Muscular yet dainty, the Devon Rex is hardy, agile and mischievously playful. Sounds like the ideal family pet? You bet it is! With large ears and 'pixie' face, this unusual cat also sports curly eyebrows, whiskers and a coat which is easily maintained by hand-grooming or by using a chamois leather...The Rex is one of the most versatile of pets - with a mood to match every occasion. Truly a cat for all seasons! A Devon Rex History In 1960, whilst walking in a field near Buckfastleigh in Devon, Miss Beryl Cox, an RSPCA worker, found a litter of kittens. The mother was a tortoiseshell moggie. One of the kittens had a closely waved coat which led her to believe that the sire was  a cat she had frequently seen in the area which had a coat of curls. Miss Cox rescued the family and weaned the kittens. Through the RSPCA she found homes for all of them but kept the curly coated boy whom she named Kirlee. He turned out to be an extremely intelligent and affectionate cat that was able to perform many tricks. There already existed a Rex cat of Cornwall called Kallibunker, and Miss Cox assumed that this one was a relative. A pioneer of this breed was Mr Stirling-Webb and she agreed to sell Kirlee to him. Mrs Agnes Watts, working with Mr Stirling-Webb, collected Kirlee and kept him for a stud. He was eventually mated with a Rex-coated daughter of Sham Pain Chas. To everyone's surprise and disappointment, all the kittens turned out to be straight coated. The mating was repeated with the same result. Other Rex queens were tried and all the resulting kittens were straight coated. It was decided that Kirlee was genetically different from the Cornish Rex. Mr Stirling-Webb then set out to prove Kirlee's genetic make-up was completely different. The plain-coated kittens from Kirlee were mated back to him and Rex-coated kittens appeared in the litters; about half of each litter having Rex coats. However, if the plain-coated kittens were mated to each other, only about a third of the litter had Rex Coats. After numerous test matings it became obvious that Kirlee's curly coat was due to a recessive gene. These were known as Gene 1 and Gene 2. Those in Gene 1 carried both genes. A daughter of Kirlee, a normal coated queen called Belhaven Zarakhat bred by Mrs Phyllis Lauder was mated back to Kirlee. She produced two Rex-coated and two plain-coated kittens. She was then owned by Mrs Alison Ashford, who kept one of the Rex-coated kittens for breeding. She was named Annelida Curly Coon. When mature, she was mated to a Gene 1 Rex, imported from Canada, called Rio Vista Kismet. The resulting litter were all Rex-coated. In the mid-sixties, two clubs, catered for the Rex and their breeders. The Colourpoint, Rex-coated and A.O.V. Club founded by Mr Stirling-Webb and The Rex Cat Club, founded on 2nd May 1964 by Mrs Watts and Mrs Shrouder. In 1967 the two clubs worked together and drew up Standards of Points for both breeds and applied to the GCCF for recognition. They were approved. In 1989 a second club catering for the breeds was formed and is known as The Rex Cat Association. Some Rex mutants had appeared in East Germany and North America. These turned out to be compatible with the Cornish Rex but not the Devon Rex, which is unique. The Devon Rex then - and now... Judge and long-time breeder of Devon Rex Lynda Ashmore says: Trends over recent years have encouraged the development of various 'man-made' breeds of cat. The fact that the Devon Rex was a natural mutation makes them even more precious. Who but the good Lord himself could have dreamed up such a cat? Gentle folds of warm downy skin covered with ripples of soft waves and curls wrapped around a purr... Breeding policy The Rex Breeding Policy does allow for approved breeds to be used for 'outcrossing' in order to enlarge the gene pool. Outcrossing should not be taken lightly, and the amount of time, effort and finance should be carefully considered before starting such a programme. The Devon gene is a recessive gene, all progeny from a Rex to non-Rex will be straight-coated hybrids and the Rexes in the second generation litters can vary enormously. Various out-crosses have taken place over the years and the Devon Rex now comes in a full compliment of colours. One fact that many Judges coming from other sections of the Cat Fancy, find it hard to grasp is that there are no points for either coat colour or eye colour in our Standard of Points. The points are divided between overall type and coat quality. General Type Standard Head: Wedge shaped with face full-cheeked, short muzzle with strong chin and whisker break. Nose with well-defined