Highlander
Curled ears and a short tail on a big frame, and extra toes are allowed by the standard. A new breed built to look wild with no wild ancestry behind it.
Photo by Hawaiihudec, CC BY-SA 4.0
Overview
The Highlander is a large American breed with three distinctive features at once: ears that curl backwards, a naturally short tail, and frequent polydactyly, meaning extra toes. It was developed from the 1990s and is recognised by TICA as a preliminary breed.
Despite the wild look it has no wild ancestry. The ear curl here is not the Scottish Fold's fold, and it is a different trait with different consequences.
Temperament
Outgoing, playful and dog like. Highlanders are confident with visitors, good with children and other animals, and they stay boisterous well into adulthood.
They are large, athletic cats that like water more than most and will investigate a running tap. They are sociable enough that they do poorly as an ignored only cat.
Care and grooming
A weekly brush for the shorthair and twice weekly for the longhair, plus gentle ear cleaning, since the curled ear collects wax and should never be forced.
The breed is new and rare enough that there is little long term health data. The bobtail and polydactyl traits here are not linked to the Manx spinal problems, but a breeder should still be able to talk about what they screen for.
Living and exercise
Space, climbing structure and real play. These are big active cats and a small flat does not suit them.
Ten to fifteen years is the usual expectation. As with any preliminary breed, the individual breeder matters more than the breed record does, because the record barely exists yet.
Something here wrong or out of date?