These Curly Cats Who All Descended From One Shelter Kitty Are Taking Internet By Storm
Last week, the Internet got conquered by a photo of an orange kitten with curly hair. The picture was shared with the following caption: “I’ve never seen a cat with curls until now.” Well, neither have most of us, but this is no trick – the curly hair on the kitty is the real deal, and here’s why.
The breed of the cat who became Insta-famous last week is most likely the Selkirk rex – and its origins can be traced to one peculiar rescue cat named 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.
(h/t)
Last week, the pictures of this orange kitten with curly hair went viral
Image credits: meanpIastic
Image credits: meanpIastic
Image credits: meanpIastic
People started sharing photos of cats with curly hair, usually known as Selkirk Rex
Its origins can be traced to one peculiar rescue cat named Miss DePesto
Image credits: shumsende
The curly kitty, who was born in a Montana shelter in 1987, had 4 siblings with straight hair
Image credits: shumsende
She was adopted by a breeder who realized her curly fur was a dominant genetic feature
Image credits: shumsende
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
Image credits: Ingrid Matschke
She added ‘Rex’ to indicate that the adorable coat was curly, a feature that so many cat lovers fell in love with
Image credits: ignataliya
Positive reactions from the Internet:
Negative reactions from the Internet:
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Very cute but I completely agree with the "negative" reactions from the Internet. Breeding a rescue cat??? Oh the irony.
Because it was in 1987... Things have changed.
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They are cute. But I can't get behind the breeding. Adopt, don't shop.
My family recently purchased a german shepherd puppy so that when she is older, I will have a "scary" looking dog to take with me when I run at night. They do have a lot of health issues as a breed, and as such, my parents wanted to be able to trace the family lineage to see their hip health, temperaments, etc. We wanted a young dog so that we can socialize it properly, as GSDs MUST be socialized heavily, as they are naturally slightly aggressive and so we have to train it out of them.
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I don't know why people are acting like curly haired cats are a new thing.
It is a new thing for a lot of people. Chill. Eat a Snickers.
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I have a Selkirk too but with straight hairs ... she is sooo lovely, acts like a dog sometimes. jade-598e2...913b81.jpg 
I agree w/ the negative reactions to an extent I don't know what the laws of shelters were in the late 80s but I really don't think this
Yeah how did that breeder not know about the popular hashtag AdoptDon'tShop! in 1987. ::eyeroll::
Encouraging adoption has been around since the 1970's and "adopt don't shop" has been around since way before hashtags existed.
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It was 1987 policies about early spaying were different then... that said I've rescued 28 kittens from a feral colony between this summer and last...kept 2... rest were adopted to forever homes.
So if it woyld be just a simple cat u wouldn't take it. But u saw an expensive breed...and act like a holy boi. It's even an old breed not nee
I agree that adoption is a wonderful practice but I think breeding has it's place also. It generates interest and it keeps traditional breeds around. The world without Siamese, Persian, Manx, Calico, etc? Forfend. So, yay! adoption, but also yay! diversity!
My cat has a curly belly. I wonder if it's somehow related to these cats.
So cute! But the people are right, she shouldn't have breed more of the Selkirk rex cats and put them up for adoption when we already have so many other animals to be adopted.
I love cats but I can't condone the idea behind this story...rescue, breeder, order, abuse etc. and no less started from a shelter....what the heck is this about??? I realize that when this started more than likely they didn't have the laws in place that they do now. It pains me to think of putting more innocent critters out there when there are to many irresponsible pet owners in the first place. Its to bad one is always looking at the 'money' that can be made...does anyone ever look beyond the monetary value of anything?
with the disabilities too? TIMMYYYYYYYYY is so cute!
Load More Replies... Cont: is something that could happen now. Shelter animals are pretty much immediately spayed and neutered.
There is no doubt that this is a very cute kitty but I am not in favour of breeding and glamorising animals for money. There are many many needy cats waiting for loving homes. For a shelter to be doing this is just irresponsible.
This cat was adopted and bred 30 years ago... things have changed greatly in this amount of time.
Breeders suck and people who buy from them suck even more. Go to a shelter a******s, adopt a cat who's going to die because it doesn't have
It was the 80's mind you, so it may not have been as much of a faux pas back then.
My god, the people whining about breeding the cat are losers. Some people are willing and want a specific breed, get over it and mind your own business. I paid $1200 for a cat I wanted, and also have a free rescue cat, get over it.
I've always been interested in this unusual cat breed despite being a dog person. Unfortunately, I've never been lucky enough to meet one.
they are insane, cheers to that!how to grow a disease into cats?: follow them! Shame on them i think that they know it but MONEYYYY you know
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Will people chill?! Cats are firstly a feral animal! It can live in the streets very well. The only species that are OVERPOPULATED is us humans!!!
You can justify anything with that kind of logic. Oh, nuclear war is just what life would be like with radiation everywhere, so it's natural. Oh, people are animals first and foremost so vaccinations aren't necessary. Oh, animals kill other animals so legalize murder. You need to work on your critical thinking, buddy.
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I want one because I'm f*****g r******d. Even though I can adopt a homeless pet from the shelter I'm going to choose to put money in the pockets of a selfish breeder
Oh for crying out loud, get your s**t straight people, breeders are THE ONLY ONES ALLOWED to get shelter pets and any pets non-sprayed. They have special licenses, especially for that reason, to breed pets. And you can't breed a sprayed pet, I mean, common sense is out the window, wtf?
