History of the
Cornish Rex:
The story of
the Cornish Rex begins in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. On 21st
July, 1950 a
tortoiseshell cat by the name of Serena & owned by Mrs Nina
Ennismore gave birth to a litter of five kittens. One red &
white coloured kitten in
this litter had an unusual curly coat. The kitten was named
Kallibunker (Kalli)& was to become the founder of the Cornish Rex
breed.
Nina
Ennismore's veterinarian suggested she contact geneticist
A C Jude. He advised she mate Kallibunker back to
his mother. This mating produced three kittens. A straight
coated female & two curly coated males. Sadly, one of the
males died at 7 months of age, but the second male named Poldhu
(along with Kallibunker) went on to sire further litters. The
early Cornish Rexes were outcrossed to domestic cats.
This is where
the history of the breed temporarily splits:
Cornish Rex
in the UK
Sadly in 1956
due to
financial costs & a large population of 40 cats, Nina
Ennismore had a number of her cats put to sleep, including
Kallibunker & his mother Serena.
By the late
1950's Nina Ennismore had stopped breeding Cornish Rexes. Brian
Sterling-Webb continued to work with the breed. By this
time, there were only two male Cornish Rexes left in Britain.
One of whom was Poldhu. He was a tortoiseshell blue-cream-and-white male. This
is rare in males & when it does occur they are almost always
sterile. A veterinarian took a tissue sample from Poldhu for
research, unfortunately he was accidentally castrated.
Ironically, the tissue samples taken from Poldhu were
lost. It is now believed that Poldhu was a chimera.
This left one
remaining male Cornish Rex in Britain, Sham Pain Chas. Due to
heavy outcrossing, the Cornish was losing it's slender type. The
great-great-great grandson of Kallibunker, a blue boy by the
name of Rio Vista Kismet & bred by Miss Jeanne Jeffrey of
Calgary, was imported from Canada by Mrs Alison Ashford. Kismet
managed to enable breeders to bring back the Cornish Rex to it's
original "slender" type.
Cornish Rex
in the USA
In 1956, Life
magazine published an article on Cornish Rexes which generated
much worldwide attention and the following year Frances
Blancheri of California imported Lamorna Cove. She was pregnant
by her father Poldhu at the time. She went on to have a litter
of 4 kittens.
 |
In
1960 to celebrate 10 years of the Cornish Rex The Daily
Mirror ran an article on the breed, with a photo of a
winking kitten. The article said that the kitten (Du-Bu
Lambtex) was the only curly coated kitten in Britain. A
lady by the name of Miss Beryl Cox contacted the paper to
say that she too had a curly coated cat named Kirlee.
Believing that Kirlee also carried the Cornish Rex gene,
Brian Sterling-Webb arranged for Kirlee to be sent to
Cornwall to be a part of the breeding programme. |
When mated to
several Cornish Rex females the offspring came out straight
coated. It was concluded that Kirlee's mutation was different to
that of the Cornish Rex & the two recessive genes were
named: Gene 1 (Cornish Rex) & Gene 2 (Devon Rex).
I will finish
with a quick timeline of the Cornish Rex history...
- 1948: Serene
born
- 1950: 21st
July, Kallibunker born
- early 1952,
Mrs Ennismore talks to her veterinarian about Kallibunker,
who advises her to contact A C Jude
- July 1952: A
C Jude publishes an article on the Rex.
- 1952: 27th
August, Poldhu (Kallibunker's son) is born.
- 1954: 15th
August, Lamorna Cove is born.
- 1955: 5th
June, Champagne Chas is born. He is the half brother of
Lamorna Cove & is Cream & White.
- 1956:
Kallibunker & Serene are put to sleep.
- 1956: Brian
Sterling-Webb purchases Champagne Chas.
- 1957:
Lamorna Cove who is pregnant at the time, and a sibling are
sent to the USA.
- 1957:
February-Our Cats notes that A C Jude's article which was
published in Our Cats in 1952 has been published in the
Journal of Genetics.
- 1959: Brian
Stirling-Webb founded the Rex Coated & Any Other Variety
Club.
- 1959:
September. Kirlee (Devon Rex) is born, but is unknown at
this time.
- 1965: Mrs
Alison Ashford imports Rio Vista Kismet from Canada to the
UK.
- 1965: Brian
Sterling-Webb dies.
- 1967: Rex
Cat Club is founded.
Appearance
of the Cornish Rex:
The Cornish Rex
is a medium sized, cat with a short coat & slender build.
The legs are long & the body curves upward from the ribs,
for the so-called "tuck-up". The tail is long &
tapering. Although it is a fine boned cat, it is quite
muscular.
The coat is
wavy (known as a marcel wave) in appearance with curly whiskers & eyebrows. The
typical cat has three types of hair, guard hairs, awn hairs
& down hairs (the undercoat). The Cornish Rex coat
completely lacks the guard hairs, giving it an incredibly soft
feel. The coat is wavy in appearance.
The head is
wedge shaped, & is longer than it is wide, it has high
cheekbones & a roman
nose. The ears are set high on the head, but should not be too
close together. The eyes are oval.
Cornish Rex
Temperament:
The Cornish Rex
is a quiet, outgoing and active cat. They enjoy being a part of the
family & don't like to be left out of day to day
activities.
They have a
high energy level & love to play well into adulthood. They
are also very acrobatic & love to climb. They are also
known to enjoy playing fetch with their owners.
They are
extremely intelligent cats & very affectionate. They get
along with other pets & children.
Cornish Rex
Colours:
The Cornish Rex
comes all recognised colours.
Special
Requirements:
The Cornish Rex
has no special requirements. Due to it's short coat, it doesn't
shed as much as other breeds.
Lifespan:
15 years.
Suitable
for:
Active
households. Cornish Rexes thrive on company. It is recommended
if you are away for long periods of time that you get two cats
for company. They get along with other family pets including
dogs & are great with children. Because of their high
activity levels, they are not recommended for people who want a
quiet & docile cat.
Are Cornish
Rexes hypoallergenic?
In
truth, a rex cat is no different from any other cat and produces
allergen like all other cats. They are not hypoallergenic by any
means, as claimed by some. Then why do some people seem to have
no allergic reaction to rex cats? There is no simple answer to
this question at this time, and more research is required to get
the answers needed. One possible hypothesis is that as rex cats
have less hair to shed, they simply deposit less allergen-laced
hair around the home. But, whatever the reasons some allergic
people seem to tolerate them. From personal studies and
observations by Margaret Lawrence in the UK, she found that
around 10% of people allergic to cats tolerate rex cats. Please,
before you race out and look for a rex cat, remember you should
always test your allergies by visiting home or catteries that
only own rex cats, and test continuously over several weeks or
months. As you don't want the poor little kitten to be re-homed
if you find out you are allergic to him or her. Don't let your
new cat become another statistic at a shelter.
Special
thanks to:
Coslinka
Cattery & Barbara for providing their beautiful Cornish Rex
photos.
