THE ‘DEVON REX’

We thought it would be useful and fun to list details of some of the amazing breeds of cats, while we all love our moggies and Domestic short and long hairs, its nice to see some of these beautiful breeds and as owners of two pedigree Devon Rex’s outselves, we thought we would start with them so here goes. The devon rex is visually striking, known for their impish faces, very tall ears, and slender almost skinny frames. These big eyed cats are just born to play, climb, and cause havoc, they are perfect for owners with lots of time on their hands for playtime and cuddles. They are very sociable cats that adore people and love nothing better than making new friends, so if you are looking for a quiet, and reserved cat the the Devon Rex is certainly not what you are looking for. This history of the breed can be traced back to the 1950s, a wavy-coated kitten was born in Buckfastleigh in Devon, the owner was a lady called Beryl Cox who also owned the tortie mother. The father of this eye-catching breed was a local feral cat with a curly coat. Beryl named the kitten Kirlee because she knew of the efforts to preserve the Cornish rex cat's curly-coated gene, she reached out to the conservation program offering Kirlee to help preserve the breed and it was during this process that it was discovered that Kirlee actually had a different wavy-haired gene than the Cornish rex and that was the birth of the first Devon rex. After the discovery of this new breed, work to preserve the Devon rex, and the breed, sadly Kirlee passed away in the 1970s but every Devon Rex that has been born since can trace it’s genes back to Kirlee and Buckfastleigh in Devon.. . The Devon rex is a relatively uncommon breed. A potential owner can expect to spend £600–£1000 for a proper pedigree kitten from a quality good breeder. The Devon rex has an elven, almost alien-like appearance and are often compared to the ‘Gremlins’ from the film. They are a small to medium-size cat, weighing around 2.5–4kg and standing around 10–12 inches in height. The most obvious traits of this breed are their large ears, big eyes, high cheekbones, long neck, and slender body as well of course as their short wavy coat. Their coats are short all over and usually especially short near the head, ears, neck, paws, chest, and abdomen and come in just about every color, including black, blue, chocolate, cinnamon, lilac, and white. Devon rex cats can also have tortoiseshell, calico, tabby, pointed, and shaded patterns, amongst others. Their is much talk about their coats being hypoallergenic and while there's no such thing as a truly hypoallergenic cat, the rex's short and fuzzy fur can certainly in cases be less of a problem for people with allergies, we would recommend spending some time with one to see how your allergies react before bringing one home. That said, we are certainyl not saying they don't shed, they do, but their wavy coat does seem to help to lessen the amount of loose hairs left behind on furniture and carpets. Devon rex’s are usually highly intelligent, friendly, and very outgoing. They are super sociable and are good with children and get on well withother pets and people, they love nothing more than to be playing or having a cuddle with their parents and you will certainly run out of steam playing before they do and need lots of things to keep them occupied or they will make up their own games which usually does not end well. The highly active Devon rex is one of the clown of the cat world and adore entertaining people, often to the point of being a little demanding, you can never say a Rex is backwards in coming forward. Will be unlikely to find a shy retiring one. and this playfullness usually goes with them into old age, retaining a kittenish energy well into their senior years. Given their playfull, demanding nature, they are not usually overly vocal, while not totally silent, they will will give a little meow here and there to communicate with you, but their meows are often on the softewr side. As we have said, the Devon rex needs a playful home that offers lots and lots of attention and human interaction, they also get on well with other cats and we dare you to get two rex’s (we have 2), you will never get any peace and quiet but Rex’s do share what we call the ‘Rex Bond’, they say if you put 1000 cats in a room and drop in 2 Devon Rex’s, they will always find each other and yes ours get on well with our other 3 rescue moggies but they do have a special bond. They sleep together, play together and despite Merlin being the alpha male, he’s little Devon sister is the only one who gets away with winding him up and having a slapping fight with him and generally being the annoying little sister. They don't do well if left alone often, their playful nature means they need interaction and hate being left alone for long periods so owners who are frequently away from the house would leave their Devon rex feeling lonely or like us, you could just have two of them so they can keep each other company. Because of their short coats, Devon rex cats can be sensitive to both the sun and of course the cold, they do love to snuggle up in warm places in the winter, ours are often found fast asleep on a boiuling hot radiator or cuddled up together. In the summer you will need to make sure they dont suffer sunburn form sitting in the hot sun, because of their love of heat, you can often find them outside fast asleep in the midday sun. They are a fairly easy breedto care for but do require a little more care than some other cat breeds, Their short coats can get greasy easily, so your Devon rex may need regular bathing with a mild pet shampoo. You'll also need to do periodic ear cleaning as their larger ears can attract more dirt. Being a highly intelligent cat breed, they tend to be easy to litter train, will play fetch, and are know for their capability to learn tricks. But a warning, this intelligence also means they are also good at finding their way in to the food and treat cupboards and getting in to all kinds of mischeif. Devons thrive on high-quality cat food but no special diet is usually required, and they certainly are not prone to obesity, your breeder should be able to give you some good tips on type and amounts of food. Devon rex’s have an average lifespan of 9–15 years and are typically healthy pets. The breed's greatest health risks include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), hip dysplasia, luxating patella, congenital myasthenic syndrome (a muscle condition) and hereditary baldness. Reputable breeders should screen for these health issues in your kitten. Our two Rex’s really are the most amazing cats, we love all of our 5 cats equally but you cant but help spending more time with the rex’s just because they are always there, demanding your attention. We have had very few health issues and Merlin is 15 years of age as I write this (2023). THey do say they still shed their fur but honestly we see very little from them. Other things to look out for that are normal is broken or missing whiskers and eye lashes, its just something to do with the genes that also cause the unusual fur which really is more like a fluff in Tameka’s case. Tameka has bald parts and this can be totally normal in the breed, her brother was bald when we saw him and we are told they can go bald at any time and recover it just as quick. We dont let outs outside to roam, we have a catio and they are happy to just go out there and sit in the sun, they are just too friendly and inquisitive to allow them out. If you are looking for a Devon Rex, as with buying any cat and espescially a pedigree, do your homework, read up on the breed, find a ‘Proper’ registered breeder, make sure you see the parents, check the pedigree information, all the health checks have been done and you will have the most amazing little friend. So would we recommend them, 1000%, they are amazing, so friendly and just such people cats, I think we will always have one now although when we went to see Tameka, the breeder also bred Sphynx’s and she told us then we would end up with one once we had a rex and I think that will be our next cat. A breeed we will cover in a future article.