Selkirk Rex Kittens are also known as the cats with highly curled hair, including their whiskers. The hair of these kittens is of normal length; it differs from many other breed coats due to being very thick and plush. It is distinct from all the other Rex breeds, and possession of Selkirk Rex Kittens is considered to be something very unique and special.
Origin
Selkirk Rex Kittens originated from Montana in 1987 in the form of a litter born to a rescued cat. The unusually coated litter was placed with a Persian breeder who, after some years, bred the cat to a black Persian male, which reproduced three Selkirk Rex and three kittens of a straight hair trait. This demonstrated that the gene from which Selkirk Rex Kittens are formed is an autosomal dominant gene, which means that 50% offspring have the chance to inherit it.
The breed had now developed into cats of two coat lengths: a long and a short hair cat. The cat is a large and solidly built breed, which is similar to a British shorthair cat. The coat of the Selkirk Rex Kittens is very soft and has a wooly appearance, along with a feel of loose and unstructured curls.
Breeding
Selkirk Rex Kittens have been bred with many different breeds. For example, the American shorthairs, Himalayans, Exotics, British shorthairs and the Persians are all those that have been used as outcrosses. The Selkirk Rex Kittens’ breed was accepted by the International Cat Association in 1992, the Cat Fanciers’ Association in 2000, and the American Cat Fanciers’ Association in 1998.
The breed of Selkirk Rex Kittens has been accepted in all the particular colors, which include pointed, mink varieties, sepia and bi-colors such as silver/smoke, the lilac and chocolate series.
There have been no genetic or acquired problems that are known to be associated with this breed. They are healthy, active and robust kittens. In order to prevent kinking of the tear ducts, the breeding of these cats towards normal and proper head positioning is the rule of the thumb. If the tears start to run down the face, they can result in face dermatitis. Also, the irritation of the inside of the ear by curly furs may result in the production of ear wax by the kittens.
If breeding results in Selkirk Rex Kittens, which have an autosomal dominant homozygous gene (two copies of the Selkirk Rex gene), they may have a tendency towards excessive greasing of the coat, which may lead to increased frequency of bathing required for these kittens. There can be some other associated problems which depend on the outcross breeds used. For example, Polycystic Kidney Disease and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy are two diseases that can be acquired from Persians and British shorthairs respectively. Therefore, it is requested that responsible breeders should screen their breeding cats for all these diseases so that the influence of the disease on this breed can be minimized.
Cristian Gonzalez
Howdy! I created this website to learn all about the amazing creatures that are the animals. I have two cats called Santiago and Valentina.