Saturday, March 3, 2012

The Curly Furred Cat

Everyone knows about the Sphynx, the rare hairless breed of felines. But what about the Selkirk Rex? Can you say that you’ve heard about them?

If you haven’t, then read on. It’s about time you heard about the breed of curly haired (or furred, if you really want to get into details) cats.

The Curly Furred Selkirk Rex

As the Sphynx is defined by the absence of a coat of fur, the Selkirk Rex is defined by the predominance of its curly coat of fur.

A member of the Rex variety of cats, the Selkirk Rex is different from the Cornish Rex and Devon Rex because of its curls, with the origin of its kind hailing from Montana, USA.

In 1987, cat-breeder Jeri Newman bred an unusually coated cat named Miss DePesto with a male black Persian, producing a litter of three straight haired kittens and three of the first Selkirk Rex-es in existence. Since then, the breed proliferated, and comes in two types, short and long haired, with curls being the breed’s distinctive identifiers.

They are essentially no different from other domestic cat breeds, minus their curly fur factor. As playful as exotic shorthair breeds, cuddly as Persian Cats, and as laid-back as British Shorthair breeds, Selkirk Rex-es come in different colors, including mink-ish varieties, bi-color varieties, chocolate-hues, lilac-shades, sepia and solid black varieties.

With its dense coat, shedding is one problem linked with having Selkirk Rex-es around, and for people who are allergic to cats, they are big no no’s. They are generally a robust breed, and no medical complications specific to the breed has been yet discovered.

If one thinks about it, the Selkirk Rex is like what Poodles are to dogs. Both are curly haired, and come in different colors.

If you have a Poodle, matching it with a Selkirk Rex would be something else now, wouldn’t it?










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