History of occurrence
A spontaneous genetic mutation in the cat world is not common. In 1950 in Cornwall, England, the first Cornish Rex kitten was born of a barn cat and an unknown sire. The parent took this curly coated cat into her home, named him Kallibunker, and began what became the Cornish Rex breed.
One year later, another wavy-haired female, Laemmchen, was found living on the grounds and in the basement of the Hufeland Hospital in what was then East Germany. Her parent also knew nothing about her background. In the late 1950s, Laemmchen had a litter with two curly coated kittens, even though she had nothing but straight-hair kittens in several earlier litters. This litter became foundation of the German Rex breed.
German Rexes were first shown in 1960, and quickly spread from Germany to France, England and the United States.
For a time, confusion abounded as to the separate nature of the Devon Rex, the Cornish Rex, and the German Rex. After the Cornish and German Rex were interbred, they were found to be genetically compatible. Unlike the Cornish Rex-Devon Rex breeding, which produced only straight-coated kittens, the Cornish rex-German Rex breeding produced curly coated kittens. In some parts of Europe, some Cornish Rex can trace their ancestry back to German Rex foundation cats.
As a result of the genetic similarity between the Cornish Rex and the German Rex, the German Rex is no longer bred as a separate breed in many countries. Today the breed is rare, even in Germany.
General form
The German Rex is a small to medium-sized cat, and because she stands so high on her legs she can appear to be a large cat.
Because of the fine boning on the German Rex, she may feel almost dainty, but this cat is athletic and not at all fragile.
The German Rex has a round head with large ears and eyes that look large for the size of the head. She has a strong chin and long, slender legs. The tail is also medium in length, and is well covered with fur.
The coat on the German Rex is unusual as it has no guard hairs, is silky, short and curls naturally. The whiskers also curl.
Отличительная особенность породы German Rex
Head is medium sized, with rounded contours
Profile is curved.
Cheeks are well developed.
Chin is firm.
Ears are medium sized, broad at the base with slightly rounded tips and set wide apart.
Eyes are round, medium sized and open. They are wide set. The eye colour shall be uniform and corresponds with the coat colour.
Body is muscular and athletic, without being coarse.
Legs are muscular and of medium length.
Paws are oval.
Tail is of medium length and ends in a slightly rounded tip.
Coat is soft and supple due to the lack of guard hairs. It is short and wavy.
Whiskers and eye brows are crinkled.
Character
The German Rex is a breed that becomes involved with her parent. She loves to be right next to her humans and must have some time with them every day. In general, she loves being handled by her parents.
Maintenance care
The German Rex cats need occasional grooming to keep their coat healthy and shiny. Light and gentle brushing once or twice a week helps to remove dead hairs and ensures that their curly hair is not damaged.
Their coat is known to become greasy, thus they should be bathed more often than other breeds. Bathing with a mild shampoo is good for their sensitive skin and keeps away various infections. To dry their coat, you can use a towel to wrap them soon after bathing. Also, check their ears for waxy deposits and clean them whenever needed.
As they are extremely hygienic, they hate to use an untidy and smelly litter box. Use a mild detergent to clean their litter box and replace it once a week.
Athletic and active by nature, this cat loves to play, run, and jump. It needs plenty of room for exercise to maintain its ideal weight and to keep the strength of muscles. Playing interactive games such as games of fetch also keeps it stimulated both mentally and physically. Short spells of exercise for around 10-15 minutes several times daily is good for your pet.
Lifespan — 12-16 years.
Dignity
Best with older children , good with household cats and dogs , low shedding , medium sociability with strangers.
Difficulty keeping
The German Rex cats need occasional grooming to keep their coat healthy and shiny.
Diseases
In general, this is a healthy breed with no major health issues. However, it may sometimes suffer from some common hereditary diseases like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which usually causes heart diseases. Deal with this issue by taking your pet to an experienced vet. The Rex cat may also be affected by diarrhea, eye problems, and infections caused by fleas.
