Hairless Cats – the Cornish Rex

There are a number of breeds of cat around the world that are referred to as hairless and one of these is the Cornish Rex.  However the description isn’t entirely accurate as these cats do have a coat but it happens to be an extremely fine one.  

Special coat

Normally, a cat’s coat is made from three types of hair – these are the outer fur or guard hairs that are normally 5cm in length in a shorthair and double this in a longhair; the middle layer called the awn hair and the undercoat or down hair that is fine and around 1cm in length.  The Cornish Rex doesn’t have the first two but only the undercoat so has a very fine, downy coat of only around a centimetre in length.  It also tends to curl, giving them their distinctive look.

The normal three layer coat on a cat offers them protection from the elements and helps them keep warm but with the Cornish Rex, their coat doesn’t manage to do this.  This means that they need to be kept indoor most of the time to help them maintain their body temperature - they are at risk of hypothermia if they stay outside, particularly in the winter.  Their body temperature is also generally a little higher than most cats, at around 102 degrees F so this further adds to the problem.  The result is that they need to be kept in a warm house and will often choose to sleep beside a radiator, fire or other heat source.

While short, the coat of the Cornish Rex can still come in a range of different colours and patterns including solids, tabbies, tortoiseshells and the pointed pattern made famous by the Siamese. 

Origin of the breed

The mutation that gives the Cornish Rex its distinctive look was first noted in a litter of farmyard kittens in Cornwall in the 1950s.  One, a cream male called Kallibunker, has an especially fine and curly coat and is seen as the first Cornish Rex.  He was line bred with his mother to produce two other curly coated kittens with one, a male called Poldhu, being crossed with a Siamese to add the long tail and large ears to the breed.  They look similar to the Devon Rex but the mutation causing their appearance is different and crossing the two breeds is unhealthy.

Health

Apart from the lifestyle issues due to their fine coat, these cats have a noted problem with certain anaesthetics that means vets have to be very cautious about what they use.  Vets will be aware of this and use milder versions of the drug to avoid the potentially deadly side effects.