Selkirk Rex: features, choice and care rules

Selkirk Rex is a fairly young breed of cats, distinguished by an extraordinary and memorable appearance. Its main difference from other Rex breeds is the structural composition of the animal's coat, which includes three types of hair: straight, wavy and curly. Due to this heterogeneity, the pet's fur coat looks like the wool of a young lamb and is rightfully considered the hallmark of the Selkirk Rex breed.

The Selkirk Rex is home to the United States, more precisely, the state of Montana. The history of the breed goes back to 1987, when an ordinary stray cat was placed in one of the private cat shelters, which soon gave birth to five babies. This event would have remained an unremarkable everyday fact, if not for the appearance of one of the kittens. The attention of the staff was attracted by the unusual fur of the newborn, randomly curled not only on the surface of the body, but also in the ears. Moreover, the baby's antennae were also small curls sticking out funny in different directions.

The kitten was shown to an experienced breeder of Persian cats, felinologist Jerry Newman, who took him to his cattery. The unusual creature turned out to be a girl who received the name Miss De Pesto (full Miss De Pesto of Noface), and at the age of 14 months was mated with a luxurious black Persian. As a result of crossing, six babies were born, three of whom inherited the dominant maternal gene, being born curly.

It is fair to say that subsequent litters of Miss De Pesto did not bring any more Rex, which allows us to regard the appearance of curly cats as a consequence of an accidental natural mutation. The breed owes its unusual name to the Selkirk mountain ranges, near which Miss De Pesto's mother was picked up, and to the term "rex", meaning curliness.

As a result of further breeding work, Newman managed to obtain both long-haired and short-haired offspring of a wide variety of colors and shades. A little later, in the early 90s of the last century, a breeder-felinologist begins to compile a description of the breed standard, taking one of Miss De Pesto's sons as a standard. This choice was due to the fact that the offspring had more noble body shapes in comparison with the mother's, and resembled a Persian in outline.

A couple of years later, Selkirk Rexes were singled out as a separate breed, and with the permission of the TICA experts, they were allowed to take part in official shows. Recognition and success came pretty quickly, and by 1994 representatives of this wonderful breed won the first champion title at an international show. Today Selkirk Rex is one of the most popular feline breeds and is officially recognized by reputable organizations such as ACFA, WCF, ACF and CFA.

The formation of the breed took place rather quickly. In its formation, in addition to the Persians, representatives of the exotic, British and American shorthaired breeds took an active part, who transferred their best qualities to the Selkirk Rex. Today cats of this breed are characterized as animals with a powerful and strong skeleton, above average growth. Male representatives traditionally surpass females in physical parameters and often reach a weight of 7 kg, while the average weight of cats is 3-4 kg.

Animals have a round head without flattened areas with well-defined cheek lines. The muzzle is rather rounded, not too wide, and its length is 1/2 of the width. If you look at the Selkirk Rex in profile, you can see that the upper lip, nose and chin are in line. The nose itself has a slightly curved shape, and its back is slightly below the line of the eyes.

A characteristic feature of the breed are wide-set ears, harmoniously fitting into the rounded shape of the head. The hair in the ears curls well, while the eyebrows and vibrissae are also curly. Animals have round expressive eyes, ideally in harmony in their shade with the color of the coat. Most often they are amber, copper, green and blue.

Selkirk Rexes have an impeccable physique: a rectangular body of medium length, a thick and short neck, the same width of the hips and shoulders, and strong legs proportional to the body. The tail, which is medium in size and regular in shape, has a rounded tip and thickens at its base. The coat can be either long or short, and the intensity of the curls varies depending on the season of the year and the age of the cat.

In short-haired representatives of the breed, the coat is moderately wavy and resembles a plush toy, while the long-haired individuals boast luxurious curls, most pronounced on the pants, neck, belly and chest.

Moreover, the intensity of the formation of curls varies from birth to two years of age. So, newborn kittens can be quite curly, but during the first two months, the hair is almost completely straightened and in appearance does not differ much from the wool of selkirk straight - straight-haired kittens. And only after 8-10 months, the curls re-curl, after which the young animal takes on the appearance of a true rex.

According to the standard, any colors and patterns are allowed, however, preference is still given to pure saturated colors. Spotted Selkirk Rexes, as well as two-tone cats and albinos such as mink and sepia, are not uncommon.

The most common shades are dominated by red, cream tabby, purple, chocolate, smoky and even silver. Polychrome color options such as black and white, reddish white and smoky white look very nice. The eyes and the tip of the nose are usually harmoniously combined with each other and with the color of the animal's fur coat, which makes the pet's appearance even more aesthetically pleasing and attractive.

Selkirk Rex have incorporated the character traits of several breeds at once participating in breeding work. So, from the British short-haired, they inherited gravity and ease, from the Persians - affection, and from the exotics - mischief and playfulness right up to old age. Cats quickly get used to household members, and get along well with children and other pets.

A feature of selkirks is the need for constant contact with a person, which is why it is not recommended to leave them alone for a long time. And if the owner lives in an apartment alone and is absent for a significant part of the time, then when choosing a pet, it is better for him to stay on a different breed, since due to a lack of communication, Selkirk Rex can easily fall into depression.

Representatives of the breed are very sensitive to the mood of the owner and his family members, and adult animals that have lived in the house for several years feel the physical pain of a person well. Selkirk will definitely come up and begin to "comfort" a household in need of this, and in case of illness, he will simply lie down on a sore spot and try to alleviate the suffering.

Another positive feature of the Rex character is the fact that individuals of both sexes are very sociable: they gladly enter into communication with guests, even if they see them for the first time in their lives. Cats happily climb into the arms of strangers, and allow them to stroke and flap.

