{"id":15278,"date":"2015-02-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-02T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/?p=15278"},"modified":"2026-08-29T18:43:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:43:30","slug":"devon-rex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-devon-rex","title":{"rendered":"Devon Rex"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Devon Rex is a cat you are unlikely to mistake for anything else: enormous low-set ears, wide-spaced eyes, a short curly coat and a face that has earned the breed the nicknames \u201celf\u201d, \u201cpixie\u201d and \u201cmonkey in a cat suit\u201d. This is a cat that lives not beside its human but literally on them \u2014 on the shoulders, under the duvet, up a jumper sleeve. Coat care is minimal, which is not the same as trouble-free: the Devon has its own set of skin quirks, its own compulsory blood test before mating, and its own hereditary disease with a ready-made DNA test. For more on cat breeds, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\">Tvaryny<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And straight away, the thing the internet gets wrong about the Devon Rex more often than anything else. There are several curly-coated cat breeds, and almost every source says each one has \u201cits own mutation\u201d. The real picture is different and more interesting: the Devon Rex is not related to the Cornish Rex \u2014 the genes are different; whereas the Devon Rex and the Sphynx are two versions of <strong>one and the same<\/strong> gene. Nearly everything else follows from that single fact: why a Devon \u00d7 Cornish cross produces straight-coated kittens, why one hereditary disease turns up in Devons and Sphynxes and nowhere else, and why the Devon\u2019s coat is uneven rather than simply \u201ccurly\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Devon Rex: a brief breed overview<\/h2>\n\n\n <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/gallery-158907-1536x1152-1.jpg\" alt=\"Devon Rex - breed logo\"\/><\/figure> \n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-default\"><table><thead><tr><th><strong>Characteristic<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Description<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Origin<\/td><td>Buckfastleigh, county of Devon, United Kingdom<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Founder of the breed<\/td><td>The cat Kirlee, litter of 1959<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Curl gene<\/td><td>KRT71, allele <em>re<\/em>, recessive<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Recognition<\/td><td>GCCF \u2014 1967; CFA \u2014 registration 1979, championship status 1983; TICA \u2014 1979<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Lifespan<\/td><td>12\u201316 years<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Height at the shoulder<\/td><td>25\u201330 cm<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Weight<\/td><td>Females 2.5\u20133.5 kg; males 3\u20134.5 kg<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Temperament<\/td><td>Very affectionate, playful, intelligent, inquisitive, energetic; needs attention<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Grooming<\/td><td>Minimal and pointedly gentle; regular ear cleaning and attention to the skin<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Activity<\/td><td>High<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Vocalisation<\/td><td>Moderate (a quiet voice)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Compatibility with children<\/td><td>Very good<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Compatibility with other animals<\/td><td>Good (with proper socialisation)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Checks to require from the breeder<\/td><td>COLQ DNA test (Devon Rex myopathy \/ CMS) and blood type of both parents<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The key characteristics of the Devon Rex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three curly cats: why the Devon is no relative of the Cornish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the middle of the twentieth century several curly-coated cats turned up in England within a few years of each other. The natural assumption was that this was one and the same mutation resurfacing here and there. There was only one way to test it at the time \u2014 mate the carriers and look at the kittens. If the mutation is a single one, every kitten is born curly. If the mutations are different, each covers the other\u2019s fault and the kittens are born with straight coats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The experiment that created the breed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kirlee, the curly tom from Devonshire, was mated to females descended from Kallibunker, the founder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-cornish-rex\">Cornish Rex<\/a> in neighbouring Cornwall. Every kitten was born with a straight coat. That was the answer: Kirlee carried a different mutation. The geneticist Roy Robinson described it in 1969 in the journal Genetica as \u201ca third rex mutation in the cat\u201d \u2014 hence the old labels that still circulate in reference books: \u201cgene I\u201d (Cornish) and \u201cgene II\u201d (Devon).