Selkirk Rex is a rather young breed of cats, it is distinguished by an extraordinary and memorable appearance. Its mainly difference from other reclamation breeds consists in the structural composition of the animal wool, which includes three types of hair: straight, wavy and curly. Thanks to this inhomogeneity, the foster's fur coat looks outwardly resembles a young lamb hair and is considered to be a business card of the Selkirk Rex breed.
A bit of history
Motherland Selkirk Reques are the United States, more precisely, Montana. The history of the breed goes on its roots in 1987, when an ordinary homeless cat was placed in one of the private feline shelters, which gave birth shortly with five kids. This event would remain unremarkable everyday fact if not the appearance of one of the kittens. The attention of the employees of the institution attracted an unusual fur of a newborn, randomly curled not only on the surface of the body, but also in the ears. Moreover, the kid mustache was also small curls, ridiculous in different directions.
The kitten was shown to the experienced Persian cats Felinologist Jerry Newman, who took him into his nursery. An unusual creation turned out to be a girl who received the name of Miss de Pesto (full. Miss de Pesto of Noface), and at the age of 14 months was tied with luxurious black fell. As a result of crossing the light, six kids appeared, three of whom inherited the dominant maternal gene, born curly.
Justice It is worth noting that The subsequent marks of Miss de Pesto did not bring any more rex, which allows to regard the appearance of curly cats, as a result of a random natural mutation. The mountain ranges of Selkirk must be owned by its unusual name of the breed, near which Miss de Pesto's mother was chosen, and the "Rex" term, meaning a curly.
As a result of further breeding, Newman managed to get both long-haired and short-haired offspring of a wide variety of colors and shades. Slightly later, in the early 90s of the last century, the breeder-felinologist begins to compile a description of the breed standard, taking for a standard of one of the sons of Miss de Pesto. Such a choice was due to the fact that the descendant had more noble body forms in comparison with the maternity, and in the outlines resembled Persians.
After another couple of years, Selkirk Rekx was allocated to a separate breed, and with the permission of the experts of the TICA Association allowed them to take part in official exhibitions. Recognition and success came pretty quickly, and by 1994 representatives of this wonderful breed conquer the first champion title at the international exhibition. Today Breed Selkirk Rex is one of the most popular feline breeds, and is officially recognized as authoritative organizations as ACFA, WCF, ACF and CFA.
Characteristic
The formation of the breed occurred pretty quickly. In addition to Persians, representatives of exotic, British and American short-sighted breeds took an active part, who handed their best qualities to Selkirk Rex. Today, cats of this breed are characterized as animals having a powerful and strong backbone, growth above average. Male representatives traditionally exceed females in physical parameters and often reach weights of 7 kg, the average weight of cats at the same time is 3-4 kg.
Animals have round, without flattened areas, head with well-defined lines. The muzzle is quite round, not too wide, and its length is 1/2 width. If you look at Selkirk Rex to the profile, you can see that the upper sponge, nose and chin are located on the same line. The nose itself has a slightly curved shape, and its back is slightly lower than the eye line.
A characteristic feature of the breed is widely planted ears, harmoniously fitted in the rounded outlines of the head. Strest in the ears go well, while eyebrows and vibryssas are also curly. Animals have round expressive eyes, perfectly harmonive in their shade with wool color. Most often they are amber, copper, green and blue.
Selkirk Rexa have an impeccable physique: The rectangular medium length body, thick and short neck, coinciding the width of the hips and shoulders, and proportional to the body of strong legs. The tail, distinguished by the average size and correct forms, has a rounded tip and thickens at its base. Woolen cover can be both extended and short, and the intensity of curls varies depending on the season of the year and the age of the cat.
The short-haired representatives of the fur coat of moderately wavian and resembles a plush toy, while long-haired individuals can boast of luxurious curls, most pronounced on pants, neck, abdomen and breasts.
Moreover, the intensity of the formation of curls changes from birth and ending with two-year-old age. Thus, newborn kittens can be quite curly, but during the first two months, the wool is almost completely straightened and in appearance there is little different from the wool Selkirk Stratets - direct kittens. And only after 8-10 months, repeated twisted curls, after which the young animal acquires the appearance of true Rex.
