Breeds of cats: Selkirk rex

The breed of cats selkirk reks outwardly enoughis very different from other rex. Cornish Rex and Devon Rex wool is very short, "plush." In Selkirk reks, it has a normal length, and within the breed there is and short-haired, and long-haired varieties.

The ancestor of the Selkirk rex breed was cat Miss de Pesto, born in Montana in 1987. She was the only "curly" kitten in the litter. Her mistress, breeder of the Persians Jerry Newman, crossed Miss de Pesto with a black Persian cat. In the litter, there were three kittens with curly hair and three - with a straight line. So the Selkirk Rex breed began its development. Officially, it was recognized in 1992.

In the formation of this breed, not only Persians took part, but also British short-haired, exotic and Himalayan cats (Persian color-points). Since the Selkirk rex breed is still locatedin the process of becoming, cats and cats with curly hair are still crossing with other breeds of cats. But starting from 2015, cats of the Selkirk-rex breed can be crossed exclusively with Selkirks.

The addition of Selkirk Rex resembles short-haired Britons Is a fairly large breed of cats witha stocky body, a muscular body and a strong bone. The head is round and wide, with large round eyes, medium-sized ears and well-defined muzzle. The length of the muzzle is half its width. The flattened face, like that of the Persians, is a marriage of the breed.

As already mentioned above, wool of Selkirks canbe both long and short. It is very soft and dense, with something reminiscent of a sheep. Wool can curl small, large or flowing curls or be wavy. Especially bright curls are expressed on the neck, chest, hips, abdomen and behind the ears.

Care for the wool of Selkirks is quite simple. Short-haired cats need to be combed once a week, long-haired - every day. Unlike other reks, Selkirk rex is prone to abundant molting, so people who are prone to allergies to cats, sericulture start is not recommended.

Cats of breed selkirk reks can be almost any color, including various forms of albinism and incomplete coloration (points, sepia, dark brown), bicolors, silver / smoky, chocolate and lilac cats.

As for character, the temperament of Selkirksreflects the characteristics of other breeds of cats who took part in the formation of the Selkirk Rex breed. From short-haired Britons, they borrowed restraint and calm. From the Persians - a habit to take care of the owner. From short-haired exotics - playfulness. Cats of Selkirk Rex breed are very patient and loving, they sincerely become attached to the owner. They like to sit on their hands, climb on their shoulders and neck. Selkirk perfectly get along with other cats.

Cats of this breed are distinguished by strong health. One of the few problems that a Selkirk owner may face is increased excretion of earwax due to irritation of the ear passage with curly hair inside the auricle. Therefore, it is necessary to clean your ears regularly and very carefully.

Also in homozygous cats (inheriting the dominant gene Selkirk rex from both parents) can be observed high fat content of wool, so you need to bathe them more often (naturally, withusing special shampoos and conditioners, selected depending on the structure and condition of the animal's coat). Usually sekalki love water, so there will be no problems with bathing.

When interbreeding, Selkirk rex can inherit predisposition to certain diseases from other breeds. For example, Persians can "award" sekalkapropensity to polycystic kidney, and British short-haired - to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. But good breeders always check cats involved in breeding, on the propensity to these diseases, so the probability of hereditary predisposition in Selkirks will be minimal.

Cats of Selkirk Rex breed are charming affectionate creatures with extraordinary appearance. Such a pet is unlikely to leave a fan of cats indifferent.