Kiibuyat Sphynx & Devon Rex | Hairless Cats 'n' Curly Kittens!

Kirlee, the first Devon Rex -pictured above-

1960: Miss Cox living in Buckfastleigh, Devon, became aware of a feral curly tom living in a deserted tin mine near her home. She was, therefore, not really surprised to find a curly kitten in a litter born to a stray tortie-and-white female. She felt that he was quite beautiful, with lots of curls and even ringlets on his tail. She decided to keep him and name him Kirlee. Miss Cox contacted Mr. Sterling-Webb, one of the breeders who was working to establish the Cornish Rex as a breed, feeling that they might be in need of an outcross. Mr. Sterling-Webb and the other Cornish breeders were indeed very excited to hear the news. They persuaded Miss Cox to send them Kirlee to use with their rex program. Kirlee mated with several Cornish Rex queens and all awaited the upcoming kittens. As Mother Nature frequently has a habit of having the last laugh, curly kittens were not to be had! All the resulting kittens were normal coated! After repeated breedings with other Cornish queens, it became apparent that Kirlee was of a different genotype from the previous rex cats.

One of the resulting normal coated kittens was a female named Broughton Golden Rain, bred by Mrs. P. Hughes. She was later returned to her father, Kirlee, for breeding and produced three kittens, two normal coated and one a curly blue-cream female, becoming the first curly coated cat from Kirlee. At a later date, Golden Rain was mated to one of the original [Cornish] rex males, producing four kittens, two normal coated and two curly. Golden Rain became the first hybrid known to carry both rex genes.

By 1967, Great Britain's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy recognized the distinction of the two breeds. Standards were written for the Devon based upon Kirlee's type which was quite different from the more "foreign" type of the Cornish. Kirlee and his descendants had a shorter and broader head with ears that sat lower and to the side of the head. They were also more heavily built than their forerunners, the Cornish.

The early Devon breeders were hampered by what appeared to be a hairless gene among the Devon. Some had bare patches on their neck and underside, and some had no coat at all. Breeders took stepts to correct the lack of hair, and cats with evidence of hair lack were not bred. Over time, Devon were being seen with better coats and shortly after recognition by GCCF, Amharic Curly Katie bred by Mrs. Knight became the first Devon Champion.

The popularity of the Devon grew and many of the early breeders became dedicated to their cause. Not only did the unique appearance of these cats cause attraction of many but their endearing personality was the final ingredient for dedicated captivity with the new breed.

Since the late sixties, we have seen more and more Devon from England, as well as several European countries, Australia, and New Zealand.

This wide geographic source is somewhat misleading because most all of these cats can trace their lines back to the original English stock rather quickly.

Even though CFA did not distinguish the Devon as a separate breed eligible for championship competition until 1979, breeders in the United States have made great strides in our own breeding programs in the past twenty years since they were introduced here.

The 1989-90 show season, saw the first Devon Rex to make a Top 25 National Win.