Curly Cats Are The Internet’s Latest Obsession, And They All Descended From One Shelter Kitten

A picture of an orange kitten with curly hair took across the Internet last week. I’ve never seen a cat with curls before, said the caption that accompanied the photo. Actually, neither have the majority of us, but the cat’s curly hair is genuine, and here is why.

The Selkirk rex cat breed, which sprang to fame last week on Instagram, has its roots in a unique rescue cat by the name of Miss DePesto.

Miss DePesto was born in a Montana shelter in 1987. She had four siblings, each of which have straight coats, but the kitty stood out due to her unusually curly hair. She was adopted by Jeri Newman, a local Persian breeder.

She bred the cat with with a black Persian and they produced a litter of six babies, all of them with curly hair. Newman realized the curly hair was a dominant genetic trait – and this is how the Selkirk rex was born.

Last week, the pictures of this orange kitten with curly hair went viral

People started sharing photos of cats with curly hair, usually known as Selkirk Rex

Its roots may be found in a strange rescue cat by the name of Miss DePesto.

The curly kitty, who was born in a Montana shelter in 1987, had 4 siblings with straight hair

She was adopted by a breeder who realized her curly fur was a dominant genetic feature

The woman bred it with a black Persian and they produced a litter of six babies, all of them with curly hair

This is how Selkirk Rex was born – the breed named after a woman’s stepfather

She added ‘Rex’ to indicate that the adorable coat was curly, a feature that so many cat lovers fell in love with.