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note the logic: straight-coated kittens were not the failure of the experiment, they were its result. It is precisely because the cross \u201cwent wrong\u201d that the Devon Rex exists as a breed of its own rather than as a line inside the Cornish Rex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What turned up once DNA could be read<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Forty years later both mutations were identified by name, and the picture was not quite what the popular breed profiles describe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Devon Rex \u2014 the KRT71 gene.<\/strong> In 2010 the group led by Leslie Lyons (UC Davis) described in Mammalian Genome a complex rearrangement in this gene: an 81-base-pair deletion with insertions that disrupts splicing. The allele was named <em>re<\/em>; inheritance is recessive, so a curly Devon carries two copies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-cornish-rex\">Cornish Rex<\/a> \u2014 the LPAR6 gene.<\/strong> It was found in 2013, again by the Lyons team, in a paper published in PLOS ONE: a four-base-pair deletion in exon 5 that truncates the protein early. In the breed it is fully fixed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-german-rex\">German Rex<\/a> \u2014 the same LPAR6 as the Cornish.<\/strong> This is probably the single biggest correction to the usual talk of \u201cthree different rex genes\u201d. The very same deletion was found in German Rexes; in that small breed it is not fixed but still segregating. So there are three curly breeds \u2014 but only two genes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KRT71 and LPAR6 are entirely unrelated molecules. LPAR6 is a cell-surface receptor without which the hair shaft loses its structural integrity (in humans, faults in the same gene produce woolly hair). KRT71 is a type II keratin that builds the inner root sheath of the follicle: the Henle and Huxley layers and the cuticle of that sheath. In plain terms, it is the mould the hair is cast in. Damage the mould and the hair comes out distorted whatever it is made of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Continue the census and KRT71 turns out to be the great \u201ccurly\u201d gene of cats generally. Besides the Devon it also houses the Selkirk Rex mutation: the splice variant c.445-1G&gt;C described in 2013 in Scientific Reports, with incomplete dominance \u2014 one copy is already enough to make the coat curl. The tally: four curly or hairless breeds account for two genes, with three variants of KRT71 (Sphynx, Devon, Selkirk) and a single LPAR6 (Cornish and German).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Devon and Sphynx: two steps of the same gene<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This next point barely appears in breed profiles, although it explains a great deal. The same 2010 work showed that the Sphynx\u2019s hairlessness is also a fault in KRT71, merely a different one: a point substitution affecting the same splicing mechanism. It was labelled <em>hr<\/em>. The result is an allelic series of three versions of one gene:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>KRT71<sup>+<\/sup> (normal coat) &gt; KRT71<sup>hr<\/sup> (Sphynx) &gt; KRT71<sup>re<\/sup> (Devon)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read it like this: the normal coat dominates both faults, and the Sphynx\u2019s hairlessness dominates the Devon\u2019s curl. Every Devon Rex examined was homozygous for <em>re<\/em>, while many of the Sphynxes proved to be either homozygous for <em>hr<\/em> or compound heterozygous \u2014 carrying the \u201csphynx\u201d and the \u201cdevon\u201d allele at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not an abstraction but a working breeding rule \u2014 and the federations have settled it in opposite directions, which is telling. With the CFA, the <a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-sphynx-cat\">Sphynx cat<\/a> still lists the Devon Rex among its permitted outcrosses, with the proviso that Sphynxes born on or after 31 December 2033 may have only Sphynx parents. The British GCCF states the opposite, and bluntly, in its Devon Rex breeding policy: no cat with Sphynx ancestry should be introduced into the Devon Rex breed, because selection for hairlessness runs against the coat-quality requirements of the rex breeds; offspring of Sphynx \u00d7 Devon matings go onto the reference register, do not count as variants and are not used in Devon breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Traffic is therefore permitted in one direction only: the Devon may widen the Sphynx gene pool, not the other way round. Decades of such matings mean a shared gene pool \u2014 and therefore shared hereditary disease. In the health section below you will see that the Devon\u2019s principal genetic problem is described in exactly these two breeds and in no others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The curly breeds compared<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-default\"><table><thead><tr><th>Characteristic<\/th><th>Devon Rex<\/th><th>Cornish Rex<\/th><th>German Rex<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Gene<\/strong><\/td><td>KRT71 (allele <em>re<\/em>)<\/td><td>LPAR6<\/td><td>LPAR6 \u2014 the same as the Cornish<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Inheritance<\/strong><\/td><td>Recessive<\/td><td>Recessive<\/td><td>Recessive<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Old label<\/strong><\/td><td>\u201cGene II\u201d, Rex Type 2<\/td><td>\u201cGene I\u201d, Rex Type 1<\/td><td>Long thought to be separate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Body type<\/strong><\/td><td>Hard, muscular, broad