As for the life expectancy of Selkirk Rex, then the breed was at the height. Thanks to the excellent gene pool and the absence of serious vices, animals are easily waiting for up to 15-20 years.
Types of color
According to the standard, any colors and pictures are allowed, however, preference is still given to clean saturated colors. Often you can see and spotted Selkirk Rekx, as well as two-color cats and albinos of the type of minic and sepia.
Among the most common shades are dominated by red, cream table, lilac, chocolate, smoky, and even silver. Polychrome coloring options look very beautiful, such as black and white, red-white and smoky-white. The eyes and the tip of the nose are usually harmoniously combined with each other and with the color of the animal fur coat, which gives the appearance of the pet even greater aesthetic and attractiveness.
Character features
Selkirk Rex has absorbed the character traits at once several breeds involved in breeding work. So, from British shorthairs, they inherited power and ease, from Persians - affection, and from exotic - mischief and playfulness until a deep old age. Cats quickly get used to households, and perfectly getate with children and other pets.
A feature of Selkirkov is the need for constant contact with a person, because of which they are not recommended for a long time to leave alone. And if the owner lives in the apartment one and there is no significant part of the time, then when choosing a pet, it is better to stay on another breed, since due to the lack of communication Selkirk Rex can easily fall into depression.
Representatives of the breed are very sensitive to the mood of the host and members of his family, and adult animals who lived in the house for several years, well feel the physical pain of man. Selkirk will surely come up and will begin to "comfort" in need of the household in need, and in case of illness, it will simply fall into a sore place and will try to alleviate suffering.
Another positive feature of the nature of Recks is the fact that The individuals of both sexes are very large: They gladly come into communicating with guests, even if they see them for the first time in life. Cats gladly climb into the hands of unfamiliar people, and allow them to stroke themselves and tremble.
Selkirk Rex is one of the few cat breeds that do not annoy and do not tire the games of small children, in connection with which cases of bite or scratching kids in the cats of this breed is not marked.
However, in order for the cat and cat to grow as described above, it is necessary to continue with them. From the first days of the appearance of a kitten in the house, it is recommended to give him as much time as possible, play and talk to him, as well as buy him more bright interesting toys. In most cases, cats that grew in constant attention and care are becoming very friendly and open animals, and throughout their lives are pleased with their caress and sociability.
Many lovers of Selkirk Recks will immediately have a couple of animals: cats are usually very friendly among themselves, and watch their reverent communication and fun playing a pleasure.
Moreover, Selkirk Rex is one of the most well-trained cat breeds, which is easily leaving for training. . Animals perfectly carry hygienic procedures, allowing the owner to regularly deduct the wool and cut the claws to them. Another advantage of Selkirkov is their immunity to sharp frightening sounds: cats are indifferent to the sound of a working vacuum cleaner, do not frighten door calls and salute salts. The only behavioral disadvantage of Selkirk Rekx is their omnivorousness and insatiability.
The animal sweeps all the food affordable to him, so in order to avoid overgrowth and development of obesity, it is recommended to strictly dose serving.
How to choose?
After taking the decision to buy the kitten of the Selkirk Rex breed, it is necessary to take into account that people suffering from allergic manifestations, the content of "woolen" cats is contraindicated. If there is such a disease, it is better to stop your choice on pets with less rich wool, not inclined to a strong molting. If there are no allergies in the house, then Selkirk will become an excellent choice and will delight the owners with his presence over the past years.
Buy the kitten is recommended only from proven breeders named either in breed nurseries. The seller must provide the veterinary passport of the animal with marks on vaccination and degelmintization, as well as the metric of the kitten.
After the documents are checked, it is necessary to produce a visual inspection of the kitten. At the same time, special attention should be paid to the attitude of the baby, as well as on the state of the wool. So, on the body, the kitten should not be observed tumors, properms and an ulcers, and the sword must be clean and a little wavy. Nose, ears and eyes should be absolutely clean and not have traces of selection. The teeth of a healthy kitten have a pure-white color and are located exactly, the guy should be a pale pink color without ulcers and seals.
And you should also pay attention to the anus: there should be no traces of diarrhea around it.
