Rex cats. Irina Olegovna Iofina

Introduction
Cats are amazing and mysterious creatures, once deified by the inhabitants of ancient Egypt. For many centuries, the presence of a cat at the hearth of a person gave his home a special coziness and created emotional comfort.

Just like dogs, cats faithfully serve people, protecting them from rodents. Contrary to popular belief, these affectionate creatures do not like loneliness, preferring to constantly be close to the owner.

Over time, various clubs and associations of cat lovers began to be created around the world. Nowadays, no one is surprised by the profession of a breeder, which previously seemed so rare and unusual. Thanks to the activity of breeders, there are more than 50 officially registered cat breeds today, and it is possible that more breeds will appear in the very near future.

It is difficult for a novice lover who is just going to buy a thoroughbred kitten to understand all this diversity. Representatives of each breed have their big advantages and small disadvantages (after all, they differ from each other not only in appearance, but also in certain behavioral features), and sometimes making a choice can be difficult.

1. The history of the breed
To date, 4 varieties of Rex have been recognized by various felinological associations in Europe and America: Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, German Rex (German Rex) and Selkirk Rex. In addition, some other mutational forms of the rex gene have been described: the Oregon rex, the Danish rex, as well as the Beloyarsk, Ural and Rostov rex.

All these breeds are considered relatively young: the Cornish Rex variety received official status only in 1967, while other varieties were recognized a few years later. However, for the first time about cats with wavy hair (this is the most characteristic feature of all Rex) it became known in the 20s of the XX century. It was then that unique animals were discovered in the countries of Eastern Europe - Russia and the Czech Republic. But unfortunately, at that time no one paid them enough attention. Only after the Second World War, experts became interested in unusual cats. The real history of the new breed began in 1950, when on one of the farms in Cornwall, Great Britain, a domestic short-haired cat brought offspring with curly hair. wool. The owners of the cat, of course, were very surprised, and therefore immediately turned to the veterinarian. After examining the kittens, the doctor came to the conclusion that they are perfectly healthy, and the unusual wavy coat and curled whiskers are the result of an accidental gene mutation. Mrs. Ennismore, the owner of the cat, decided to secure a unique trait. Для этого она скрестила кудрявого кота из помета с его матерью, благодаря чему на свет появилось потомство с волнистой wool. Thus began the targeted selection of the Cornish Rex (the breed owes its name to the royal downy rabbits - Rex, the coat of which very much resembles the curly coat of these cats). From that moment on, many breeders in Europe and America became interested in rex. But, as mentioned above, the breed was recognized as independent only in 1967, and the final standard for the Cornish Rex was approved in 1983.

Rex Cornish.

Currently, the Cornish Rex is recognized by all felinological associations of the world. It is worth noting that modern representatives of the breed are somewhat different from the first Cornish Rex. And this is not surprising: decades of breeding work, of course, have affected the appearance of cats. The first representatives of the Cornish Rex breed were similar to their ancestors - strong, stocky British Shorthair cats - and had very little in common with graceful thin-boned animals - modern Cornish Rex. However, their main features - soft wavy hair and curly mustaches - have been preserved. About 10 years after the appearance of the ancestors of the Cornish breed in the English county of Devonshire, a black kitten was born in the litter of an ordinary domestic cat with the same curly hair as the Cornish Rex. At first, experts suggested that they were dealing with a new representative of an already known breed. However, it soon became clear that the totality of all the signs of the animal does not allow it to be attributed to either the Cornish Rex or any other existing breed. His curly coat also turned out to be the result of a random mutation, but of a completely different nature. The birth of this unusual kitten laid the foundation for the selection of a new breed, which later became known as the Devon Rex. The first association that granted the Devon Rex the status of an independent breed and the right to participate in exhibitions was British felinological organization GCCF. At the same time, cats of this breed became the subject of interest of specialists and amateurs in many European countries, as well as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In 1968, thanks to the Whites, Devon Rex were first brought to America, but they received official recognition in the United States only after 11 years. But today this breed is considered the most popular in the US and Canada.

