On the eve of April Fool’s Day, I thought I’d feature two breeds of cats that are known to be jokers; the Devon Rex and Cornish Rex.
Anyone who has never met one of these two breeds will have no idea of the sheer chaos they can cause. Both are small with curly coats, angular faces and huge eyes. And both are smart and devious and utterly cute. By the way, the idea that the unusual fur makes the Rexes ideal pets for those allergic to cats… is unfortunately not true. Cat allergy relates to their skin dander rather than their fur, and the rexes shed skin flakes just the same as other cat breeds.
Cornish Rex
Each breed arose from a single kitten who was born to be very different from his siblings. The very first Cornish Rex was Kallibunker, who was born on a farm in Cornwall in the 1950’s. He had a fine cream coloured coat that was woolly and curly, and his human guardian recognised him as something special. One of Kallibunker’s grandkitties was crossbred with a Siamese cat, giving their descendants Kallibunker’s gremlin face, fine furred coat and the Siamese slinky walk and radar-dish ears.
Devon Rex
The first Devon Rex was a tom kitten born in Buckfastleigh in Devon in 1960. He came under the guardianship of Beryl Cox. She recognised that Kirlee’s crinkly coat and woolly-lamb look were something special, and attempted to breed him with Cornish Rex females – resulting in kittens with very ordinary coats. Later DNA analysis showed that the mutations causing Kallibunker and Kirlee’s woolly fur were very different, and the Devon Rex was acknowledged to be a unique breed. The key difference is that Devons have short guard hairs (the outermost of a cat’s three coats of fur) while the Cornish have only the undercoat, no guard hairs or awn hairs at all.
Mayhem!
Not that it matters. Anyone who has ever owned a Cornish or Devon Rex will be used to proofing their home against the kind of agile mayhem a smart little cat can wreak on high shelves and fragile trinkets. It doesn’t matter which breed of pixie-faced Rexes you have, they are waiting to out-smart you.
I have heard of a Cornish Rex that was caught hopping around on the hot top of a cooker, reaching into the frying pan and flicking the bacon and sausages out of the searing hot oil and onto the floor below. Sadly for him, the dogs of the house were ready and waiting to seize his prizes as they fell. The owners were too amazed at the cat’s enterprise and bravery to tell him off. Not that any Rex every accepts a human ticking-off. They consider themselves to be the Kings of Cats, and all you can do if you are chosen to be a Rex guardian is to admire their cheekiness,
