Selkirk Rex

The Selkirk Rex is a cat breed with curly hair that was developed in the United States in the late 1980s. The Selkirk Rex is distinct from the other Rex breeds by the thick quality of its coat, while LaPerm, Devon Rex and Cornish Rex have sparser curly coats. The Selkirk Rex are known for their placid, social and cuddly nature.

History

The Selkirk Rex originated in Montana, USA in 1987, with a litter born to a rescued cat. The only unusually coated kitten in the litter was ultimately placed with breeder Jeri Newman, who named her Miss DiPesto, after a curly-haired character in the TV series Moonlighting played by Allyce Beasley. This foundation cat was bred to a black Persian tomcat, 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 the cat Miss DiPesto. Jeri Newman named the breed after her stepfather, "Selkirk," making this the first (and currently only) breed of cat to be named after an actual person.

American Shorthairs, Persians, Himalayans, Exotic Shorthairs, and British Shorthairs have been used as outcrosses to develop this breed. The breed was accepted by The International Cat Association in 1992, the American Cat Fanciers Association in 1998, and the Cat Fanciers' Association in 2000. In 2020 Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) discontinued using Persian cats as an outcross, and in 2025 - British Shorthair or Exotic. Starting from 2025 Selkirk Rex kittens registered with CFA must have only Selkirk Rex parents. As of 2024, TICA permits Selkirk Rex to be outcrossed with British Shorthair, British Longhair, American Shorthair, Persian, Himalayan and Exotic cat breeds.