History |
In Buckfastleigh, Devonshire,
England, in 1960, a certain Miss Cox became aware of a curly tom cat living
in a deserted tin mine near her home. It therefore came as no surprise
to her then when one day a stray tortiseshell female gave birth to a curly-haired
kitten. She considered him quite beautiful, with lots of curls and even
ringlets on his tail. For the past ten years, the curly-haired "Rex"
breed that was to become today's Cornish Rex had been quite the rage in
England, and many English breeders had been eagerly working with these
"poodle cats". Delighted with her kitten, Miss Cox named him
"Kirlee".
As Kirlee grew, Miss Cox contacted a Mr. Brian Stirling-Webb, who was
working to establish the curly-haired "Rex" (after the curly-haired
Rex rabbits) cats as a breed, and offered the use of Kirlee as an outcross,
to help increase the size of the Rex gene pool.
Mr. Stirling-Webb and the other rex breeders were indeed very excited
to hear the news. They persuaded Miss Cox to send them Kirlee to use with
their rex program. Kirlee was mated with several rex females and eagerly
awaited the upcoming kittens. To everyone's surprise, the resulting kittens
were all straight-haired!
After several additional attempts, it was apparent that Kirlee represented
a completely separate genetic variation than that found in the other "Rex"
cats (who became referred to as "Gene I" Rex, as opposed to
Kirlee's "Gene II"). Work proceeded apace to establish both
as independent breeds.
The "Gene I" Rex cat became known as the Cornish Rex, due to
their origin in Cornwall, England (quite close to Devonshire), and has
a curly coat with no guard hairs, and awn hair that is difficult to distinguish
from the down. The body type is somewhat reminiscent of the "oriental"
breeds of cats (such as Siamese), and the head is comprised of a series
of smooth oval shapes.
Kirlee and the "Gene II" Rex cats became known as the Devon
Rex, and established a look and breed characteristics distinctly their
own. The Devon's coat contains all three types of hairs, although somewhat
modified, and has a larger and looser curl than the Cornish Rex. The body
type is very different as well, stockier and more heavily built, with
a broader and shorter head with lower ears, and the distinctive "pixie"
or "elfin" that has come to be the hallmark of the Devon look.
In 1967, Great Britain's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) recognized
the distinction between the two breeds, and wrote standards to allow each
of them into competition as distinctive breeds of cat.
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Myopathy |
Cats affected by myopathy.
This movie Movie
with cats affected by myopathy (and a link at left) is
made available with the permission of Dr. Richard Malik, Austarlia (r.malik@vetc.usyd.edu.au).
It is a small compilation from the private data of Sybil Drummond,
Australia (drummond@pnc.com.au).
It is hoped that by making this information, and the movie available,
breeders/owners will have a better understanding of the disorder and
may be encouraged to make pedigree details available for the Devon Rex
Database (www.pawpeds.com),
particularly details relating to kittens resulting from certain matings.
These kittens do not have to be affected kittens, it is equally important,
perhaps more so, to have details of litters where no affected kittens
were born. For too long, this issue has been shrouded in secrecy. It
is time for details to be brought out of the closet and made available
to all in an effort to help the breed and eliminate this heartbreaking
disorder for all time. Wouldn't you like to see an end to the birth
of these poor little kittens? Won't you help?
There is no cure for the disorder, and at this stage, no test to identify
carriers of the myopathy gene has been developed.
The importance of breeders to keep litter details and records, to have
a clue of test mating in hindsight, using a worldwide public database
as a tool to make "good" pedigrees for the future. This powerful
tool is based on all breeders willingness to participate by sending
pedigrees and inform especially about affected kittens pedigrees. If
the birth of affected kittens it's most important to understand that
it is not necessarily to rush out and de-sex carriers, that these cats
are priceless for test mating purposes, the only tool we have at this
stage that gives some chance of determining which cats may be "safe"
for breeding purposes. This is not a work without problems but there
are several people around the world that are willing to support and
help in such work as "test mating"
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Additional
information about the movie. |
#The first cat, moderately
affected, illustrate the high stepping gait of these cats, and the head
bobbing, the elevated shoulder blades (scapulae). You'll note how the
cats give the impression that something is pulling the head down and tucking
it into the chest.
#The second cat, mildly affected, illustrates the elevated scapulae, head
hung low; the periscoping posture.
#The third shows two of the kittens eating. Note how the one on the left
seems to "snatch" at the food to get it up.
#The fourth shows a severely affected little cat. Note how it can take
only a few steps before being forced to stop and rest in typical myopathy
pose - front paws outstretched, head to the side resting on these.
#The fifth cat, moderately affected, shows again the elevated scapulae
and neck ventroflexion, with an "overstretching" gait (they
seem to extend their legs to a longer than normal step).
#The sixth cat is again a very severely affected little one. Note how
this one also snatches at food; the head is well tucked in to the chest.
Note also the head bobbing.
#The seventh kitten again shows the periscoping, a position they frequently
adopt. Note also the straining, and the way the head drops when in the
litter tray. It also shows the kitten in typical sitting posture, on the
rump, propped against something. In this case, it shows the kitten is
well able to wash himself. This kitten deteriorated following a viral
infection, and ended up very similar in condition to cat number four.
#The last cats, moderate to severely affected, again show the elevated
scapulae, the head bobbing, the overstretching gait, the neck ventroflexion.
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