The Ragtime Curly Cats Curly Kittens Available for sale Adoption Info About the Selkirk Rex Links Past Kittens Contact       Welcome from Tracy and Bonnie Smith. We are excited that you decided to visit Ragtime Curls Cattery. We are a Selkirk Rex Cat Breeder located in Springfield, Oregon. Tracy is an Architectural Designer, specializing in dental facilities and custom residential homes. Bonnie is a retired RN, which gives her plenty of time to spoil the kittens and cats. We are a small cattery where kittens are raised underfoot in our home with two teenage daughters, Ragdoll cats, and a Pug dog. We are new to breeding the Selkirk Rex, but not new to breeding cats. We have been breeding Ragdolls for years. General Selkirk Rex Cat Information History: The basis for the Selkirk Rex breed is a mutation that causes a curly coat. The foundation cat for this breed was a shorthaired, curly coated dilute calico female found in a litter of normal domestic cats born in 1987. The straight coated mother and her family of five straight-coated kittens and one curly kitten found themselves in an animal shelter. The unusual kitten was given to Jeri Newman, an experienced Persian breeder. She named her new curly kitten Miss DePesto. When MissDePesto reached 14 months of age she was bred to Jeri’s Champion black Persian, “Photo Finish of DeeKay”. On July 4, 1988 Miss DePesto and Photo Finish of Deekay became the proud parents of a litter of six kittens three of which had curly coats. This proved that the gene was dominant, unlike the recessive gene of the Devon or Cornish Rex. Because there was only one kitten with the curly coat in Miss DePesto’s litter, it is presumed that this was a spontaneous mutation that Miss DePesto then passed on to her offspring. Patterns and Colors: Selkirk’s come in a rainbow of colors and patterns, including pointed colors, as the original cat carried the pointed gene. Eye color can be copper, gold, yellow or green; blue in van pattern, colorpoint or odd-eyed white cats. The eye color should compliment coat color. Our favorite colors are the silvers like our precious Stormy and the creams. We plan to concentrate our efforts on breeding silvers. Regardless of color or pattern it’s the Selkirk’s endearing personality that will win your heart. Appearance: Ideal Selkirks are medium to large with heavy boning. Females are smaller than males. The head type is similar to the British Shorthair, but with more roundness to the head. The eyes are large, rounded, set well apart. The body is muscular and slightly rectangular, with a slight rise to the hindquarters. Selkirks come in both a shorthair (a similar length as the exotic) and longhaired varieties. Whiskers are curly. The Selkirk’s coat texture is soft, plushy, full and obviously curly. The coat is dense and full with no bald or thinly covered areas of the body. The coat stands out from the body and should not appear flat or close-lying. The curls are random, unstructured, arranged in loose, individual curls. Coat continues to develop until about 2 years of age. Kittens are curly at birth, lose their coat, and begin to develop a curly coat again at about 8-10 months of age. Temperament: The Selkirk Rex temperament reflects the breeds used in its development. They have a lot of the laid-back, reserved qualities of the British Shorthair, the cuddly nature of the Persian, and the playfulness of the Exotic Shorthair. Selkirks are patient, loving, and tolerant. The Selkirk Rex has a sweet and endearing personality. Outcrosses: The Selkirk Rex is a relatively new breed only a few generations away from their domestic roots. At this time breeders are attempting to bring in as many lines of acceptable outcrosses as possible to give ourselves a large gene pool from which to continue to develop this breed. Per the cat associations the allowable outcrosses are: Persian (until 2010), Exotic Shorthair (until 2010), British Shorthair (until 2015). ragtimecats@gmail.com Ragtime Curls Cattery and everything contained within these pages, all text, images and photos are the sole property of and owned by Bonnie Smith Copyright © 2007. all rights reserved, please obtain permission before using anything here. Web Site Design and Graphics Copyright © 1998. Cheyennes Creations All Rights Reserved, unless otherwise stated. All other trademarks/copyrights belong to there respective owners. Note: Butterflies used on select images throughout this site are not owned by nor are they being claimed by either Ragtime Curls or Cheyennes Creations as copyright property. They are being used with the knowledge that they are free public domain. Some Butterflies have been scanned by Cheyennes Creations and are from clipart cds.