Fun Selkirk Rex Facts For Kids
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One of the cutest cats with curly hair, the Selkirk Rex was first discovered in the United States during the last decades of the 20th century. Their curly coat is very soft and attracts children as well.
The Selkirk Rex has been developed by crossbreeding of different species such as the British Shorthairs, Persian cats, Himalayan cats, and American Shorthairs. The cat has also developed different traits of these species like the friendly behavior of shorthairs and the Persian cats' fondling nature.
Most of the cats have curls while some have straight hair. Their large size makes them more cute and adorable and males are generally bigger than the female Selkirk Rex cats.
These cats are prone to health issues. The health problems are polycystic kidney disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
The species of Selkirk Rex cats are found in several countries but are majorly found in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Generally, these cats come in different colors such as white and cream colors.
Keep on reading to learn more interesting facts about Selkirk Rex. If you want to know more exciting information about different animals, check out the Devon Rex and Russian blue.
Selkirk Rex Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a Selkirk Rex?
The Selkirk Rex is a large-sized cat with a curly coat that comes in white and cream variants. The Selkirk Rex cats are omnivores and are best known for their friendly behavior. The cat originated in the United States and can easily be found in several other countries.
What class of animal does a Selkirk Rex belong to?
A Selkirk Rex is a cat that belongs to the mammal class of animals. Felidae is the family that the Selkirk cat belongs to and the genus is Felis.
How many Selkirk Rexes are there in the world?
The curly-haired Selkirk rex cat breed is quite loved throughout the world, but the exact population is unknown. Different organizations such as the International Cat Registry, the Cat Fanciers Association, and the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy states that more than 4000 Selkirk Rex Cats are registered as of now.
Where does a Selkirk Rex live?
These beautiful cats with curly coats are very much loved throughout the world and are found in different countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and for the last few years, the Selkirk Rex cat breed has also been spotted in Canada and many European countries.
What is a Selkirk Rex's habitat?
Like other Rex cat breeds, the Selkirk Rex cat is primarily kept as a domesticated animal and the pet can easily in found in homes and farms.
Who do Selkirk Rex live with?
The Selkirk rex cat breed is one of the adorable pets and loves being around humans especially kids. Unlike a few cat breeds, the Selkirk rex cat loves sharing their house with other animals.
How long does a Selkirk Rex live?
The Selkirk Rex cat breed generally lives more than other breeds of cats, they live around 15-18 years. Some cats live for more than 20 years if proper care is taken.
How do they reproduce?
Just like any other cat, the cat breed follows the same process of producing offsprings. The reproduction takes place after the female cat attains maturity.
Once they are matured only then they can ovulate or pass an egg. A female cat, also known as queens goes through the heat or estrous cycle after attaining maturing and during this period the female cats express signs of mating behavior.
Once the female is bred, the patterns of behavior would become normal as the cat gets pregnant.
The pregnancy or gestation period lasts for around two months and normally, a queen litters around three to four kittens. The Selkirk Rex kittens stay with their mother and are also fed by her until the kittens become big enough to take care of themselves.
What is their conservation status?
Organizations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature have not evaluated the status of the Selkirk Rex cats. Also, these cats are prone to several diseases such as Polycystic kidney disease, keeping in mind several other organizations have stepped up for the protection of the breed.
Selkirk Rex Fun Facts
What do Selkirk Rexes look like?
If you have a Selkirk Rex kitten with you, then you might be spending the most lovely time with them. The lovely kitten is also called the 'cat with bad hair day' by looking at the beautiful curly hair.
Most of them have curly hair but some do have straight hair. If you look closely, you would find curls in the whiskers as well which is rare.
This laid-back pet would also love being around you and your children. Be it curls or straight hair, everyone should have the Selkirk Rex kitten.
How cute are they?
The Selkirk Rex cat breed is one of the most adorable cats you would have ever seen. The cat is best known for the cute curly coat and unlike other breeds, the length of its hair normal that also becomes quite manageable for the cat.
