CORNISH-REX BREED HISTORY.

The Cornish Rex breed began on July 21, 1950 in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England. Serena, a normal tortoiseshell-and-white farm cat, had a litter of 5 kittens. Among them a cream-colored male was unlike any other kitten seen before. Instead of short straight hair like his litter mates, tiny tightly rolled curls covered his body, somewhat like a lamb in appearance. At firstkitten’s owner, Nina Ennismore, thought his coat would flatten when he dried, but instead the curls became pronounced.

As he grew, he became long and slender with a whippy tail, huge ears, and a narrow head. Even his whiskers were curved and crinkly. The kitten was named Kallibunker. Nina Ennismore decided he would make an unusual pet and took him to her vet to be neutered. Fortunately for the Rex breed, the vet recognized the kitten for what it was a true mutation and recommended her to contact geneticist A.C.Jude. And Jude persuaded the owner to breed Kallibunker back to his mother to strengthen the line. Two curly kittens resulted. Ennismore called this new breed ”Rex”, which came from her previous experience breeding curly-coated Rex rabbits. The breed became “Cornish” in 1960 to split it with the other rex gene - Devon.

It was discovered that gene given rex mutation was recessive. That means that only two rexes can born curly kittens. Serena, Kallibunker mother, obviously carried the rex gene. Curly-coated cats had been reported for years in Cornwell, but Kallibunker was the first officially registered. Kallibunker was bred to Siamese, Burmese, and British Shorthair, and all kittens were normal-coated. But these normal-coated kittens would carry the rex gene. That means these kittens to be bred back to a Cornish Rex or each other could have curly-coated kittens. Developing a new breed is usually costly and time consuming and Kallibunker's owner decided she could no longer afford to continue the breeding program. Among the cats she put to sleep were Kallibunker and his dam. Luckily a few descendants of Kallibunker, for example, his grand daughter LaMorna Cove, were shipped to the United States and the breed was continued.

Rex cats caught the interest of breeders and the general public after LIFE MAGAZINE featured a full page picture of a kitten with curly hair and whiskers.

Before La Morna Cove left England she was bred to her father and her kittens gave the foundation of the Cornish Rex in the US. La Morna and her kittens were bred to Siamese cats to widen the US gene pool and the result is the US cats have a thinner, more Oriental body than Great Britain’s Cornish Rex. It is interesting that in spate of using Siamese cats in Cornish Rex breed the pointed Cornish Rex would not be accepted by CFA next 27 years.

So, Cornish Rex continued there happy life in the US. What happened with the breed in England? We certainly have clear European line of Cornish Rex. The history of this line was so – famous and promising experimental breeder Brian Stirling-Webb bought Podhu, Kallibunker’s son, from Ennismore in 1958. Podhu was unusual – he was blue-cream male. However, after a few genetic tests were done to ensure his blue-cream status, the results left poor Podhu sterile….It is certain though that Podhu was blue-cream because he sired red-and-cream female kittens with four different dams. So, the only remaining fertile male was Podhu brother – cream-and-white Sham Pain Charlie, which was called in England as Champagne Chas.

In 1960 Devon Rex gene was discovered and it was not determined as a different gene at the beginning. So, Devon Rex was breed with Cornish Rex and so, many Cornish Rex show Devon Rex in their very early pedigrees. Well, eventually, a blue Cornish Rex male was imported to England from the US to help the British Cornish Rex return to its original appearance.