Rex Devon Cats - Genetics

Genes account for things like eye colouring, colour of the coat, physical characteristics and sex determination.

Rex is the name given to gene mutations which are responsible for the guard hairs on the coat to be missing. The Rex cat has only the curly undercoat hair present. This breed of cat first made an appearance in Cornwall, England. The name of this cat was Cornish Rex. Then, just a few years later, in Devon, a kitten was born, from a litter of foreign-type kittens. This gene mutation gave life to the Devon Rex.

Where the Cornish Rex is warm and soft to the touch and has a slightly woolly feeling coat, the Devon Rex has a closer coat which feels more crisp and short. In the beginning, the coat of the Devon Rex was sparse and not very nice looking, but gradually, overtime, cat breeders have managed to eliminate this feature and now it has an adequate covering making it that little bit more attractive!

Cat breeders are now able to transfer the Rex coat to any colour or type of cat, and so although there are two standard types of Rex, any other breed can be produced with the typical wavy coat with the guard hair missing. The standard for Russian Blue cats set out by the American Cat Fanciers Association, states that it is a dainty cat distinct from all other breeds with its soft, lustrious, bright blue double coat, and that handling it feels like running a silk scarf through your hands.

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