Rex Devon.

Herman Rex is also a completely independent breed, not related to either Cornish or Devon Rex. In 1930, in a small village located on the territory of East Prussia, a blue curly kitten appeared in a litter of a Russian blue cat and a tobacco-colored Angora cat, who was named Munch. The villagers appreciated the unique appearance of the animal (the photographs of Munch they took have survived to this day), but no one was going to engage in targeted selection. Crossing took place naturally. As in the case of the Cornish Rex, the wavy coat gene was found to be recessive, so kittens born from the mating of ordinary shorthair cats with curly Munch had a straight coat. But in the next generation, rex waviness manifested itself: the grandchildren of the famous Munch were the owners of the same curly coat.

In 1951, one of Munch's granddaughters, a black cat named Lemmchen, was taken to Berlin. Кошка прожила 20 лет и в течение всего этого времени приносила потомство с волнистой wool. It was then that German breeders began breeding a new breed. The descendants of Lemmchen were crossed with European Shorthair cats, while British Shorthair or Burmese cats were used to breed Cornish Rex. In 1983, the German Rex breed was recognized by the international felinological organization FiFe.

Rex Selkirk is the youngest breed of Rex cats. The kitten, which became the ancestor of a new breed line, was born in 1987 in the vicinity of the Selkirk Mountains in the USA. The wavy coat of the animal was due to genetic changes that differed from mutations in the Cornish Rex, Devon Rex and German Rex breeds.

American breeder Jerry Newman crossed a representative of a new variety of Rex with a black Persian longhair cat. As a result скрещивания родились котята с длинной или средней длины курчавой wool.

In the future, not only Persian, but also Oriental Shorthair, British and American Shorthair cats began to be used in breeding work. This largely determined the original appearance of the Selkirk Rex and the features of its character.

The Rex Selkirk breed received official status in 1992. At first, it was recognized only by two American felinological organizations - CFA and TICA, but then the breed was registered by such associations of cat lovers as ICE, AGFA and WCF.

2. Appearance and standards
Currently, there are general standards that should be applied to each variety of Rex: Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, German Rex and Selkirk Rex.

rex cornish
The general standard for these cats was first established in England in 1967, and later (in 1983) the breed was recognized by other international organizations in America and Europe.

A variety of colors makes Rex even more attractive.

The modern standard approved for this breed puts forward the following characteristics for the Cornish Rex. The body is of medium size, thin, but strong and muscular. Long thin legs ending in small oval pads give these animals a special grace.

Cornish Rex can be two- or three-colored.

The coat for this variety is characterized by dense, short, slightly plush, devoid of guard hairs. It should be wavy. The waviness is especially pronounced on the back. Animals can have a variety of color variations, not excluding shades with the presence of white, not only in two-color, but also in tri-color Rex.

The head should be of medium wedge shape. The ratio of its width to length is 1: 3, while the maximum width is taken. The head narrows towards the chin. The skull is flat.

The line from the tip of the nose to the middle of the forehead in profile looks like a straight line. With this structure of the head, the ears of cats are large, high, widely spaced, rounded at the tips. They should be covered with small fine hairs.

Cornish Rex have medium-sized almond-shaped eyes. The color of their eyes is especially important. It should be shiny, clean, uniform and must be in harmony with the color of the coat.

Eyebrows and mustaches have curls characteristic of all rexes. They must be long enough.

The tail should be long, thin, pointed, and its coat should be dense and wavy.

The color of the paw pads and nose should match the coat color of the animal.

When detecting insufficiently wavy or disheveled coat or places devoid of it (a defect in adult Rex), too long or large head, squat body, small ears, we can talk about the shortcomings of the Cornish Rex. The same disadvantage is considered a fluffy tail or lack of