rex cats

Laughter being the best medicine, a Cornish Rex will keep you in the pink of health. Most Cornish breeders agree that their "corn" will keep you chuckling and brighten even a dreary morning. Like small, furry aliens from the planet Rex, Cornish Rex cats will abduct your heart. As one fancier puts it: "They steal food right off your plate. They bounce off the walls. They chew the end of your pencil as you're writing... you're hooked for life. All you can think about is how to get more of them."

Not only will Cornish Rexes keep you amused, but their sleek state-of-the-art styling and wide selection of colors will fit in with any decorating scheme. Also, because the hair is so short and fine, grooming and housekeeping is a breeze. Cornish fanciers report that Rex hair is considerably harder to see on furniture than an "average" cat's hair.

The Cornish Rex and its cousin the Devon Rex are, like many other cat breeds, the result of spontaneous genetic mutation. The first known Cornish was discovered on July 21, 1950, on a farm in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England, when a tortoiseshell-and-white domes tic shorthair named Serena gave birth to five kittens. The litter contained one curly-coated orange-and-white male kitten, which Serena's owner, Nina Ennismore, named Kallibunker.

Kallibunker was noticeably different from his littermates. His hair was short and curly, and instead of possessing the cobby body like that of his littermates and mother, Kallibunker's body was long and lithe. He possessed large ears, a slender tail and a wedge-shaped head.

Ennismore, interested in this miniature mutant mouser, got in touch with A.C. Jude, a British geneticist. On the advice of Jude, Ennismore back-crossed Kallibunker to his mother. This mating produced a litter contain- ing one straight-coated kitten and two curly- coated kittens. A second breeding between the two again produced curly-coated kittens. The new breed was given the name Cornish Rex because of its resemblance to the curly-coated Astrex rabbit.

The Devon Rex can be traced back to a single cat. In I960, Beryl Cox of Buckfastleigh, Devon, England, noticed a curly-haired feral torn cat living in the deserted tin mine near her home. In due time, this transient fathered the kittens of a stray straight-coated calico female. She delivered her legendary litter in Cox's garden. One of the kittens took after his father—he had same short, curly coat.

Cox adopted him and named him, appropriately enough, Kirlee. Cox thought that Kirlee might be a member of the Cornish Rex breed, another curly-coated cat who had been discovered in Cornwall, also in south- west England, ten years earlier. She contacted Brian Sterling-Webb, a breeder who was working with the Cornish. He was excited to heal about Cox's find, but it soon became apparent that Kirlee was not a Cornish Rex. Because matings between Kirlee and Cornish Rex queens produced only straight-coated kittens, enthusiasts concluded that the gene producing Kirlees coat was recessive. Because a recessive gene must be present in both patents to affect the physical appearance of the offspring, fanciers now believe Kirlee's parents must have been related.

At this point. Cox knew she had a brand-new breed. A breeding program was set up, and Kirlee was introduced to several British Shorthairs. All the resulting kittens were straight-coated (both parents must have the rex gene, remember), but when his daughters were bred back to him, the litters contained 50 percent curly- haired kittens.

The Sphynx cat is a nearly hairless breed of cat that first appeared in Canada in 1966, also known as the Canadian hairless. The Sphynx is similar in structure to the Devon rex, with very large ears and a pixie face. Its skin is often wrinkled and feels like soft, warm suede. It is not actually hairless; instead, it is covered with very short down that is difficult to see and nearly impossible to feel. Although it has very little fur, the Sphynx's skin still shows color and pattern. For example, where the coat would be white, the cat's skin is pink; where the coat would be black, the skin is a dark gray. Sphynxes come in all coat colors and patterns. The Sphynx is a medium-sized, muscular cat that appears well-fed but not fat. Its long, whippy tail tapers from the base to the tip. Its ears are very large and wide at the base; its eyes are large and lemon-shaped, and slant slightly to the base of the ears. The Sphynx is extremely patient, tolerant, and intelligent.

TICA

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The Sphynx appears to be a hairless cat, although it is not truly hairless. The skin should have the texture of chamois. It may be covered with very fine down which is almost imperceptible to both the eye and the touch. On the ears, muzzle, tail, feet and scrotum, short, soft, fine hair is allowed. Lack of coat makes the cat quite warm to the touch. Whiskers and eyebrows may be present, either whole or broken, or may be totally absent. A lion tail (puff of hair on the tip of the tail) is acceptable. The skin is very wrinkled in kittens. Adults should retain as many wrinkles as possible, especially on the head, although wrinkling should not be so pronounced that it affects the cat's normal functions.

The head is slightly longer than it is wide with prominent cheekbones and a distinct whisker break. The profile has a slight to moderate stop at the bridge of the nose. The eyes are a large, rounded lemon in shape slanting to the outer corner of the ear. There is slightly more than the width of an eye between the eyes. The ears are very large, broad at the base and open, with no interior hair. They are upright, neither lowset nor on top of the head. The neck is medium, well-muscled and rounded, arching from the shoulders to the base of the skull. The neck is powerful, especially in males.

The chest is broad, and may tend toward being barrel-chested. The body is medium to medium long, well-rounded, thick through the abdomen, having the appearance of having eaten a large meal, but not fat. The Sphynx is very hard and muscular, having medium bone structure; it is not a delicate cat. The tail is whippy, tapering from the body to the tip (rat tailed). The tail length is to be in proportion to the body.

The leg length is in proportion with the body, but not fine-boned; the legs are firm and muscular to the feel. Female's legs may be more slender than those of the males. The hind legs are slightly longer than the front. The forelegs are widely set. The paws are oval, with long, slender toes and the paw pads are thicker than in other breeds, giving the appearance of walking on air cushions.

The cat should not be small or dainty.

Males may be up to 25 percent larger so long as proper proportions are maintained.

The Sphynx is sweet-tempered, lively, intelligent and above all amenable to handling.