Boucles Selkirk Rex
Hello and welcome to my site which is dedicated to my journey into the wonderful world of the Selkirk Rex Cat. I am an enthusiastic exhibitor and breeder of the Selkirk Rex and I currently only breed the longhaired Selkirks although they come in both long and short haired and straighthaired varieties!
Below is a brief history of my journey so far:
I first met the Selkirk Rex breed when I rehomed Catbalu Quando from a friend who was having to cut back on her showing due to her ill health. Quando soon convinced the Selkirks are a wonderful lovable breed and I enjoyed showing him very much. 6 months later the wonderful TICA SGCA & GCCF Gr PR Amazolou Mister Fantastic joined my family and from then on I was hooked!
Mister F taught me an incredible amount about cat showing and he has been immensely successful on the show bench particularly in 2008 when he was the Selkirk Rex Cat Club Cat of the Year. He does not show so much these days as he does really prefer to hog the sofa at home with Quando and mug any visitors for cuddles. 2011 update - having now attained his Grand Premier title and been a wonderful ambassador for the breed, Mister F has permanently retired to bughunting in the garden and lounging on the sofa - still mugging anyone who walks through the door for cuddles of course!
In the meantime my love of showing continued and Gr Pr Amazolou The New Schmoo joined me in October 2008. A lovable big teddy Schmoo is my much longed for shorthair showcat who again has been very successful. He is an Imperial Grand Premier with GCCF and has been Best British Neuter at his last four shows and BIS British at his last show. In 2011 I started showing Schmoo with TICA and he whizzed through to his Supreme title in just four shows, really taking to this different style of judging and ending the season as Regional Winner to boot!
Summer 2009 was an eventful one as the breed attained Championship status with the GCCF, something which as a breed club committee member at the time, I was actively involved in. It was a fantastic feeling that the breed had 'made it'. I was also joined by 2 new show babies; Amazolou Skaramoosh and Amazolou Mr Brightside - I am ever grateful to Zoe Amarilli for the four boys I have had from her as they are my totally adored pets and with Quando are a truly gorgeous 'boy band' who live together and make mischief together!
I continue to show my beautiful neuter boys and my studboy and all are doing well on the show scene with Amazolou Skaramoosh recently making his adult debut and winning his first PC and having a red card day! At his second adult show he gained his second PC and had another red card day! and in 3 straight shows Moosh attained his GCCF Premier title. Well done Mooshie.
My stud boy Imp Gr Ch & TICA RW SGC Amazolou Mr Brightside has been my most successful show boy to date and he has an amazing temperament for an entire boy. He was just 17 months old when he gained his GCCF Grand title in 6 straight shows and in 2010 was Best British Adult at the Somerset Show and Best Selkirk Adult at both the Rex Cat Club and Selkirk Rex Cat Club shows. I hope his success continues in the future as he keeps maturing. **Update 2019 - Softee retired from the show bench having become one of the most titled Selkirk Rex in the world and the first SRL to achieve the Lifetime Achievement award in TICA. He retires as GCCF Imp Gr Ch, LOOF Int Gr Ch TICA LA BW SGC and GCCF Gr Pr & TICA BW RW SGC Amazolou Mr Brightside.
2012 saw our first curly kittens with Boucles Monsieur Tibault staying as a future stud boy and a promising all curly litter from the mating between our import girl Precioushearts Brilliance and Softee has left us excited for the future.
2013 was an up and down year for us with both Mimi and Sparkle having their first litters and both having less than easy first births. However some stunning kittens came out of their matings all with the divine loving temperaments of their mothers. The end of 2013 saw us neutering Mabel and Brilliance our two gorgeous silver girls as they were unhappy in a multicat breeding household. This was a huge blow to our breeding programme but absolutely the right thing to do and December brought a wonderful new home for them where they are settling in well and totally loved and adored - I will always be in debt to their new mum and dad!
As one door closes another door opens and a wonderful new girl Antiguason Dizi Delilah a siler classic tabby British Longhair has joined the fold and settled in immediately. She and my adorable girl I kept from Sparkle and Softee's litter, Boucles Penelope La Chatte are the future for my silver Selkirk breeding programme.
2014 has seen great highs but also lows. Ch & RW TGC Susens Sol Dream of Boucles joined us from America and had a fabulous litter with Softee but sadly we lost her to peritonitis after emergency surgery. Her daughter Boucles Madame Pourquoi founded a new legacy of 'tabby terrors'.
More imports have followed since and we are proud to work with some of the best pedigrees in the world. Most recently I have started a working partnership with Gale Perry (Wavemakers) and Missie Folks (Dinkidi) Selkirk Rex and am excited about what we will achieve together.
I am grateful to all those who have helped in my journey and excited about the future here at Boucles. If you wish to chat about the breed or learn more please do not hesitate to contact me on bouclesselkirkrex@gmail.com as I am always willing to talk about this wonderful breed. I have served on breed club committees and am the current TICA Breed Section Chair.
Above me with Schmooey the day he gained his Premier title at CRAOV - the start of a distinguished show career.