chest<\/td><td>Fine, \u201coriental\u201d, arched back<\/td><td>Rounder, closer to the European type<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Head<\/strong><\/td><td>Short wedge, high cheekbones, marked \u201cpinch\u201d<\/td><td>Egg-shaped, \u201cRoman\u201d profile<\/td><td>Rounded<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Ears<\/strong><\/td><td>Very large, low-set, broad at the base<\/td><td>Large, high-set, close together<\/td><td>Medium, well apart<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Hair types<\/strong><\/td><td>All three types, but the guard hair is very sparse, short and itself rexed<\/td><td>No guard hair; the coat is undercoat<\/td><td>No guard hair<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Texture<\/strong><\/td><td>Soft, uneven, sparse in places<\/td><td>Dense, regular wave<\/td><td>Soft, plush<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Cross with a Devon<\/strong><\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><td>Produces straight-coated kittens<\/td><td>Produces straight-coated kittens<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Devon Rex against the other rex breeds: genes and visible differences<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History of the breed: one cat behind all of it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story of the Devon Rex begins not with a breeding plan but with a find. In the county of Devon, near the small town of Buckfastleigh, lived a curly-coated stray tom \u2014 by the account handed down within the breed, he kept close to a disused tin mine. In July 1959 a tortoiseshell-and-white queen produced a litter by him, and one kitten came out covered in curls, right down to rings on the tail. The queen belonged to Miss Beryl Cox, who kept the kitten and named him <strong>Kirlee<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The British press had already been writing about curly cats \u2014 the Cornish Rex of Cornwall, discovered ten years earlier. Miss Cox wrote to the breeders to say that she too had a curly cat. Then came the test mating, the straight-coated kittens, and the conclusion that this was a new mutation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recognition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The GCCF (United Kingdom)<\/strong> recognised the Devon Rex in 1967.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The CFA (United States)<\/strong> voted unanimously in February 1979 for separate breed status and accepted the Devon Rex for registration; the breed moved into the provisional class in 1981 and gained championship status in 1983. The common line \u201cthe CFA recognised the breed in 1979\u201d is therefore only half true: 1979 was registration, and the show championship began four years later.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>TICA<\/strong> accepted the Devon Rex into the championship class in 1979 \u2014 the year the association was founded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why \u201cthe whole breed from one cat\u201d is not just a pretty phrase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every Devon Rex alive today descends from Kirlee. Worse: the queens brought to him in the early years were not only closely related to one another but were direct descendants of Kallibunker \u2014 since the mutation was at first assumed to be the same. Winning recognition for the breed required several generations of rex \u00d7 rex matings, carried out inside a tiny group of animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GCCF says so in as many words in its breeding policy: the inbreeding begun in order to secure recognition carried on afterwards, and from the very start the breed was dogged by serious health problems \u2014 patellar luxation, coagulopathy and a hereditary myopathy (spasticity), now known as CMS. That is not the wording of the breed\u2019s critics but of its own breeding committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hence breeding requirements stricter than in most breeds. In the GCCF system a Devon Rex or Devon Rex variant may stand on the active breeding register only under one of three conditions: the cat itself has tested normal for the CMS gene; or its parents have tested normal; or the results are normal for every line of the pedigree in the preceding generations. That is precisely the question a kitten buyer should be asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What a \u201cDevon Rex variant\u201d is<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The term will certainly turn up in pedigrees, and it frightens buyers for no reason. Because the curl is recessive, two Devons can produce a kitten with an ordinary straight coat. That is neither a fault nor a \u201chalf-breed\u201d: it is a <strong>variant of the breed<\/strong> \u2014 a Devon Rex by origin and by type, carrying one copy of the curl gene. Variants work fully in breeding: the GCCF states outright that getting the full benefit of the outcross requires variant \u00d7 variant matings among others, and that straight-coated offspring from such matings count as variants only after a DNA test has confirmed the gene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outcrossing is allowed in the breed, but narrowly: the GCCF approves a list of partner breeds \u2014 Abyssinian, Asian shorthair, British Shorthair, Burmese and Korat \u2014 with all other breeds listed as not approved. It is stated separately that the Devon Rex is incompatible with the Cornish Rex, the Selkirk Rex and the LaPerm, that such matings are highly undesirable, and that their offspring go onto the reference register and are used in no rex breeding programme. The aim is spelled out plainly: to keep the breed entirely separate from the other rex mutations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What a Devon Rex looks like<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Devon Rex is a small to medium cat, but nothing about it is fragile: under the coat is a hard, muscular body with a broad chest, which breed descriptions call a \u201chard body\u201d. The hind legs are noticeably longer than the front ones, hence the characteristic high rear and the ability to jump onto the top of a wardrobe from a standstill.