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First of all – why the name? 'Rex' of course refers to the curly hair type which is dominant in this breed of cat; Selkirk from the range of mountains near to which the stray cat which was to be the founder of the breed was discovered.

It was in 1987 that Jeri Newman, a Persian breeder in America, was told of a young female cat with 'strange' hair which had been received into an animal shelter nearby. This cat, one of 6 kittens born to a longhaired tortie and white domestic, was blue-cream and white and had thick curled hair on her neck , legs, stomach and tail, and straight hair down her back.

Jeri took the cat home and spent time thinking how to improve the curl and develop a body type which would enhance the curl. She wanted heavier boning and a rounder head and eyes and a shorter broader muzzle than the original, though she decided to keep the thick coat and the muscle structure. This seemed to make Persians, Exotics and British and American Shorthairs the best options.

She mated the cat, which she called Miss Depesto, to one of her Persians. The result of this was a litter, born in July 1988, containing three straight hired kittens and three curly kittens. Jeri kept a male from this litter, Noface Oscar Kowalski, and started mating him with Persians, Exotics and British Shorthairs. She also mated him back to Miss Depesto to see if there were any serious problems associated with the gene and to see whether it produced any reliable homozygous kittens, which it did.

So the breed was born.

The most obvious feature about the Selkirk Rex is the curl, which is soft to touch. The curl is random, with loose individual curls which appear in clumps rather than an all over wave. They are curliest on their stomach and chest (and bottom!) but the curl varies with age and hormonal situation. Males are often curlier than females. Often the Selkirk Rex has a very ‘shaggy’ appearance. (Mine have been called alternately 'bad British' or Persians who have not been groomed!!) After bathing the cat has to be either patted dry or left to dry naturally as any blow drying or brushing reduces the amount of curl.

The first two Selkirk Rex were brought into Australia in 1999 by Jeannie Follington and Jane Walker of Zacesta Cattery in Queensland. One of these was Oaktree Sir Camelot who unfortunately died a couple of years ago. In 2000 they imported a new stud, Pamacs Socrebleu, a blue longhaired Selkirk Rex who has produced some lovely curly kittens for them.

My first Selkirk Rex, Zacesta Carolina Partygal (pictured above left), a blue shorthair with very nice curl, has produced some stunning kittens including Mirkwood Sir Vivor Scrapdot and Mirkwood Winnipeg, both of whom have become titled in a very short time, and now Mirkwood Blueberry Muffin (pictured above right) who is showing great promise.

Mirkwood Demerara (pictured above left), a shorthaired chocolate girl, (who is Mirkwood Sir Vivor Scrapdot’s granddaughter), is now our main breeding queen. She has produced some exceptional kittens, including our stud Mirkwood Noodles (pictured above right), a very nice long haired white boy with an exceptionally friendly nature.

Demerara (or 'Sugar' as she is known) has recently been joined by Frascott Eliza Doolittle, a longhaired blue cream tortie and white (pictured above). Eliza has just started her show career as a kitten and we have great hopes for her.

Pictured below is our home bred colourpoint queen - Gd. Ch. Mirkwood Poppy Pizazz (Sugar's mother):

The future looks exciting for the new breed, so look out Devons and Cornish – there’s a new Rex on the block!