The Cornish Rex is part of the Rex group of breeds, with their signature curly coats. Cornishes not only have a unique type of curl (a Marcel wave) but a unique lean, athletic type. Known as the Greyhound of the cat world due to its highly arched back, all aspects of the Cornish are gently curved. They stand high on their feet and are best shown off by stroking their back — they naturally arch up into your hand and show off their extreme, racy type. They are an active, intelligent, and extremely friendly cat whose only difficulty on the show bench may be that they are too busy padding the air, giving kisses or playing with toys to be judged!

The Cornish Rex originated in Cornwall, England in 1950 after the discovery of a curly kitten in a litter of barn cats. Kallibunker, as he was named, was not only different in coat from his littermates but also different in type; he was longer, racier, and leaner. He was bred back to his mother to produce more curly kittens, and the Cornish was imported to America in 1956, where it flourished. Meanwhile, all but one British Cornish was lost to circumstance; a curly kitten found turned out to have the wrong rex gene and instead founded the Devon Rex. Dwindling Cornish stock was supplemented by a kitten found in California in the early 1960s, who luckily had the right mutation, and in 1962 the Cornish Rex was accepted by the CFA as the Rex; it was not until 1984 that it separated from the Devon. Today’s Cornishes are primarily an American development; British Cornishes are of a stockier, less arched type with a closer-lying coat, although they are much less popular there than the Devon.

Type & judging remarks
Head is a modified wedge resembling an egg with a string tied around the middle. Ears set very high on the head, the larger the better. Very roached back, standing high on legs with a long thin tail that seems almost prehensile.