stop. Forehead curving back to a wide skull. Ears: Large, set low and wide apart, very wide at the base, tapering to rounded tops and well covered with fine fur. With or without ear muffs and tufts. Eyes: Wide set, large, oval shaped and sloping towards outer edges of ears. Any colour acceptable. Body, legs & neck: Body hard and muscular, slender and of medium length, broad chest carried high on slim legs, with length of hind legs emphasised. Paws small and oval. Neck slender. Tail: Long, fine and tapering, well covered with short fur Coat: Very short and fine, wavy, curly, and soft; can have a rippled effect. Some short guard hairs are acceptable. Whiskers and eyebrows crinkled, rather coarse and of medium length. Colours: All coat colours, patterns and colour combinations are acceptable, including any white markings on any coat pattern. * Devon Rex are not compatible with Cornish Rex. Such matings are therefore highly undesirable. The product of these matings will be registered on   the Reference Register and cannot be considered variants. They cannot be used in either Rex breeding programme and should be placed on the   non-active register. It is considered to be in the best interests of the Devon Rex breed to keep it entirely separate from other incompatible Rex mutations. * Under no circumstance should any cat with Sphynx ancestry be introduced into the Devon Rex breed. Selection for hairlessness contradicts the coat   quality requirements for Rex cats. The product of any matings between Sphynx and Devon Rex will be registered on the Reference Register.   They cannot be considered to be variants nor be used in any Devon Rex breeding programme and should be placed on the non-active register. * Breeders are recommended not to breed from Devon Rex or Devon Rex variants with Longhair. The long-hair gene has been present in the breed   since the beginning, as Kirlee was a proven Longhair carrier. It is considered in the best interest of Devon Rex coat quality not to perpetuate this factor.   Outcrosses made to breeds with Longhair ancestry should be undertaken with caution and where possible only to cats proven not to be carriers of the   long-hair gene. * Breeders shall ensure that any Devon Rex or Devon Rex Variants from which they breed, shall be registered with the GCCF in accordance with the   Rules in force at the time.   It is recommended that the progeny from any matings that are not required for Devon Rex breeding, should be placed on the Non-Active Register,   to avoid the introduction of the Devon Rex gene into other varieties of pedigree cats. * The majority of matings are most likely to be between Devon Rex x Devon Rex and Devon Rex x Devon Rex Variant, but to ensure maximum benefit   from out-crossing Devon Rex Variant x Devon Rex Variant matings are also necessary. * Normal coated progeny from Variant x Variant matings cannot be considered variants as this can only be proven by test matings. Breeds that have    been approved for use in out-crossing are: Abyssinian, British Shorthair, Burmese, Korat. All other breeds are listed as non-approved. * Breeders will be encouraged to take advantage of any relevant official scheme, which may be devised by the Cornish Rex & Devon Rex Joint BAC   to test the soundness of the Devon Rex breed. Cats on the Full Register Devon Rex with at least three generations of Devon Rex x Devon Rex breeding in their pedigrees. Any Devon Rex Variants appearing in the fourth  and fifth generation of the pedigree must have been bred from cats on the approved list of breeds. Supplementary Register Devon Rex with less than three generations of Devon Rex x Devon Rex breeding in their pedigrees. Reference Register 1. Devon Rex Variants produced from cats on the approved list 2. Normal coated cats produced from variant x variant matings will have no breed number only colour description and will be over-stamped 'may carry     the Devon Rex gene'. 3. All cats resulting from Devon Rex x Cornish Rex matings will have no bred number, remain permanently on the reference register and be     over-stamped 'not recommended for breeding' 4. Any cats of Devon Rex appearance, either Rex or normal coated, with Sphynx ancestry will remain permanently on the reference register.      No Rex coated progeny will ever be recognised or registered as Devon Rex. All will be over-stamped 'must not be used for Devon Rex breeding'. Using its paws like hands, a Rex can pick up small objects and some have even learned to turn doorknobs and open doors. Intelligent, curious, sociable is well adapted to an indoor life and likes other animals and children.