Scientists confirmed that the poodle cat is now officially a breed of cat called ‘Selkirk Rex’. Although it has been considered an official breed by several cat associations for over 20 years, the scientific community recognized it just now.
This nine-generation old breed was first discovered in 1987 in Montana by a Persian breeder named Jeri Newman when he saw noticed it among five kittens because of its thick, curly hair. He adopted the feline and named her ‘Miss DePesto’ after the receptionist from the show Moonlighting.
Scientists from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna studied the modern poodle cat and identified that its curly fur was a random genetic mutation. When they traced its origin, it led them to Miss DePesto which was the first kitten to be infected. Thus, all poodle cat or Selkirk Rex cat seen today came from Miss DePesto.
The details of the study were published this week entitled Selkirk Rex: Morphological and Genetic Characterization of a New Cat Breed written by the researchers at the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics’ Department for Biomedical Sciences at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna.
Selkirk Rex used to be associated with the Cornish and Devon Rex breeds because of their curly fur but the researchers defended that this breed is unique. The genetic mutation of the Selkirk Rex is autosomal dominant which means that the mutation can only be acquired from the parents which in this case was Miss DePesto. The scientists couldn’t explain though how Miss DePesto mutated on her own because her parents were not infected. They also found out that the breed also has a different curl phenotype which is unique to their kind after doing a segregation analysis.
The Selkirk Rex will be listed under the Persian breed family joining the breeds British Shorthair, Scottish Fold, Persian, and Exotic Shorthair.
To those interested in owning a Selkirk Rex, prepare as much as $1,000 since its popularity increased its value.