<\/p>\n\n\n <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/gallery-158907-1536x1152-1.jpg\" alt=\"Devon Rex of various colours\"\/><\/figure> \n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Head:<\/strong> a short modified wedge, high expressive cheekbones, a short muzzle and a strong chin. The marked \u201cpinch\u201d \u2014 the clear narrowing behind the whisker pads \u2014 is obligatory. The skull is flat. It is the pinch and the shorter, squarer muzzle that most quickly distinguish the Devon from the Cornish, whose nose is long and narrow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ears:<\/strong> <strong>very large<\/strong>, extremely broad at the base, set low and turned outward rather than upward, tapering to rounded tips. Often tufted at the tips and well furnished inside.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Eyes:<\/strong> large, oval, wide apart and set at a slant, the outer corners higher than the inner ones. Any colour is allowed, usually in harmony with the coat. The expression is mischievous and curious.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Body:<\/strong> of medium length, muscular, with a broad chest. For all its apparent delicacy, it is not fragile.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legs:<\/strong> long and slim, the hind ones longer than the front; feet small and oval.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tail:<\/strong> long, fine, tapering, covered in short curly hair.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Colour:<\/strong> the standard admits <strong>every genetically possible colour and pattern<\/strong> \u2014 solids, tabbies, bicolours, colourpoints, tortoiseshells, smokes \u2014 with any eye colour. Chocolate shades close to those of the <a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-havana-brown\">Havana Brown<\/a> are as possible as anything else.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The coat: why it is uneven \u2014 and why that is normal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is worth pausing here, because new owners are often alarmed. An ordinary cat\u2019s coat has three layers: the long straight guard hair forms the outer covering, a finer awn hair sits below it, and the wavy down hair makes up the undercoat. In the Devon Rex, unlike the <a href=\"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/breed-cornish-rex\">Cornish Rex<\/a>, <strong>all three<\/strong> hair types are present \u2014 but, as the CFA breed description puts it, the guard hair is very sparse, short and itself rexed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are three practical consequences. First: the covering comes out \u201copen\u201d, the wave loose and soft, and the density is not the same all over the body \u2014 the back, flanks, belly and tail often carry noticeably sparser patches. Second: density changes \u2014 with age, with the season, with a queen\u2019s hormonal state; a kitten may thin out temporarily and grow back in. Third, and most important for care: fine curled hair breaks easily. A stiff brush and frequent combing do not improve a Devon\u2019s coat, they snap it off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another hallmark of the breed is the whiskers and eyebrows: short, crinkled, often broken off. That is not a sign of illness or of poor care, but a direct consequence of the same mutation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Devon Rex character and behaviour<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the Devon\u2019s looks intrigue you, the character is what settles it. These are extremely <strong>sociable, playful and intelligent cats<\/strong> for whom a human is not a source of food but the centre of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gallery-158907.jpg\" alt=\"Playful Devon Rex\"\/><\/figure> \n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>\u201cMonkey in a cat suit\u201d:<\/strong> acrobats and explorers. High shelves, door frames and the owner\u2019s shoulders are all working surfaces. The shoulder is not a sweet habit for a Devon, it is the favourite observation post.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Oriented on people:<\/strong> they usually pick one \u201cown\u201d human but stay affectionate with the whole family. A Devon follows you from room to room and takes part in every household task, whether the help is wanted or not.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Poor with solitude:<\/strong> this is probably the breed\u2019s main drawback for busy people. A cat with nobody to interact with grows bored and anxious. A second animal in the house softens the problem but does not replace the human.