Highlander Grooming
Curled ears and a bobtail on one cat, and two mutations to handle rather than one
About the Highlander
A modern American breed that combines two features usually seen separately, which makes it a useful place to state what each one does and does not carry.
The ears curl backward at the tips, like an American Curl. The tail is short, like an American Bobtail. And the cat is very large, muscular and long legged, with a heavy brow that gives it a wild look.
Neither mutation here is the dangerous version. The ear curl is not the Scottish Fold cartilage disease, and the short tail is not the Manx spinal mutation.
What they do carry is a handling requirement each, and stacking two mutations on one cat means both apply.
The coat is short and easy, in short and long haired varieties, and there is no wild ancestry despite the old Highland Lynx name.
The Highlander has a double coat that regulates its own temperature. Shaving it does not keep the animal cooler, removes the protection against sun and insects, and the top coat often grows back patchy or never returns correctly. A thorough deshed takes out the undercoat and does the job the owner was actually asking for.
Two mutations, and what each one asks for
The ears curl backward at the tips, gently rather than tightly, and like the American Curl the cartilage is firmer than an ordinary ear.
So the same rule applies: never force, straighten or bend the ear. Clean only the visible outer part with a soft damp cloth, do not pull the ear open to look inside, and do not push anything into the canal.
Importantly, this is not the Scottish Fold situation. The Fold's mutation affects cartilage throughout the body and every Fold develops a degenerative joint disease. A backward curl does not carry that.
The tail is short, a pom of varying length, and like the American Bobtail the gene acts on the tail rather than on spinal development generally. There is no Manx style spinal risk and no need to protect the rump.
The tail is normal tissue with normal sensation and is handled like any cat's.
Tell a vet or groomer both things, because both assumptions travel: the Fold worry about curled ears and the Manx worry about short tails.
The coat, in two lengths
The shorthair coat is short, dense and resilient, lying close, and it needs a comb or rubber mitt once a week. It does not mat.
The longhair is medium long with a ruff, britches and a fuller tail pom, and because there is some undercoat it wants combing twice a week, with attention to the britches, behind the front legs and the belly.
Both shed moderately with a heavier seasonal change, when a comb every few days helps.
Never cut a mat out with scissors, on either variety. Cat skin is thin and lifts into the blades.
Do not clip, since a dense coat can come back with a changed texture and there is no reason to.
Bathing is not routine. A healthy Highlander keeps itself clean.
Comb the tail pom through with the rest of the coat, since it is heavily furnished on a longhair and mats at the base where it meets the body.
A very large cat, and no wild ancestry
Highlanders are big: males regularly reach fifteen to twenty pounds, they are long legged and muscular, and they mature slowly over three years.
Polydactyl feet turn up in some lines, and if yours has extra toes then the Pixiebob point applies in full: extra claws do not contact a scratching post, are often set at odd angles, and curl into the pad unnoticed. Count the toes and check every claw.
The breed was originally called the Highland Lynx and the name implied wild ancestry it does not have. Highlanders were developed from domestic cats, including Desert Lynx and Jungle Curl lines which are themselves domestic, and there is no bobcat or lynx in them.
That puts it with the Ocicat and the Pixiebob: a wild look with no wild consequences, no legal restrictions anywhere and no reason for a salon to decline one.
Feel for ribs rather than judging by outline, since a large muscular cat under a dense coat hides condition.
Claws want tipping every two to three weeks and this cat needs a substantial post.
A new breed, and what that means
The Highlander is recent and still developing, recognized by some registries and not others, and the gene pool is comparatively small.
That is worth knowing when buying rather than when grooming. Ask a breeder what health testing they do, what the cats are outcrossed to, and how the two mutations are managed in their program.
In particular, ask whether curled ear cats are bred to straight eared cats, since doubling up on a structural mutation is generally avoided in careful programs.
For an existing cat none of it changes the routine, which is a weekly comb, careful ears, claws and teeth.
Highlanders are typically confident, playful, dog like and very people oriented, which makes handling easy if started in kittenhood, and that matters on a cat this size.
Because the breed is uncommon, expect a groomer or vet not to have met one, and expect both the Fold and the Manx assumptions.
What to tell your groomer or vet
Say the ears must never be forced or straightened, since the cartilage is firmer than an ordinary ear.
Say the ear curl is NOT the Scottish Fold mutation and carries no joint disease.
Say the short tail affects the tail only and carries none of the Manx spinal problems.
Say how many toes the cat has, since polydactyly turns up and those claws need checking.
Say which coat length it is, since the longhair needs combing twice as often.
Say there is no wild ancestry, despite the old Highland Lynx name.
Keeping the coat between grooms
Never force the curled ear
Firmer cartilage than an ordinary ear. Wipe the visible part only.
Weekly
Correct both assumptions
Not a Scottish Fold ear and not a Manx tail. Say so before anyone looks.
Every visit
Count the toes
Polydactyly turns up, and extra claws curl into the pad unnoticed.
Every two to three weeks
Comb once or twice a week
Shorthair once, longhair twice, with the tail pom done at the same time.
Weekly
Common Questions About the Highlander
Does the curled ear mean the same problems as a Scottish Fold?
No. A Scottish Fold's folded ear comes from a mutation affecting cartilage throughout the body, which is why every Fold develops a degenerative joint disease. A Highlander's ears curl backward from a different mutation that shapes the ear specifically, as in the American Curl, with no associated skeletal disease. What it does share with the Curl is a handling rule: the cartilage is firmer than an ordinary ear, so never force, straighten or bend it, and clean only the visible outer part.
Is the short tail a Manx tail?
No. The Manx mutation affects spinal development generally and brings real problems with the spine, hind legs, bladder and bowel, which is why the Manx rump must be handled carefully. A Highlander's short tail comes from a gene acting on the tail only, as in the American Bobtail, with no spinal risk attached. The tail is normal tissue with normal sensation and is handled like any cat's. It is worth saying to a vet, because the Manx assumption travels.
Is a Highlander part lynx or bobcat?
No, despite the original Highland Lynx name, which implied ancestry the breed does not have. Highlanders were developed from domestic cats, including Desert Lynx and Jungle Curl lines which are themselves domestic, so there is no bobcat or lynx in them. That puts them with the Ocicat and the Pixiebob: a wild look with no wild consequences, no legal restrictions anywhere, and no reason for a groomer or cattery to decline one.
Similar breeds
Same coat, same schedule, or the breeds this one is crossed from.
American Curl
Backward curling ears with rigid cartilage, and none of the Scottish Fold's skeletal disease
American Curl
American Bobtail
A short tail from a third gene, with no spinal disease and a shaggy coat
American Bobtail
Find a groomer who knows this coat
Search 37,863 groomers by town, or keep reading the breed guide.
Find a Local Groomer View All Breeds