Selkirk Rex care: curly coat, health screening and weight

The Selkirk Rex is a heavy-boned, round-faced cat with a curly coat, and most of its care follows from the breeds used to build it. According to the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), the breed began with a curly-coated kitten born in Montana in 1986 and was developed with Persian, British Shorthair and Exotic outcrosses. Males usually weigh 12 to 15 lb (about 5.4 to 6.8 kg), and females are somewhat smaller. That Persian-family background is the reason owners should ask about kidney and heart screening before bringing a kitten home.

How the curl is inherited

Devon and Cornish Rex curls are recessive, so a kitten needs two copies of the gene. The Selkirk curl works differently. When the founding female was bred to a black Persian male, three of her six kittens had curly coats, which showed that one copy is enough. A genetic study of the breed described the trait as incomplete dominant: cats with two copies can be told apart from cats with one by their head and body type and by how the curl presents. The same work suggested the Selkirk Rex belongs to the Persian breed family, alongside the British Shorthair, Scottish Fold and Exotic, and found a genetically diverse foundation.

Every hair type is affected, guard hairs and undercoat alike. The breed comes in longhair and shorthair versions. The shorthair coat is plush with slightly crisp curls, while the longhair grows long, loose locks. The whiskers curl as well, and the CFA notes that they are fragile and tend to break off. The breed standard allows less curl in kittens and young adults, so a kitten's coat is not a reliable preview of the adult one.

Grooming the coat and checking the ears

Heavy brushing pulls the curls straight and leaves the coat frizzy. The CFA's advice is to comb only once or twice a month to lift out dead hair, and in between to fluff the coat with the fingertips in a light scratching motion. Longhaired cats may need more attention during a seasonal shed, when loose hair gets caught among the curls and can start to mat. Work small tangles apart by hand before reaching for a comb.

• Bathe only when the coat looks greasy or dirty, using a cat shampoo.
• Blot and scrunch the coat with a towel after bathing rather than rubbing it.
• Let the coat air-dry in a warm room, or use a dryer on a low, cool setting held well away from the skin.
• Leave broken whiskers alone. They grow back.

The ears need regular checks. In a review of 103 cats with ear inflammation seen at a French veterinary teaching hospital, Selkirk Rex cats were among the breeds significantly overrepresented, along with Maine Coons, Sphynx and Turkish Angoras. Most of those cases were chronic. Look inside the ears once a week. Wipe away visible wax from the outer ear with a cotton pad and a cat ear cleaner, and never push anything into the canal. Head shaking, scratching, a smell, dark discharge or a head tilt all need a vet visit.

Inherited conditions from the parent breeds

The CFA describes the Selkirk Rex as a healthy breed not known for any breed-specific health concerns. Breeders screen instead for conditions known in the parent breeds. There is little published data on how often these occur in Selkirks specifically, so the table reflects the parent breeds and general feline medicine rather than breed prevalence figures.

Polycystic kidney disease

PKD causes fluid-filled cysts to form in the kidneys. They enlarge over years and can eventually lead to kidney failure. The mutation responsible was identified in the PKD1 gene in 2004. At that point the disease was estimated to affect about 38 percent of Persian cats worldwide, and the mutation was found in Persians and in several breeds known to be outcrossed with them. It is autosomal dominant, so a cat with one copy is affected, and no cat with two copies has been found.

Because the Selkirk Rex was built partly on Persians, a DNA test of the breeding cats is a reasonable request. A negative genetic test does not rule out every form of kidney cyst, so an ultrasound is the check to arrange if a cat has an unknown background or abnormal kidney blood results. There is no treatment that removes the cysts. A cat with PKD should have its kidney values and blood pressure monitored, and once kidney function starts to decline, the vet will usually advise a renal diet and steps to keep water intake up.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

HCM thickens the wall of the heart's main pumping chamber. The Cornell Feline Health Center calls it the most common heart disease of cats. Its list of predisposed breeds includes the British Shorthair and the Persian, though not the Selkirk Rex. Many affected cats do not appear ill. Others breathe rapidly or with their mouth open, or become lethargic.

A serious complication is a blood clot that blocks blood flow to the hind legs, causing sudden pain or, in extreme cases, paralysis. That is an emergency. HCM is diagnosed by echocardiography, and Cornell advises reading the results of genetic screening tests with care. Taurine deficiency causes a different heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, and extra taurine is not a treatment for HCM. Any complete commercial cat food already contains enough.

Temperament and daily life

The CFA describes Selkirks as not particularly vocal, very responsive to their owners and more interactive than active. They are most comfortable with all four feet on the floor, though they will charge through the house after a toy. Short sessions with a wand toy or a ball rolled along the floor suit them better than tall climbing frames. Food puzzles add some activity for an indoor cat, provided the food in them comes out of the daily ration.

They want attention and can become unsettled if left alone for long days as a matter of routine. A second cat can help in a busy household, but introductions take time, and some cats never accept a companion.

Feeding and weight

A complete and balanced cat food, wet, dry or a mix, meets the breed's needs. No special protein level or coat supplement has been shown to change the curl. Portion size matters more. Heavy-boned cats that prefer the floor to high shelves can gain weight easily, especially after neutering, and the dense coat hides a thickening waist.

Judge condition by touch rather than by eye. With a flat hand, the ribs should be easy to feel under a thin layer of fat, and there should be a visible tuck behind them when the cat is viewed from above. If the ribs are hard to find, cut the portion slightly and weigh the cat every month. Wet food or a water fountain raises water intake, which is sensible for any cat and particularly for one whose kidney status is unknown.

Hip dysplasia and joint stiffness

Hip dysplasia is a malformation of the hip joint that leads to arthritis. It is best studied in the Maine Coon. Twenty years of screening data from more than 5,000 Maine Coons found that hip dysplasia was partly heritable, that it grew more severe with age and body mass, and that its genetic link with body mass suggests selecting for large size also selects for worse hips. Evidence for the Selkirk Rex is limited, but the breed is sturdy, and the lesson about weight applies.

Cats hide joint pain well. The usual signs are small changes: hesitating before a jump, using a chair as a step, stiffness after sleep, grooming the lower back less, or missing the litter tray. These are often put down to age. A vet can examine the joints, take radiographs and discuss pain relief, which is the part of treatment that makes the biggest difference to how a cat moves.

• Keep the cat lean. Extra weight loads sore joints every time the cat lands.
• Add steps or ramps to favorite sofas and window ledges.
• Use a litter tray with a low entry.
• Offer a padded bed in a warm, draft-free spot.

Joint diets and supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids, glucosamine or green-lipped mussel are widely sold for cats. Evidence in cats is limited, so they are best used alongside veterinary pain management rather than in place of it.

Sources

1. Selkirk Rex. The Cat Fanciers' Association.
2. Selkirk Rex: morphological and genetic characterization of a new cat breed. Journal of Heredity, 2012.
3. Epidemiological, clinical and diagnostic aspects of feline otitis: a retrospective study of 103 cases from the dermatology service of a veterinary teaching hospital (2020-2022). Journal of Small Animal Practice, 2026.
4. Feline polycystic kidney disease mutation identified in PKD1. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2004.
5. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Cornell Feline Health Center.
6. Demography, heritability and genetic correlation of feline hip dysplasia and response to selection in a health screening programme. Scientific Reports, 2019.