Cornish Rex
The coat has no guard hairs at all, only the soft undercoat, waved like corrugated iron. It feels warm in the hand because so little sits between you and the cat.
Photo by M.Minderhoud, CC BY-SA 3.0
Overview
The Cornish Rex began in a Cornish barn in 1950, with a curly coated kitten named Kallibunker in an otherwise ordinary litter. The mutation removes the guard hairs entirely, leaving only the soft undercoat, which is why the coat waves and why the cat feels hot to the touch.
It is not that a Cornish Rex runs a higher temperature. It is that there is almost nothing between your hand and the skin.
Temperament
Busy, acrobatic and permanently kittenish. Cornish Rex cats run, jump and fetch, and they are among the most consistently playful breeds at any age.
They are extremely people oriented and they seek out warmth, which usually means a person, a radiator or a patch of sun in that order. They are chatty without being loud.
Care and grooming
Almost no brushing, because the coat is too fragile for it. A hand smoothed over is enough, and a brush damages the wave.
With no guard hairs they lose heat quickly, they sunburn on the ears and nose, and the skin can get greasy, so an occasional bath and regular ear cleaning are part of the routine. They also feel cold weather far more than a normal cat.
Living and exercise
Indoors, warm, with plenty to climb. They are athletic and they use the whole vertical space of a room.
They want company and warmth in roughly equal measure, and they will get under a duvet to find both. Eleven to fifteen years is usual.
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