The German Rex cat history
The ancestor of the current German Rex cat was a blue tomcat named Kater Munk. He was born in 1930 (some claim it was 1931) in a village near then Königsberg, German Reich (today's Kaliningrad, Russia).
Munk belonged to the family of Ms. Erna Schneider and was the son of an Angora cat and a Russian Blue. It is said that there was at least another curly kitten in the same litter, which was soon castrated. Munk spread his genes plentifully among the village's cat population and many years later, in 1947 a female German Rex cat was found in Berlin.
She wondered around a hospital and was cared by patients and nurses for a couple of years. In the summer of 1951, Dr.Rose Scheuer-Karpin noticed her and took her home. She even named her Lämmchen, the German word for "little lamb". Dr. Scheuer-Karpin supposed that the cat's "lamb" appearance was the result of a mutation and decided to start a new breed, the current German Rex cat.
Lämmchen during the next ten years just got smooth-haired kittens. It was only when her partner Blackie died that she allowed to be serviced by one of her sons. This resulted to a litter of two smooth-haired and two curled kittens. In this way it was proven that the lamb appearance concerned a recessive gene, meaning that both mates should have the recessive gene in order to deliver German rex kittens.
In 1960, thanks to French Professor Letard, German Rex cats began to be shown on exhibitions. The cats drew a lot of attention and Dr. Scheuer-Karpin received more foreign requests. A couple of cats even traveled to the USA.
During the 1970's there was a recession to the German Rex cat popularity, which led to the breed's reduction. Nowadays the breed has been officially recognized by the Fédération Internationale Féline and the S.C.F.F., and efforts are made to prevent it from extinction.
The German Rex cat personality
The Rex cats are generally considered extremely lively and playful, which applies also to the German Rex. Active and quite athletic, they are capable of surprising feats of agility and speed. In addition their adventurous and mischievous nature will bring joy to every family they join.
Besides, the German Rex cats are not loners. They are very friendly and tolerant creatures and they get along with humans, as well as with other cats. They are also very affectionate and they need to be loved and taken care of.
The German Rex cats are also very intelligent creatures. They can be easily trained (or they can easily train you) and the show a unique willingness to become a useful member of their human family.
The German Rex cat breed standards
According to the Fédération Internationale Féline, the German Rex cat has a rounded head with a good breadth between the ears. The cheeks are well developed and the chin is strong. The nose has a slight indentation at the base and the whiskers shorter than usual and curly.
The ears are medium large, wide at the base and slightly rounded at the tips. The outside part of the ears is well covered with fine hair, while the inside part is slightly covered with hair.
The typical eyes are medium in size and well opened. They are set at a good distance from the nose, beginning at the outer rather than the inner edge of the nose outline. Their color should be brilliant and harmonized with the coat color.
The body is of medium length, strong and muscular, but not massive or coarse. Their chest is particularly strong and in profile it looks rounded, while the back is straight from the shoulders to the rump.
The German Rex legs are of medium length and rather fine and the paws well developed and rounded.
Their tail is of medium length, beginning from a substantial base and tapering to a rounded tip. It is also well covered with fur.
The German Rex cat coat, finally, is short and velvety, soft and very silky. Its density varies from a thin and soft to a thick upper-coat. In addition it is wavy and without guard hairs. This last feature is the main characteristic of the certain breed.
All coat color varieties and patterns are recognized for the German Rex cat, including those with white.
Faults
The commonest faults that can disqualify a cat from being registered as a German Rex are the following:
· too long or too pointed head
· lack of muscle tone
· short of bare tail
· shaggy coat or not wavy enough coat or a coat that bears bare patches