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>High intelligence:<\/strong> they pick up tricks quickly, answer to their name, fetch a thrown object and walk calmly on a harness. They need as much mental work as physical.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Friendliness:<\/strong> they get on well with children, with other cats and with dogs, especially if raised together. They can be selective about which other cats they befriend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vocalisation:<\/strong> the voice is quiet and unobtrusive, though Devons do like to \u201ctalk\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Love of warmth:<\/strong> a sparse coat holds heat badly, so the Devon deliberately hunts down sources of warmth \u2014 a lap, a duvet, a sunny windowsill, a warm radiator. A cat that burrows under the throw in winter is not being affectionate, it is solving a physical problem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Devon Rex health: what is actually known<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Devon Rex has several conditions described in this breed specifically, and it also carries general feline risks that are pinned on the breed without adequate grounds. Let us separate them honestly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Devon Rex myopathy, also known as congenital myasthenic syndrome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the breed\u2019s principal hereditary disease \u2014 and a good example of medicine spending forty years refining a diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First came a description of \u201cspasticity\u201d in Devons (Roy Robinson, Veterinary Record, 1992). Then a detailed clinical description under the name \u201chereditary myopathy of Devon Rex cats\u201d (Richard Malik and colleagues, Journal of Small Animal Practice, 1993). In 2008 a paper linked the disease to alpha-dystroglycan deficiency, that is, to muscular dystrophy. And only in 2015 did two independent groups \u2014 Abitbol and colleagues in PLOS ONE and Gandolfi and colleagues in Animal Genetics \u2014 find the causal variant and reclassify the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cause is a point substitution, <strong>c.1190G&gt;A in the COLQ gene<\/strong> (amino-acid change C397Y). COLQ makes the anchor that holds acetylcholinesterase in the neuromuscular junction. When the anchor fails, transmission from nerve to muscle goes wrong \u2014 so this is not a dystrophy of the muscle but a <strong>congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS)<\/strong>, the first described in cats. Inheritance is autosomal recessive: only a kitten that receives two copies is affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What it looks like. Signs appear in the first months of life \u2014 the 2015 work gives a window of up to five months. The kitten weakens, with the shoulder and pelvic girdles and the axial muscles worst affected: the shoulder blades protrude upward, head and neck hang passively down, the gait grows heavy, play tires the kitten fast. The pharynx and oesophagus matter just as much \u2014 swallowing weakness and megaoesophagus have been described. That is what makes the disease dangerous: the risk is not so much immobility as choking and food aspiration. The course is variable and can stabilise. There is no treatment that removes the cause; the authors of the 2015 paper proposed evaluating ephedrine in cats \u2014 the drug used in human COLQ deficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now the good part. <strong>A DNA test exists<\/strong>, and it is unambiguous. In the 2015 work, an unbiased population screen genotyped 202 Devon Rexes and 217 Sphynxes: eight Devons and one Sphynx proved to be carriers, giving allele frequencies of roughly 2.0% in the Devon Rex and 0.2% in the Sphynx, with no affected animals in that sample at all. In other words, with careful breeding the disease is manageable \u2014 provided <strong>both parents<\/strong> have been tested. Ask the breeder for the results on both parents, not for a general statement that the cattery is healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blood type B: the test that saves a litter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Breed profiles rarely mention this, although for the Devon Rex it is arguably the most practical point of all. Cats have three blood types \u2014 A, B and AB \u2014 and the distribution depends heavily on breed. Genotyping of more than 11,000 cats (Anderson and colleagues, PLOS Genetics, 2022) put the frequency of type B in the Devon Rex at 30.3%, one of the highest figures among breeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why it is critical. Type A dominates B, so a type B queen is homozygous, and type B cats carry strong antibodies against type A red cells. From this, as the GCCF breeding policy lists, come two disasters. First: if a type B queen bears type A kittens, her colostrum contains antibodies against their red cells \u2014 the kittens are born normal and then, once they start to suckle, die in the first days of life. This is neonatal isoerythrolysis, the \u201cfading kitten syndrome\u201d. Second, and almost never mentioned: a cat with the rarer type B can die if transfused with ordinary type A blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both scenarios are settled by knowledge rather than by treatment: both breeding cats are typed in advance; where the pair is incompatible the kittens are fostered away from the mother for the first twenty-four hours; and an adult cat\u2019s blood type