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

Its origins can be traced to one peculiar rescue cat named 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