Lexifers Devon Rex :: Information Page ::
 
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What do we do and who are we?
Well we are what's called a Hobby breeder, we breed & show cats because we love it.
Who are we? I am Sarah Morgan, I'm 37, & I love cats, always have and always will, my Husband (and the chap responsible for this website) is Ian he is nearly as mad about cats as I am (good thing really !!). We have been married for 12 years.
We have (at the last count) 14 cats (10 Devon Rexes, 2 Moggies, a Sphynx & a Long Haired Selkirk Rex.).
We met while living in London, but decided that we would rather live in Devon (where I grew up) so we moved to Devon in '95. In 2007 we moved to South Wales as I have family here who I wanted to be close to.
We started showing cats in 1997. In 2001 we got our first Devon Rex (Zippy), and we have since acquired a further 9 Devon's (that's the trouble with Devons, they are addictive, you can't stop at just one !!). So far we have had several litters of Kittens you will find some pics of them in the gallery slideshow.
But it's not just the cute & furry kind of animals we like, we also have Tropical Fish, & 4 Vivariums, with a Pueblan Milk Snake, a Leucistic Rat Snake, a Jungle Leopard Gecko & a pair of Land Hermit Crabs, we don't quite qualify for Zoo status but it feels like it is one sometimes! :) .
Devon Rex Breed Info
You may wish to know some information about the Devon Rex, firstly some history, as cat breeds go they are fairly new, as the cat who became known as the first Devon Rex was born in Buckfastleigh, Devon in 1960 and was found in a litter of feral kittens born at the bottom of someones garden. He was called Kirlee, and although his mother was a normal coated cat his father is belived to be a stray Tom known to hang out in an old tin mine nearby. The fact that the gene which causes the Curly or Rex coat is recessive (meaning both parents have to carry it for it to mainfest itself), suggests that Kirlees mother may well have been related to his father.
At first this kitten was thought to be the same as the Cornish Rex which had been discovered 10 years previously, (at this time known as the English Rex) but after a few test matings it was soon clear his rex gene was different and not compatible as all his offspring from these matings were straight coated.
And so he was called a Devon Rex and what had been called the English Rex was re-named the Cornish Rex.
Now we've got the history lesson out of the way, something a bit more practical, what is it like to live with a devon?
Devons are very people orientated cats, they love company, and are very intelligent, but as with most intelligent animals, will get bored easily, when they are bored (if left alone for long periods of time) they will start looking for things to entertain themselves with, these usually involve seeing how many things they can knock of your shelves, or how many inedible things they can eat/chew, they are extremely mischievous.
They are very agile cats there will be very few places if any that a devon can't get to in most households.
They like to sit on your shoulders, and are very talkative without being blabbermouths, when they have something to say it's usually a very clever comment, informing you that you are doing it all wrong (no matter what you are doing !!).
As a general rule they are fearless and will get on with most other animals quite easily, even DOGS!!
They are very easy to look after with regard to grooming, needing little if any, an occasional spot of ear cleaning may be required as they do tend to get mucky ears sometimes. A quick wipe over with a damp chamois will bring the ripples in there coats up a treat.
For those of you who are interested in the breed it's interesting to see how the Standard of Points varies between the different cat fancy registration organisations.
It's surprising how many different Rex coated cat breeds there are (or have been in the past), alas many of them have now become extinct due to lack of interest, and some like the German Rex are very close to extinction.
