History and Origins
Country of Origin: England (county of Devon)
The Devon Rex cat breed stems from a curly-coated cat found in Devon in 1960. Like the Cornish Rex cat breed, the Devon cat's coat is caused by a recessive gene, and inbreeding was necessary to perpetuate the breed. The Devon cat gene is, however, different to that which curls the coat of the Cornish Rex, and crossing Devon Rex cats and Cornish Rex cats produces litters of straight-coated kittens. The two mutations must have arisen independently, despite arising so close geographically, ie, in Devon and Cornwall. Within 10 years of discovery, the breed was recognised in Britain.
