| The first Cornish Rex was born in Cornwall in southwest England, for which the breed is named. Cornwall was allegedly home to King Auther's Camelot. On July 21, 1950, Serena, an ordinary tortoiseshell and white barn cat, gave birth to five kittens on a farm in Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. The now famous litter contained four ordinary kittens and one extraordinary, curly coated male kitten named Kallibunker. He was very different from his litter mates-his hair was short and curly. Instead of possessing the stocky body of his litter mates and mother, Kallibunker's body was long and lithe. He had large ears, a slender tail, and an egg-shaped head. This cat was destined to become the father of the Cornish Rex breed. Intrigued by his unusual appearance, the owner started a breeding program to develop Kallibunker's uniqueness into a recognised breed. The owner mated Kallibunker back to his mother, and they produced one straight coated kitten and two curly coated kittens. Only one of these kittens, Poldhu, a curly male went on to sire kittens. Poldhu eventually went sterile, so the other male in the litter went on to continue the breed. Only by breeding the remaining male to other breeds such as Burmese, Siamese and the domestic shorthair did the Cornish Rex breed survive. Of the very few offspring's from Poldhu, one of which is called Marmaduke eventually went to America. Due to the gene pool being very small in the 1950s-1960s the Cornish Rex was a endangered species. At this point out crossing to other breeds was the only hope. Marmaduke was bred to Siamese, Havana Browns, Russian Blues, American Shorthairs and British Shorthairs. Not only did this provide essential genetic diversity, but is also provided the wide selection of colours and patterns available today. A rare event in feline history did take place, and now the Cornish Rex is one of the healthiest feline breeds available today. |
Home Kittens Our Cats Breed Profile Allergies Email Guest Book Links