By admin
Nov 21st 2010 @ 3:26PM Filed under: Cat Breed Issues

Like many cat breeds still under development, the Selkirk Rex has been crossed with several older breeds. American Shorthairs, Persians, Himalayans, British Shorthairs and some of the Exotic breeds have all contributed genes in developing the Selkirk Rex that is seen today. Because of these various genetic contributions most Selkirk Rex are relatively healthy today.

However, an individual Selkirk Rex may have different health problems depending on the genetic background of the cats used in his pedigree. Breeders are trying to produce proper head structure in the breed and to prevent kinking of the tear ducts, which can lead to problems. Curly fur around the ears may irritate the ears and cause the over-production of ear wax. Some Selkirk Rex may have very greasy coats, requiring extra bathing, if they carry double copies of the Selkirk Rex gene. Some of the outcrosses used in producing the Selkirk Rex, such as Persians, may produce cats with polycystic kidney disease. When outcrossed with British Shorthairs the resulting cats may have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Good breeders will try to screen their breeding stock to reduce the chances of introducing these problems into their breeding lines but it’s difficult to screen for everything.