should be on its record before an emergency transfusion is ever needed. The CFA states outright that for the Devon Rex, blood typing before mating is part of the breeder\u2019s job, and the GCCF recommends typing every cat of the breed \u2014 and breeding cats all the more so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HCM is the commonest heart disease in cats generally, and the Devon Rex is among the breeds for which echocardiographic screening of breeding animals is recommended. The genetic test, however, is a different story, and it is worth understanding before anyone offers you an \u201cHCM certificate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2024 Frontiers in Veterinary Science published a reassessment of the known feline cardiac variants against the strict ACMG criteria \u2014 the same ones used in human medical genetics. The Devon Rex was included precisely because the breed has been crossed with the Sphynx. The result: the MYBPC3 variants recognised as pathogenic in the Maine Coon and the Ragdoll are not found in the Devon Rex, and the variants that do occur in the breed are classified as of uncertain significance or benign. The practical conclusion is simple: for the Devon Rex the working tool is an ultrasound scan with a cardiologist, not a swab. We give no prevalence figure for HCM in this breed specifically \u2014 we do not have one we are prepared to put our name to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Skin: oiliness and Malassezia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A tendency to greasy skin and seborrhoeic dermatitis is a real feature of the Devon Rex, and it has been studied in some detail. A study of cutaneous carriage of Malassezia yeasts (\u00c5hman and colleagues, Medical Mycology, 2007) examined 21 healthy and 9 seborrhoeic Devon Rexes. In the seborrhoeic cats, <em>Malassezia pachydermatis<\/em> counts significantly exceeded normal in three places: <strong>the armpits, the groin and the claw folds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember those three sites \u2014 that is where the greasy film, the redness and the characteristic smell show up first, long before the skin visibly bothers the cat. Inspect the paws: a brownish greasy deposit around a Devon\u2019s claws is not dirt. In a pilot study by the same group (Veterinary Dermatology, 2007), six Devon Rexes with seborrhoeic dermatitis were given itraconazole on a pulse regimen \u2014 yeast counts fell sharply and the skin improved markedly. The drug and the regimen are for a vet to prescribe: the same redness can also come from allergy or from parasites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A rash resembling \u201curticaria pigmentosa\u201d: rule out ringworm first<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A characteristic dermatitis has been described in Devon Rexes and Sphynxes \u2014 multiple reddish papules with crusts and darkening of the skin, often distributed in lines over the head, neck, chest and abdomen. Veterinary literature calls it papular eosinophilic and mastocytic dermatitis, or \u201cfeline urticaria pigmentosa\u201d, by analogy with childhood cutaneous mastocytosis in humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And now the reason this section exists at all. Back in 2004 Veterinary Dermatology carried a paper that put the question straight into its title: is this a distinct disease entity, or simply a pattern of skin reaction to various causes? In 2012 the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery described three Devon Rexes with such a rash \u2014 and all three turned out to have dermatophytosis caused by <em>Microsporum canis<\/em>, that is, ordinary ringworm. After antifungal treatment the lesions cleared in all three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The takeaway for an owner: if your Devon develops this kind of rash, do not accept the verdict \u201cit is just a breed thing\u201d without an examination. Ringworm is looked for by culture and examination, it is transmissible to humans, and it is treatable \u2014 whereas a \u201cbreed characteristic\u201d is by definition not treatable at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Vitamin-K-dependent coagulopathy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A rare but genuinely breed-specific condition, worth knowing about if only so that you can say its name at the right moment in the clinic. In 1990 JAVMA described three Devon Rexes with a clotting disorder: haematomas, conjunctival haemorrhage, bleeding into joints and body cavities \u2014 with rodenticide contact ruled out. The cause was internal: a defective gamma-glutamyl carboxylase, which puts all the vitamin-K-dependent clotting factors (II, VII, IX and X) out of action at once. Oral vitamin K1 normalised the readings. The GCCF, for that matter, lists coagulopathy among the three problems that have accompanied the breed from its beginnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The practical point: in a Devon Rex bleeding or bruising for no clear reason, rodenticide poisoning is not the only hypothesis \u2014 and it is worth saying so out loud to the vet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The rest: knees, ears, teeth, kidneys, weight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Patellar luxation:<\/strong> the GCCF names it among the three problems that dogged the breed from the outset, alongside coagulopathy and myopathy. A hereditary component is suspected in cats, but the mode of inheritance has not been established. Mild grades often pass without complaint; severe ones call for surgery. Have the knees palpated at a routine appointment \u2014 it takes a minute.