Also, the cat can easily be found in different colors such as white, cream, and gray.
People also call them, 'the cat in sheep's clothing' and are like a teddy bear to kids. Also, these cats love being around humans and other animals and it becomes very pleasant to watch their kittens walk.
How do they communicate?
Like any other cat or dog, the curly-haired Selkirk rex cat follows the same patterns of communication and tries to communicate through their body language and different signs and sounds. The prominent means of communication is vocalization.
They make sounds of hissing, meowing, and purring to convey what they feel to other cats, animals, and humans. These cats generally use 'meow' and come closer to humans when they want something.
How big is a Selkirk Rex?
A Selkirk Rex is a quite large cat and some of them are also bigger than the Chartreux and the British shorthair breeds. The male and female weight varies. These cats are twice or thrice the weight of the Cornish Rex cats, which belong to the same breed.
How fast can a Selkirk Rex run?
The exact speed of the Selkirk Rex cat is not known but the cat is best known for its intelligence and high energy skills. It is also said that the breed has fast reflexes like an athlete.
How much does a Selkirk Rex weigh?
The Selkirk Rex is very large in size and are heavy-boned cats. The male and female weight varies and an average male Selkirk Rex weighs around 11-16 lb (5-7.5 kg) while the weight of a female Selkirk Rex is 6-13 lb (3-6 kg).
What are their male and female names of the species?
The males of this species are known as tomcat or tom and a female cat is known as the queen.
What would you call a baby Selkirk Rex?
We would call the babies of Selkirk Rex kittens.
What do they eat?
The Selkirk Rex breed eats a variety of food and is an omnivore. They eat fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and as they are domesticated animals, humans often provide them cat foods available in markets.
Are they slobbery?
Primarily, a cat does not slobber or drool. When we compare the Selkirk Rex cat breed with other breeds and cats and dogs, we observe that these cats do not slobber at all.
To prevent drool, you need to take proper care of the oral hygiene of your cute cat. Also, as we know that the Selkirk Rex is a lap cat, there is no need to worry if your cat drools a bit during cuddling or playing with you.
Would they make a good pet?
If you want a pet and teddy bear at the same time, then the Selkirk Rex would be the best option. The cat is also known as the 'cat in sheep's clothing' for its beautiful curly hair.
This lap cat loves being around humans and is quite good with children as well. Also, the Selkirk Rex cat breed is very intelligent and can easily play different games if properly trained.
The best part about the cats is their loving behavior with other animals, unlike other breeds, these cats share a friendly bond with other pets.
If you are involved in some profession, the cat can be the best pet as they are very calm and quiet. Also, watching their kittens is always a delight.
Did you know...
The breed of Selkirk Rex cat is the only breed that is named after a human. Jeri Newman is regarded as the one who named the breed after her stepfather. Jeri Newman saw the cat and thought it was a Miss DePesto.
Characteristics and health issues
There are hundreds of characteristics that make these cats different from other breeds. Primarily, these cats are known for their curly hair, but they also have curly whiskers.
Apart from this, these curly-haired are found in different coats. People also keep them as pets as they are so good with children and humans. Their friendly behavior with other animals makes them more special.
We know that these cats belong to a new breed as they are developed by crossbreeding of the Persian, the British shorthair, American cats, and over them the breed also developed several health problems. These health problems include polycystic kidney disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It is suggested to buy the kitten from a known breeder.
Getting your own Selkirk Rex
As we know that these cats are very cute and adorable, getting your own Selkirk can be really expensive. The kitten is very rare and expensive and it would cost around $800-$1500, depending on the breeder and the coat of curls.
If curls are quite uncommon and special, it can even cost more than $1500 for a small kitten but these cute cats are worth every cent.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals including Chartreux, or Japanese bobtail.
You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Selkirk rex cat coloring pages.
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