Let’s talk about the Cornish Rex!

#Caturdays

Family Gem’s Dearest Desire — Nickolas Titkov — Moscow, Russia

A Shorthaired Feline

What’s got super fine, short hairs; a sense of curiosity; and a taste for adventure? The answer?

Cornish Rex, a breed of the domesticated cat species (felis catus).

Throughout their lives, Cornish Rexes are known to stay playful and adventurous. Some play fetch, race other pets,and exhaust themselves with acrobatics tricks; as far as cats go they’re considered to be very intelligent. Cornish Rexes can readily adapt to new situations and will often explore wherever it can go, like alluring refrigerators and hypnotic washing machines.

Cornish Rex. Short for Cornwall, UK.

The Cornish Rex “originated” in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Technically speaking, the Cornish Rex is simply a genetic mutation that was expanded through breeding.

Kallibunker — the very first Cornish Rex.

Enter a cream-colored male named Kallibunker, who had an extremely unusual, fine and curly coat; he was the first Cornish Rex. Born to a litter of kittens in Cornwall, he was the cornball of the group.

While Cornwall explains the, “Cornish,” in this breed’s name, where does the, “Rex,” come from?

Using the word “Rex” to imply curly or otherwise unusual fur originates from an occasion when King Albert I of Belgium (1875–1934) entered some curly-haired rabbits in a rabbit show. They did not meet the breed standard, but the show’s officials did not wish to risk offending the king by rejecting them. Instead, they accepted them but wrote, “Rex,” beside their names.

Why that word? “Rex,” is, “king,” in Latin.

In other words, Kallibunker was a Cornwall (Cat) King!

So what’s to know about this feline friend?

A Cornish Rex is a breed of domestic cat.

The ideal weight for a male Cornish Rex cat is 8 to 10 pounds (3.5 to 4.5 kg) and for a female Rex cat is 5 to 8 pounds (2.0 to 3.5 kg).

• They’re identified by their traditionally short, extremely fine, and curly hair. They only have the undercoat or, “down,” hairs.
• A Cornish Rex has a slender, fine-boned body, narrow head, and long legs. They also have what’s been called, “bat-ears,” as well as a long, “whippy,” tail.
• Their short fur and slender bodies makes them suited for indoor living conditions. Since they are sensitive to low temperatures, Cornish Rexes like to stay near sources of heat such as computer monitors, light bulbs, laps and shoulders!
• Cornish Rexes can come in a wide variety of colors and aren’t just cream-colored like Kallibunker was! From breed standards (such as solid white, black, and chocolate) to all forms of tabby, these Rexes fill a variety of different coat colors.
• The mutation identified within Cornish Rexes affected their lysophosphatidic acid receptor 6 (LPAR6). In humans, the mutation of their LPAR6 will result in a wooly hair phenotype!

Cornish Rex — @SacasCattery ( Twitter Handle )

(Cat’s typically have three layers! The, “guard,” hairs on top tend to be the longest, the middle, “awn,” hairs in the middle layer are of average length, and the last undercoat — “down,” hairs that are very fine and only about 1 cm long.)

Alright, now back to the cat pictures.

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