However, in order for a cat and a cat to grow up as described above, you need to constantly deal with them. From the first days of the appearance of a kitten in the house, it is recommended to devote as much time as possible to him, to play and talk with him, and also to buy him more bright interesting toys. In most cases, cats that have grown up in constant attention and care become very friendly and open animals, and throughout their lives delight their owners with their affection and sociability.

Moreover, selkirk Rex is one of the best trainable feline breeds and is easy to train... Animals perfectly tolerate hygiene procedures, allowing the owner to regularly comb out their hair and trim their nails. Another advantage of selkirks is their immunity to harsh frightening sounds: cats are indifferent to the sound of a working vacuum cleaner, they are not afraid of doorbells and salute volleys. Selkirk Rex's only behavioral drawback is their omnivorousness and gluttony.

The animal sweeps away all the food available to it, therefore, in order to avoid overfeeding and the development of obesity, it is recommended to strictly dose the portions.

Having made the decision to purchase a Selkirk Rex kitten, it is necessary to take into account that the keeping of "wool" cats is contraindicated for people suffering from allergic manifestations. In the presence of such a disease, it is better to opt for pets with a less rich coat, not prone to strong shedding. If there are no allergy sufferers in the house, then selkirk will be an excellent choice and will delight the owners with its presence for many years.

After the documents have been checked, it is necessary to visually inspect the kitten. In this case, special attention should be paid to the nutritional status of the baby, as well as to the condition of the coat. So, on the body of the kitten there should be no tumors, bald spots and ulcers, and the coat should be clean and slightly wavy. The nose, ears and eyes must be absolutely clean and free from any traces of discharge. The teeth of a healthy kitten are pure white and evenly spaced, while the gums should be pale pink without ulcers and seals.

The next criterion for choosing a selkirk is physical activity and behavior. A healthy kitten is very curious and fearless: he will run up to the new owner with interest and even try to start a game with him. If the baby is lethargic and indecisive, and also has gait disturbances, it is better to refuse to buy such an animal, since these signs indicate the presence of obvious or hidden pathologies and anomalies in development.

So, the pet's diet must include raw fish, meat, boiled cereals, liver, offal, fruits and vegetables. It is recommended to feed selkirks in small portions 6-8 times a day. It is forbidden to put food in a cup at once for the whole day.

The cat will eat all of the day's meal in one go and ask for more. The same goes for feeding with dry food: add exactly as much food to the cup as the animal is supposed to have for one meal. A prerequisite for this is the constant availability of clean drinking water. Besides, Selkirks should not be taught to feed from the table, as cats of this breed are prone to gluttony, and with a "double" diet, they gain weight very quickly.

Another important consideration when buying a Selkirk Rex is its price. It should be noted right away that real purebred cats of this breed cannot cost less than five thousand rubles, and representatives of well-known catteries, born from champions of prestigious cat shows, cost 20 and even 25 thousand rubles. On the territory of our country, Selkirk Rex nurseries are located in cities such as Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Orel, Bryansk and Samara.

Selkirk Rex cats need regular care, and do not require any special conditions of keeping for themselves. The main guarantee of proper cultivation is a balanced diet and hygienic procedures.

Feeding Selkirk Rex is not much different from feeding kittens of other breeds and is of two types. In the first case, the animal is fed with exclusively balanced high-quality feed, in the second - with natural food. The latter type of nutrition is more complicated and labor-intensive, as it requires an independent calculation of the required amount of nutrients required by a kitten at a given age, as well as the selection of vitamin complexes and mineral supplements. In addition, raw meat needs to be cooked with boiling water, and soups and cereals should be cooked every day.

The short-haired Selkirk Rex, like the Selkirk Straight, requires minimal maintenance, which consists in bathing the animal as it gets dirty and rubbing the ears with a damp swab. With long-haired representatives of the breed, the situation is somewhat more complicated. It is recommended to comb these animals 1-2 times a week and bathe frequently. For washing, use only special shampoos that make it easier to comb the coat after drying.

When using soap or conventional products, there is a risk of mats formation, which will have to be cut in the future. Therefore, if the choice fell on the long-haired Selkirk Rex, then together with the kitten it is necessary to purchase a comb with long teeth, a brush for the undercoat, a furminator for removing old hair, scissors with blunt ends for removing tangles, a suede cloth for wiping wool and a spray gun for sprinkling the fur.

Bathing your pet should be in water with a temperature of 38.3 degrees... To perform the procedure, the animal is carefully taken by the scruff of the neck and poured out of the shower, trying to prevent water from falling on its head. In order to avoid accidental flow of water into the auricles, it is recommended to pre-plug them with cotton wool. After the cat's fur is evenly moistened, it is washed with a soft sponge dipped in a previously diluted shampoo.

The animal is then rinsed out of the shower and wrapped in a soft towel. It is recommended to wipe the muzzle with a damp sponge. Ears are cleaned weekly with a cotton pad soaked in oil, petroleum jelly, or liquid paraffin. The nails should be trimmed as they grow and the teeth should be brushed every 7 days.

The Selkirk Rex is a healthy breed and has no genetic ailments. However, the British Shorthairs involved in the creation of the breed gave the Selkirk Rex a rather weak heart, and from the Persians they got not very strong kidneys. Because of this, cats of this breed may suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and polycystic kidney disease.

The third rather vulnerable organ is the eyes, which is why selkirki often suffer from conjunctivitis. In this case, purulent discharge must be removed with a swab dipped in a neutral antiseptic. The use of tea leaves and chamomile infusion is permissible only with a dark color, light cats are not treated with these means. In general, Selkirk Rex cats are considered strong animals, have excellent immunity and live peacefully for more than two decades.

For a description of the Selkirk Rex breed, see the following video.