The Cat With
The Velvet Waves
July 21, 1950, in a barn in Cornwall, England, a kitten was born which
would be the foundation of a new breed of cat. The kitten's mother and
littermates were normal looking domestic shorthair cats. But this one
kitten, later named Kallibunker, had a very short, soft, fine wavy coat.
As he grew up it was apparent that his body appearance was also
different from the other cats, longer and leaner with large ears. The
owner of that barn in England was Mrs. Ennismore and she had once owned
a breed of rabbit called the Castor Rex rabbit. She thought that this
strange kitten's coat was a lot like her rabbit's coat and contacted a
well known geneticist for help. Together they did experimental breedings
and discovered that the coat was the rexoid gene operating as a simple
recessive. They named their new cat breed Rex.
years later the group of Rex breeders received word that there was
another curly coated cat living in neighboring Devonshire. Because the
very small gene pool of Rex cats was already causing breeding problems
this was a very exciting find. However, when the two were bred together
only straight coated kittens were produced. Research proved that there
were two separate genetic systems in operation and thus two distinct
breeds. The two breeds were named Cornish Rex and Devon Rex. They differ
in appearance in that the Cornish has remained a tall, lean cat with big
ears on top of its head and a tuck up in front of its hips like a
Greyhound dog; and the Devon is shorter in both head and body with large
ears set more on the side of the head and no tuck up. The Cornish coat
feels like velvet and the Devon coat feels like suede and is a bit more
fragile. The personalities are very much alike.
A Rex is a very active, very intelligent, very affectionate cat. They
think they are a member of your family and they want to help run things.
Rex are not a good cat for people who want their pet to sit on a chair
and stay out of the way. Rex race through the house and bounce off the
walls. They will open a cabinet door and eat all of your cookies with no
shame at all. And then they will jump on your lap and demand that you
love them. They enjoy riding on shoulders. And, with their extreme
intelligence, they can learn anything you want to teach them. They may
not always choose to do it but they can learn it.
The Cornish Rex coat is what usually attracts people to them first.
It consists only of soft down hairs (the "undercoat"). There
are no hard long outer guard hairs like on a normal coat. The soft, warm
feel is luxurious. The coat requires very little routine grooming. Just
petting removes the few loose hairs. Rex do shed like any other animal.
But the short, fine hair is hard to see. And you never get long hairs
all over your clothes and furniture like with other breeds.
Many people who are allergic to cats can tolerate a Rex. This does
not mean, however, that the breed is "hypoallergenic". Some
people also have a reaction to the Rex coat. The very short hair does
not hold dust, dander and saliva as well as a normal coat does. Whether
or not a reaction occurs probably depends a great deal on the type and
severity of the allergy. Often a mild reaction can be prevented by
having another person bathe the cat regularly. We recommend that a
person with allergy problems spend some time visiting with and handling
Cornish Rex before deciding to try to live with one.
Cornish Rex are a healthy breed of cat. They have no common genetic
defects as occur in some other breeds. They look fragile but they are
very strong and wiry. With good care, a healthy diet and routine
vaccinations they can live to their late teens or early 20s.
Color is considered to be of secondary importance in this breed. They
are accepted for registration in any color which exists in any other
breed. Most breeders have a few favorite colors and work mostly with
those. But if you look long enough you can find a Rex in any color that
you want. The name "SiRex" used to refer to pointed Rex. This
name is no longer used since it implied that the cat was a hybrid
between Siamese and Rex, which it was not. The genes which produce
pointed cats have been in the Rex gene pool as recessives since the
early days of the breed.
Cornish Rex can eat the same high quality cat food as any other cat.
Show cats may need a little extra fat in their diet to keep the coat in
top shape. The major problem with feeding in this breed is that Cornish
Rex are greedy and they dearly love to eat. They will attack food as if
they were starving when they ate only minutes before. And they never
know when to stop. For that reason, the Rex diet must be controlled by
the owner or the cat will soon become very fat. And a fat Rex is not a
Because of the lack of guard hairs a Rex coat gets wet very quickly.
For that reason, as well as many others, this type of cat should never
be an outdoor cat. They are very agile and can use their paws like
hands. I have had Rex who could pick up marbles with their paws. Think
long and hard before declawing a Rex. It changes the foot structure and
they can no longer use their "hands" as well. A Cornish Rex
will learn scratching post behavior very quickly and declawing does not
need to be an option.
The Cornish Rex is an excellent pet for those who enjoy an active cat
who demands a great deal of love and attention and returns it in kind.
They get along fine with well behaved children, dogs and other cats.
Most people find that once they have lived with a Cornish Rex they are
never happy without one.