You don't get it. She took a rescue cat, which lived out on the street at some point and decided to create a new breed. Now there are thousands of cats more in this world and thousands more will come just because of one selfish greedy person. As if there aren't enough strays out there already.
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I know they look cute to some, but they look like their hair is just dirty. The first cat looked different. Maybe it is just the long hair?
That was actually the reaction of the first judges to see them, "they look dirty", because they were used to seeing fluffy Persians where curl = grease.
Load More Replies...
Very cute but I completely agree with the "negative" reactions from the Internet. Breeding a rescue cat??? Oh the irony.
Because it was in 1987... Things have changed.
Load More Replies... They are cute. But I can't get behind the breeding. Adopt, don't shop.
My family recently purchased a german shepherd puppy so that when she is older, I will have a "scary" looking dog to take with me when I run at night. They do have a lot of health issues as a breed, and as such, my parents wanted to be able to trace the family lineage to see their hip health, temperaments, etc. We wanted a young dog so that we can socialize it properly, as GSDs MUST be socialized heavily, as they are naturally slightly aggressive and so we have to train it out of them.
Load More Replies... I don't know why people are acting like curly haired cats are a new thing.
It is a new thing for a lot of people. Chill. Eat a Snickers.
Load More Replies... I have a Selkirk too but with straight hairs ... she is sooo lovely, acts like a dog sometimes. jade-598e2...913b81.jpg
I agree w/ the negative reactions to an extent I don't know what the laws of shelters were in the late 80s but I really don't think this
Yeah how did that breeder not know about the popular hashtag AdoptDon'tShop! in 1987. ::eyeroll::
Encouraging adoption has been around since the 1970's and "adopt don't shop" has been around since way before hashtags existed.
Load More Replies... It was 1987 policies about early spaying were different then... that said I've rescued 28 kittens from a feral colony between this summer and last...kept 2... rest were adopted to forever homes.
So if it woyld be just a simple cat u wouldn't take it. But u saw an expensive breed...and act like a holy boi. It's even an old breed not nee
I agree that adoption is a wonderful practice but I think breeding has it's place also. It generates interest and it keeps traditional breeds around. The world without Siamese, Persian, Manx, Calico, etc? Forfend. So, yay! adoption, but also yay! diversity!
My cat has a curly belly. I wonder if it's somehow related to these cats.
So cute! But the people are right, she shouldn't have breed more of the Selkirk rex cats and put them up for adoption when we already have so many other animals to be adopted.
I love cats but I can't condone the idea behind this story...rescue, breeder, order, abuse etc. and no less started from a shelter....what the heck is this about??? I realize that when this started more than likely they didn't have the laws in place that they do now. It pains me to think of putting more innocent critters out there when there are to many irresponsible pet owners in the first place. Its to bad one is always looking at the 'money' that can be made...does anyone ever look beyond the monetary value of anything?
with the disabilities too? TIMMYYYYYYYYY is so cute!
Load More Replies... Cont: is something that could happen now. Shelter animals are pretty much immediately spayed and neutered.
There is no doubt that this is a very cute kitty but I am not in favour of breeding and glamorising animals for money. There are many many needy cats waiting for loving homes. For a shelter to be doing this is just irresponsible.
This cat was adopted and bred 30 years ago... things have changed greatly in this amount of time.
Breeders suck and people who buy from them suck even more. Go to a shelter a******s, adopt a cat who's going to die because it doesn't have
It was the 80's mind you, so it may not have been as much of a faux pas back then.
My god, the people whining about breeding the cat are losers. Some people are willing and want a specific breed, get over it and mind your own business. I paid $1200 for a cat I wanted, and also have a free rescue cat, get over it.
I've always been interested in this unusual cat breed despite being a dog person. Unfortunately, I've never been lucky enough to meet one.
they are insane, cheers to that!how to grow a disease into cats?: follow them! Shame on them i think that they know it but MONEYYYY you know
Load More Replies... Will people chill?! Cats are firstly a feral animal! It can live in the streets very well. The only species that are OVERPOPULATED is us humans!!!
You can justify anything with that kind of logic. Oh, nuclear war is just what life would be like with radiation everywhere, so it's natural. Oh, people are animals first and foremost so vaccinations aren't necessary. Oh, animals kill other animals so legalize murder. You need to work on your critical thinking, buddy.
Load More Replies... I want one because I'm f*****g r******d. Even though I can adopt a homeless pet from the shelter I'm going to choose to put money in the pockets of a selfish breeder
Oh for crying out loud, get your s**t straight people, breeders are THE ONLY ONES ALLOWED to get shelter pets and any pets non-sprayed. They have special licenses, especially for that reason, to breed pets. And you can't breed a sprayed pet, I mean, common sense is out the window, wtf?
You don't get it. She took a rescue cat, which lived out on the street at some point and decided to create a new breed. Now there are thousands of cats more in this world and thousands more will come just because of one selfish greedy person. As if there aren't enough strays out there already.
Load More Replies... I know they look cute to some, but they look like their hair is just dirty. The first cat looked different. Maybe it is just the long hair?
That was actually the reaction of the first judges to see them, "they look dirty", because they were used to seeing fluffy Persians where curl = grease.
Load More Replies... 
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