Poodle Cat: Is it a Cat? Is it a Sheep? Considered a Breed for the First time in Nine Generations

The Poodle cat, or as its been nicknamed, the "cat in sheep's clothing", has finally been declared as its own unique breed by scientists, nine generations after it first appeared, according to reports.

The Mail Online noted Saturday that this interesting breed of Poodle and cat known as the Selkirk Rex, have recently been acknowledged as an actual breed. Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna say that the Selkirk Rex is genetically distinct from other breeds and is the fourth type of curly-haired cat.

The study, titled "Selkirk Rex: morphological and genetic characterization of a new cat breed," was the work of the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics' Department for Biomedical Sciences at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Vienna, Austria.

All poodle cat's can be traced back to the same mother, Miss DePesto. When she was born in 1987, she had an unusual curly coat compared to her mother, a feral cat in Montana, reports Mother Nature Network. Her curls were the result of a spontaneous gene mutation that only affected her.

The poodle cat looks like a cross between a Persian cat, a sheep, and a Poodle. Their fur is what makes them extremely unique and sets them apart from other animals. However, because of their ultra plush fur, they shed a lot of fur which makes them unsuitable for anyone with allergies. Apart from that, the breed is becoming more and more popular with cat-lovers.