I Love Selkirk Rex Cats

The Selkirk Rex is a breed of cat with highly curled hair, including the whiskers (vibrissae). Unlike the Devon Rex and Cornish Rex, the hair is of normal length and not partly missing, and there are longhair and shorthair varieties. Also unlike the other Rexes, the Selkirk gene is dominant.

The breed has been developed in two coat lengths, long and short (medium). It is a large and solidly built breed, similar to a British Shorthair. The coat is very soft and has a woolly look and feel with loose, unstructured curls. The head is round, with large rounded eyes, medium sized ears, and a distinct muzzle, whose length is equal to half its width. An extreme break, like that of a Persian, is a disqualifiable fault.

The breed is accepted in all colors, including the pointed, sepia, and mink varieties of albinism; bicolors; silver/smoke; and the chocolate and lilac series. This breed has an extremely dense coat and high propensity for shedding. Unlike other Rex breeds with reduced amounts of hair, the Selkirk Rex is not recommended for those who might be allergic to cat allergens.

The temperament of the Selkirk Rex reflects that of the breeds used in its development. They have a lot of the laid-back, reserved qualities of the British Shorthair, the cuddly nature of the Persian, and the playfulness of the Exotic Shorthair. They are very patient, tolerant, and loving.

There are no known health problems specific to the Selkirk Rex breed. They are a healthy and robust breed. Breeding towards proper head structure is necessary to prevent kinking of the tear ducts, resulting in tear run down the front of the face, or muzzle creases that can result in dermatitis on the face. Like other Rex breeds, irritation of the ear by curly fur can occur, increasing the production of ear wax. Homozygous cats (with two copies of the dominant Selkirk Rex gene) may have a tendency towards excessive greasiness of the coat, requiring increased frequency of bathing. Other health problems may be inherited from the outcross breeds used, including Polycystic Kidney Disease from Persians and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy from British Shorthairs. Responsible breeders screen their breeding cats for these diseases to minimize their impact on the breed.

The Selkirk Rex originated in Montana, America in 1987, with a litter born to a rescued cat. The only unusually coated kitten in the litter was ultimately placed with a Persian breeder, Jeri Newman, who named her Miss DePesto (after a curly-haired character in the TV series Moonlighting). This foundation cat was bred to a black Persian male, producing three Selkirk Rex and three straight-haired kittens. This demonstrated that the gene had an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. All Selkirk Rex trace their ancestry back to Miss DePesto.

American Shorthairs, Persians, Himalayans, Exotics, and British Shorthairs have been used as outcrosses to develop this breed. The American Shorthair has now been discontinued as an outcross. In CFA, outcrossing to Persians (including Himalayans) is scheduled to be discontinued in 2010, and all outcrosses stopped in 2015. In Australia, all outcrosses are scheduled to be discontinued in 2015.

The breed was accepted by The International Cat Association in 1992 and the Cat Fanciers' Association in 2000.

General: The Selkirk Rex is the result of a dominant, spontaneous mutation that causes each hair (guard, down & awn) to have a gentle wave or curl giving the coat a soft feel. This is a medium to large cat with heavy boning that gives the cat surprising weight and an impression of power. Females may be less massive than males but not dainty in appearance. The Selkirk Rex has a sweet, alert and active personality.

Head:
Shape: Round, broad and full-cheeked in both males and females. The underlying bone structure is round, with no flat planes. Nose: This has a downward slant with a convex curve and is set below the eye line. The profile reveals a nose stop. Muzzle: The profile shows a short muzzle, clearly visible beyond the curve of the cheek. It is of medium width, the length being equal to half the width. The underlying bone structure is rounded with well-padded whisker pads to give the impression of squareness. The tip of the chin, tip of the nose and the upper lip line up on the same vertical plane. Chin: Firm and well-developed. Ears: Medium in size, broad at the base, tapering, set well apart. Should fit into [without distorting] the rounded contour of the head. Furnishings, if present, should be curly. Eyes: Large, rounded, set well apart. The eyes should not appear almond or oval shaped and should be on the same horizontal plane when viewed from the front. All eye colors allowed, in keeping with coat color.
Body and Tail:
Body: Medium to large and well-balanced. The muscular torso is rectangular. The back is straight with shoulders and hips appearing the same width. Objections: excessive cobbiness or sleek oriental appearance. Legs/Feet: Medium, substantially boned, complimented by large paws. Tail: Thick, medium, with length in proportion to the body. The tail tapers slightly, neither blunt or pointed at the tip.

Coat:
The texture is soft, plushy, dense and obviously curly. There are no bald or thinly covered areas of the body. The coat stands out from the body and should not appear flat or close-lying. The curls are random, unstructured, and arranged in loose, individual curls. Although curl varies by hair length, sex and age in an individual, the entire coat should show the effect of the rex gene. Curliness may be evident more around the neck, on the tail and the belly. Allowance should be made for less curl on younger adults and kittens. The longhair Selkirk Rex should have plumy tail hairs standing away from the tail. The body hairs are obviously long [2" or more] with ruff hairs longer, framing the face.

Accepted Colors:
All body colors and color patterns that are genetically possible in the cat may occur in the Selkirk Rex. Color is secondary in importance to other factors.

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