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ears:<\/strong> an ear flap that size collects more wax and dust than an ordinary cat\u2019s and needs regular, careful cleaning. Redness, smell and persistent scratching are grounds for a vet visit, not for cleaning harder.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Teeth:<\/strong> gingivitis and tartar are among the problems it is simpler to prevent by brushing at home and by routine checks than to treat afterwards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Polycystic kidney disease (PKD):<\/strong> it occurs rarely and is not a characteristic problem of the breed; it is mentioned in connection with past outcrossing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Excess weight:<\/strong> the Devon is active, but with free access to food it gains weight easily, and the extra kilograms tell on the joints and on the heart alike.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cold and sun:<\/strong> a sparse coat protects poorly against low temperatures and against ultraviolet; in pale cats the ears are the most vulnerable spot.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-default\"><table><thead><tr><th>Problem<\/th><th>What to do<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Myopathy \/ CMS (COLQ)<\/strong><\/td><td>DNA test on both parents before mating; the buyer should look at the results, not at the words<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Blood type<\/strong><\/td><td>Type both breeding cats; where the pair is incompatible, foster the kittens separately for the first day<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>HCM<\/td><td>Echocardiography with a cardiologist, regularly for breeding animals<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Greasy skin, Malassezia<\/td><td>Check the armpits, groin and claw folds; deposit and smell mean a dermatologist<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Papular rash<\/td><td>Test for dermatophytosis before anyone calls it \u201ca breed trait\u201d<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ears<\/td><td>Regular gentle cleaning with a proper lotion<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Bleeding<\/td><td>Remember vitamin-K-dependent coagulopathy and mention it to the vet<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Knees<\/td><td>Palpation at routine appointments<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cold and sun<\/td><td>A warm sleeping place, clothing to suit the weather, limited direct sun<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Teeth<\/td><td>Brushing at home and veterinary dental care<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Weight<\/td><td>Measured portions, active play<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Preventing health problems in the Devon Rex<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Coat care and grooming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guiding principle of Devon Rex care is stated back to front: the less you touch the coat, the better it looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Coat:<\/strong> fine curled hair will not stand up to intensive combing. Once a week or less, run a hand, a very soft baby brush or a damp cloth over the cat to lift the dead hairs. Stiff brushes, slickers and furminators are not for a Devon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bathing:<\/strong> as needed \u2014 when the skin and coat begin to feel greasy. A mild cat shampoo, then blot carefully with a towel and keep the cat warm until it is completely dry: a wet Devon chills fast.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ears:<\/strong> the most laborious part of the routine. Weekly cleaning with a proper ear lotion and a cotton pad (not a cotton bud pushed into the canal).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Skin and paws:<\/strong> once a week, inspect the armpits, the groin and the folds around the claws \u2014 exactly the zones where a Devon accumulates greasy deposit first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cold and sun:<\/strong> a warm sleeping place away from draughts, clothing in cold weather, and limited direct sun in summer, especially for pale cats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Claws and teeth:<\/strong> claw trimming every 2\u20133 weeks, regular tooth brushing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taken together: the coat asks for a minimum \u2014 and above all asks not to be fussed over. The bulk of the work falls on the ears (weekly), the skin (checking armpits, groin and claw folds), the teeth and protection from cold and sun. In total time, this is neither the easiest cat nor a heavy one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Training and socialisation<\/h2>\n\n\n <figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/gallery-158907.jpg\" alt=\"Devon Rex \u2014 photo\"\/><\/figure> \n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Devon Rex is one of those cats with which training works the way it does with a companion dog: not because the cat \u201cobeys\u201d, but because it finds the work interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trainability:<\/strong> tricks and cues are picked up quickly; they fetch a toy, answer to their name and take a harness without drama.