The following criterion for selecting Selkirka is motor activity and behavior. Healthy kitten is very curious and fearless: he will pick up with interest to the new owner and even tries to start the game with him. If the baby is sluggish and indecisive, and also has a gait violation - it is better to give up from buying such an animal, since these signs say that there are clear or hidden pathologies and anomalies in development.
So, in the diet of the pet must be raw fish, meat, boiled cereals, Liver, Sub-products, fruits and vegetables. Feed selkirkov is recommended by small portions 6-8 times a day. Apply in a cup of food immediately for the whole day is prohibited.
The cat at once will eat all day portion and will ask for additives. The same goes for feeding with dry foods: smoothly so much food should be poured into the cup, how much the animal is supposed to for one meal. The constant presence of pure drinking water is a prerequisite. Besides, Selkirkov should not be accustomed to feeding from the table, as the cats of this breed are prone to gluttony, and with the "double" nutrition, weight is very quickly gaining weight.
Another important point when buying Selkirk Rex is its price. It should be immediately noted that the real thoroughbred cats of this breed can not cost five thousand rubles cheaper, and representatives of famous nurseries born from the champions of prestigious feline exhibitions are 20 and even 25 thousand rubles. In our country, Nursery Selkirk Rekx are located in such cities as Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Eagle, Bryansk and Samara.
In addition to the pedigree, the cost of the animal is influenced by the purity of the natural line, the floor, color and the type of wool.
Content
Cats of breed Selkirk Rex need usually care, and creating some particular content conditions require. The main key to the right cultivation is balanced nutrition and performing hygienic procedures.
Nutrition
Feeding Selkirk Recks is not much different from feeding kittens of other breeds and there are two types. In the first case, the animal feeds exclusively balanced qualitative feeds, in the second - natural food. The last type of food is more complicated and labor costs, as it requires an independent calculation of the desired amount of nutrients required by a kitten in a particular age, as well as the selection of vitamin complexes and mineral additives. In addition, raw meat needs heat treatment with boiling water, and soups and porridge should be prepared every day.
Feed the kitten yesterday's food is not recommended. However, despite the complexity of the process, it is natural nutrition that is considered the most preferable.
Hygiene
Shorthair Selkirk Rex, like Selkirk Stratet, requires minimal care, which lies in bathing of an animal as dirty and wiping the ears with a wet tampon. The case is somewhat more complicated with the long-haired representatives of the breed. Such animals are recommended to deduct 1-2 times a week and often bathe. For washing should be used Only special shampoos facilitating the resulting wool after drying.
When using soap or ordinary funds, there is a risk of formation of chatins, which will later have to endure. Therefore, if the choice fell on the long-grazing Selkirk Rex, then with the kitten It is necessary to purchase a ridge with long teeth, brushes for imprint, furminator for removing old wool, scissors with stupid tips for removing koltuns, suede wipes for wool wool and sprayer for fuse spraying.
Bathing the pet should be in water with a temperature of 38.3 degrees . To perform the procedure, the animal is neatly taken for the shake and pee out of the shower, trying to make the water to get on the head. In order to avoid a random flow of water in the ear shells, they are recommended to pre-shut the cotton. After the coat wool is evenly moistened, it is washed with a soft sponge moistened in a pre-diluted shampoo.
Then the animal is rinsed out of the shower and wrapped into a soft towel. The muzzle is recommended to wipe with a wet sponge. The ears are cleaned weekly with a cotton disk dipped in oil, vaseline or liquid paraffin. Claws should be cut as they are growing, and cleaning the teeth to perform every 7 days.
Diseases
Selkirk Rex is a healthy breed and genetic ailments has no. However, British short-haired breeds involved in the creation of British breed passed a rather weak heart to Selkirk Rex, and they did not get very strong kidneys from the Persians. Because of this cat, this breed may suffer with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and kidney polycystic.
The third rather vulnerable body is the eyes, because of which Selkirki is often sick conjunctivitis. In addition, purulent discharges need to be removed by a tampon dipped in neutral antiseptics. The use of welding and infusion of daisies is permissible only with dark color, light cats with the specified means are not treated. In general, the cats of the breed of Selkirk Rex are considered strong animals, have excellent immunity and more than two decades live quietly.
Description of the breed Selkirk Rex See next video.