Selkirk Rex breed guide

CFA says the foundation cat earned her name, Miss DePesto, by being a pest for attention and her descendants often politely ask for your time and love before jumping onto a lap or a bent back.

Selkirk Rexes do well with children and other animals, but children must handle them gently.

Intelligence comes with a silly streak, most obvious when a Selkirk tries to walk up the wall after a laser light. They are more interactive than active, with a warm lap as kitty heaven, though they can charge through the house after a toy.

Not particularly vocal, they talk back if you start a conversation.

No special tools are needed: use your fingers in a gentle scratching motion to fluff the curls. Selkirk Rexes do not mat easily, but CFA recommends a good combing once or twice a month to remove dead hair and a hair pick helps separate large clumps of curls on longhairs.

CFA calls the Selkirk Rex robust. Because British Shorthairs and Exotics went into its development and remain allowable outcrosses, breeders screen for conditions from those parent breeds, such as polycystic kidney disease, hip dysplasia and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Blood type incompatibility can also occur, so most breeders test blood type before breeding.

The breed came from a spontaneous mutation in a litter born in Montana in 1986. The foundation female, with curly whiskers and a coat that looked permed, was taken in by Persian breeder Jeri Newman and named Miss DePesto of NoFace.

Bred to a black Persian male she produced three curly kittens out of six, showing the new Rex gene is dominant. Newman named the breed for her stepfather's family name. CFA accepted it for registration in 1992 with championship status in 2000.