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Positive reinforcement only:<\/strong> praise, play, a treat. Devons are sensitive to their human\u2019s mood and cope badly with pressure and punishment \u2014 under duress a cat does not learn, it shuts down.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vertical space:<\/strong> tall cat trees, shelves, routes near the ceiling. For a cat that climbs by nature, it is easier to grant a legal route than to argue it off the wardrobe.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Puzzles:<\/strong> interactive toys and puzzle feeders cover a need for mental work that runs above average in this breed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Early socialisation:<\/strong> meeting a variety of people, sounds and animals under supervision produces a calm, confident adult.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Which answers the commonest question about keeping one. For a flat, yes \u2014 provided there is vertical space, there are scratching posts and there is play. For someone out of the house all day, no: the Devon Rex copes badly with solitude, and company matters more to it than square metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Feeding the Devon Rex<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Quality:<\/strong> a complete food \u2014 dry and\/or wet \u2014 with a high proportion of animal protein.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Portions, not a permanently full bowl:<\/strong> an active cat that also spends energy keeping warm may indeed need slightly more calories than a placid stay-at-home \u2014 and that is exactly why free access to food turns into excess weight fast in Devons. Feed measured portions 2\u20133 times a day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fats:<\/strong> good fats in the diet matter not only for energy but for the state of the skin \u2014 and skin is a zone of heightened attention in a Devon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Water:<\/strong> fresh and constantly available; many Devons drink more readily from a fountain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>If the cat has been diagnosed with CMS:<\/strong> pharyngeal weakness and megaoesophagus change the rules of feeding \u2014 the schedule, the texture of the food and the posture at mealtimes are set by the vet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interesting facts about Devon Rexes<\/h2>\n\n\n <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"A curious Devon Rex cat\" class=\"wp-image-11820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.tvaryny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/image-2-860x645.jpeg 860w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure> \n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The cat from the mine:<\/strong> Kirlee\u2019s father was a curly-coated stray tom who kept close to a disused tin mine in Devon.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The breed was born of a failed mating:<\/strong> the straight-coated kittens from the cross with Cornish Rexes proved the mutation was new \u2014 and only for that reason did the Devon become a breed of its own.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Its closest genetic relative is the Sphynx, not the Cornish:<\/strong> the Sphynx\u2019s hairlessness and the Devon\u2019s curl are two versions of the same KRT71 gene.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nicknames:<\/strong> \u201celves\u201d, \u201cpixies\u201d, \u201caliens\u201d and \u201cmonkeys in cat suits\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shoulder cats:<\/strong> the owner\u2019s shoulder is a Devon\u2019s standard observation post.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Broken whiskers are normal for the breed:<\/strong> the short crinkled vibrissae snap because of the very mutation that produces the curl.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Longhaired Devons exist:<\/strong> the longhair gene has been in the breed from the start \u2014 Kirlee was a proven carrier of it. British breeding policy permits breeding longhaired Devons and variants, but requires that their partners be non-carriers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A straight-coated Devon is still a Devon:<\/strong> kittens with ordinary coats from two Devon Rexes are registered as \u201cvariants\u201d of the breed and are used fully in breeding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Every colour at once:<\/strong> the standard admits any genetically possible colour and pattern with any eye colour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Devon Rex is a cat breed with an extraordinary appearance and character, often described as an &#8216;elf&#8217;, &#8216;pixie&#8217;, or even a &#8216;monkey in a cat&#8217;s suit&#8217;\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4427],"tags":[6152,6214,6154],"moimportance":[],"class_list":["post-15278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cats-breeds-en","tag-affectionate-cats","tag-playful-cats","tag-varied-coat-colours"],"views":111,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15278"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15283,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15278\/revisions\/15283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15278"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvaryny.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=15278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}