extremely concerning to see a cat exposed to such a stressful environment while contained in an inappropriate carrier."

Claudia's daughter is Chips' caregiver/owner by the way.

Cats Protection's head of clinical services, Alison Richards said:

"Though some cats may appear to tolerate backpacks, the movement on a person's back is unpredictable and most lack adequate ventilation and space for the cat - leaving them cramped or uncomfortable," said the charity's head of clinical services Alison Richards."

And:

"The large window in the bubble backpack featured also means cats don't have the option to hide when they feel anxious, leaving them feeling exposed and vulnerable."

RELATED: Claudia Schiffer took her cat, Chip, to the premiere of Argylle, a film in which he appears. 

The premiere was in London at the Odeon, Leicester Square.

Update: the headlines a couple of days later are that two more major animal shelters and charities have also criticised the film makers and those involved with this film in employing a Scottish Fold. The correctly say that they are glamorising the breed and making it more desirable when the raw facts should be spelled out: this is a breed should not exist because of the mutated gene that causes the cartilage to be weak.

Good example of sectoral heterochromia in a white domestic cat

This is a beautiful white cat with a not untypical eye colour. It looks unusual but it really isn't that unusual. It is a variation on or an extension of heterochromia iridis in domestic cats which in layman's terms means odd-eye colour. This is what happens.

Good example of sectoral heterochromia in a white domestic cat. Image: Pinterest.

The dominant white gene produces an all-white cat by removing melanin from the hair strands to leave them a sort of opaque-white. The gene affects the migration of melanin producing cells called melanocytes in the iris of the eye.

This can leave the eyes of an all-white cat with the colour blue. This is not because there is blue melanin pigmentation in the iris but because there is no pigmentation. The blueness comes from the refraction of white light through the eye. 

The colours of the rainbow e.g. red, are scattered less than the colour blue as they pass through the eye because they are longer wavelengths. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more leaving the eye the colour blue. 

Kittens have blue eyes until about 6 moths after birth as the melanin producing cells create melanin for the kitten's iris.

And sometimes one eye is affected like this and the other isn't which leaves the odd-eyed appearance. This normally means one eye is blue and the other is yellow. And sometimes in the case of sectoral heterochromia that odd-eye colour takes place within a single eye which, means that half the eye is yellowy brown and the other half is blue. Once again this is about the migration of melanin producing cells affected by the dominant white gene.

The dominant white gene also affects hearing. It affects the functioning of the inner ear in the way the nervous impulses are transmitted from the cilia in the semicircular canals to the brain. The theory is the cilia (fine hairs) of the semi-circular canals are missing or partially missing because of the dominant white gene. 

The end result is that the cat becomes either deaf in both ears or deaf in one ear. And if they are deaf in one ear it is on the side where there is a blue eye.

RELATED: Sectoral heterochromia in cats.

Comments are welcome. Wrong? Please tell me.

Two celebrities who promote an unhealthy cat breed

• Welfare charity Cats Protection wants to stop the bleeding of Scottish Fold cats.
• The ever popular and admired Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran both live with Scottish Fold cats.

It is unfortunate and perhaps unintentional that these two very high-profile celebrities decided to adopt a Scottish Fold cat.

Perhaps at the time they didn't know that the genetic mutation which creates the cute face because the ears are flattened to the skull can also cripple the cats because it affects the cartilage in the ear flaps and can also affect the cartilage of the joints. They will have learned about this. It may be an issue for them both but once you create a massive following for your cats you can't surrender them to a shelter! 😎.

RELATED: Scottish Fold cats health problems. Beware.

Ed Sheeran and his Scottish Fold, Calippo. Photo: Instagram.

Cats Protection are unhappy, the Mail on Sunday reports, that A-listers are perhaps innocently promoting this breed which the Germans would say is the result of "torture breeding". In Germany it is banned as I understand it.

Both of these celebrities are highly influential. Millions of mainly young people follow their every move. And it is through young people that we can change the culture of society.

Until recently, people accepted cat breeds that have been created from deleterious genetic mutations. But things are changing slightly perhaps because of a greater awareness of what is natural, of nature because of global warming.

And there is a greater awareness of conservation. Conservation is about protecting nature and the wild species that live within it. It is about a sensitivity towards animals which can extend to a sensitivity about the cat breeds and their health.

The cat associations have negligently allowed these inherently unhealthy breeds to be created. It goes against their ethos and even their policy to not breed unhealthy cats. But they allow it, nonetheless.

It is an anomaly which needs to be rectified. Popstar Taylor Swift regularly shares pictures of her two Scottish Fold cats with her 230 million Instagram followers. As I recall, she has the most followers of anybody on the planet on Instagram.

It is nice that Ed Sheeran loves cats. There are some charming photographs of him with his Scottish Fold, Calippo and Dorito, a tabby. They are collectively known as The Wibbles on my research! They've amassed almost 400,000 fans and probably more because the following grows almost exponentially.

That's the influence that someone like him has and it has probably dawned on him that he has a responsibility to promote companion animal health. As mentioned, I sense that he adopted his Scot Fold innocently after being attracted to their appearance and has since learnt that there is a health aspect.

There is nothing in the law in the UK which prevents breeders creating unhealthy individual cats of unhealthy cat breeds. The same applies to the USA. Germany appears to be an exception. There may other countries that follow Germany's lead in this regard, but I don't think so.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: ‘Anyone breeding cats in England must protect them from unnecessary suffering. Failing to may lead to imprisonment, a fine or both.

‘Owners considering breeding cats should seek advice on the risk of inherited conditions.’