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The Rex Breeds
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There have been many occurrences of wavy coated cats over the years, most never documented and most allowed to disappear into the general domestic/feral populations. Originally, like other UK rex cat clubs, the Scottish Rex Cat Club has really only catered for Cornish and Devon Rex, but in 2002, things changed with the import of two new breeds: the LaPerm and the Selkirk Rex. These two rex-coated breeds are caused by two different dominant genes, unlike the recessive genes which are the reason for the Cornish and Devon Rex. As with Cornish and Devon Rex these breeds should not be interbred.
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| Selkirk Rex - discovered in a shelter in Wyoming in 1987, the first known Selkirk was born in a litter of normal coated kittens from a domestic dam. This kitten was homed with a Persian and allowed to breed with him. The resulting litter were three normal coats and three curlies! This shows that the Selkirk gene is dominant. The Selkirk type is cobby - more like that of the British Shorthair or Exotic in build and like the LaPerm comes in both long and shorthaired varieties. The coat is unique in that all three types of hair are present and all these three hair types are curly. German Rex - actually was the first recognised Rex breed and like Kallibunker (the first recognised Cornish Rex) was part of a feral community. Attempts to breed more of this wavy coated cat failed at the first generation but succeeded at the second when siblings were mated together, revealing that a recessive gene caused it. This 'German' gene has been shown to be the same as the 'Cornish' gene and indeed the two breeds were used to strengthen the Cornish gene pool in the late 60s. There is now a German group working with a pure German line. The breed is not recognised in the UK or North America. Bohemia Rex - is this a new or natural breed? At this time, this is not known, but it might have been a cross between a Devon and a Persian with the long hair being encouraged. Iowa Rex - softly waved Rex of foreign type. Maine Coons with wavy coats have occurred but are not encouraged in the breed. Oregon Rex - also a recessive gene but unrelated to the other Rexes. If it still exists, this cat has a type like the American Shorthair with slightly thicker hair. Poodle Cat - has been around in Germany since the early 90s and is thought to be a cross between Scottish Fold, Devon Rex and European Shorthairs. Ural Rex - from that area. This cat may have been around for about 60 years. It is reported to have a longer coat but the gene type, although known not to be that of the Cornish, has yet to be compared to other Rexes. There are reports of various Rex genes having been introduced into the gene pool of the shortlegged Munchkin producing a cat that has been christened a Skookum! |
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© Scottish Rex Cat Club 2002 The material that appears on this site is the property of the SRCC and contributors. None of it is to be published elsewhere without permission of the copyright-holders. |
