Meet the Internet’s newest obsession: cats with curly fur!
The curly cat craze started when Twitter user @Meanplastic shared a photo of a kitten with some seriously impressive curls. The Tweet quickly went viral.
I’ve never seen a cat with curls until now pic.twitter.com/r7vE4XHTBM
— mean plastic (@meanpIastic) August 4, 2017
Many Twitter users wondered how a cat could possibly get fur that’s that curly. It turns out, there are four breeds of cats that have curly fur: Selkirk Rex, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, and LaPerm.
The now Twitter-famous kitten is probably a Selkirk Rex.
She’s also most likely a descendant of the original Selkirk Rex, a cat named Miss DePesto. This cat and her four siblings were born in a Montana shelter in 1987. Miss DePesto’s siblings all had classic straight fur, but Miss DePesto had wiry curls that looked like a sheep’s coat.
A woman named Jeri Livingston adopted the unusual-looking cat. Once she saw how sweet Miss DePesto was, she decided to breed her with a Persian cat. Three of their kittens had Miss DePesto’s wiry curls. This proved Miss DePesto’s curls were a dominant gene. Breeders were able to cross-breed with Miss DePesto and her descendants without having to worry about losing the curl that made Miss DePesto famous.
Miss DePesto has many descendants who share her trademark fur. These cats are nicknamed “poodle cats” because of their curls and their easygoing, playful personalities.
Twitter users are loving these poodle cats. One user shared some of her favorite photos of Selkirk rexes. These photos included an adorable image of a kitten…
…and a cute photo of an older cat who’s rocking its curly hair.
Across Twitter, people shared their excitement about learning about these cats for the first time.
After seeing all of the excitement on Twitter, users on other social media platforms also shared their best curly cat photos.
On Instagram, Selkirk Rex owners posted photos of their cute kitties. One user shared an adorable photo of their orange cat…
…and another user shared a photo of their cat reacting to the news that curly-haired cats are the latest internet trend.
Selkirk Rex cats have captured the internet’s attention, and for a good reason: these curly-haired cats are absolutely adorable! We can’t wait to see even more photos of these unique cats.
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