German Rex

Breed: German Rex I Size: 30 to 35 cm I Average lifepspan: 12+ years I Temperament: Calm, patient, and playful I Coat: Short I Origin: Europe.

The German Rex is considered to be one of the rarest cat breeds in the world! These cats are known for their pleasant personality and rare beauty.

The origins of the German Rex

It is particularly difficult to find the true origins of the German Rex. It is believed that breed was created through a cross between a Persian cat and a Russian Blue. With that being said, it is just a guess. We are not completely sure whether or not this is actually true. However, we do know that the German Rex, unlike what the name suggests, originated in Russia. The breed was discovered in East Prussia in the 1930s. More precisely, this cat breed was found in the city of Kaliningrad by Erna Schneider.

Thanks to many crosses, the German Rex did not go extinct. However, because of this, there are little to no German Rexes that can trace their history back to the original breed. With that being said, it is still considered to be its own breed.

One of the rarest cat breeds in the world

This cat breed is rare because it most likely came from an accidental cross. For this reason, the origins of the breed are difficult to find. In addition, as mentioned earlier, to protect this breed from extinction, many crosses were made with other cat breeds. However, breeders made sure to not distort this breed’s unique characteristics and did so without too much inbreeding.

The German Rex is also rare because not long after the breed was discovered, the first kittens were spayed and neutered. This significantly reduced the chance of the breed to continue on. We owe the existence of the German Rex breed to a cattery in Germany. The cattery bought the last German Rex kittens to start their cattery. Nowadays, catteries exist in the Baltic countries.

The character of the German Rex

While this cat has a serious, haughty, and unique appearance, its behavior is surprisingly similar to that of cat breeds native to Europe.

Phlegmatic and acrobatic

The German Rex is a very calm cat breed. Because of this quality, they get along well with children. They also have a lot of patience with children. A wonderful advantage of having this cat breed is that it is well-suited to life with elderly people and those who live in an apartment. In addition, these cats are particularly active. They have a lot of acrobatic talent and love showing it off. This cat is as sociable as it is vivacious, adapting quickly and easily to its living space.

A cat breed that needs attention and a furnished space

This cat needs to be able to show off their acrobatic talents. While this cat can live happily in an apartment, it is important to ensure that they have a space just for them where they can climb and play. To live happily, this cat breed needs to have enough space to run around and exercise. These cats love climbing more than anything. Whether it be on trees, furniture, or cat trees—it is important that these cats have things to climb on around them. In addition, these cats really enjoy going on regular walks outside.

The physical characteristics of the German Rex

General

Despite the breed’s origins, the German Rex possesses many of the characteristics of cat breeds native to Europe. For example, they have a muscular body and chest.

The thin legs of this breed end with round paws. This cat has a thick tail that thins out towards the end.

Head

The German Rex has beautiful rounded and prominent cheeks. Their face is longer than it is larger and its slender shape is reminiscent of a Siamese cat’s head. The medium nose is straight with short and curled whiskers. The German Rex has a strong muzzle. In addition, the breed has oval eyes. Because of the placement of this breed’s eyes, it makes the forehead of the German Rex look bigger than it actually is. Their eyes could be yellow, orange, or green. They have average-sized ears with ends that are rounded and with bases that are rather large. When it comes to the coat, it is thin and dense.

Body

The German Rex lives up to its regal name. When you first look at a German Rex, its muscularity and upright posture are what stand out the most. This cat has a muscular and elegant body with a strong and pronounced bone structure. With that being said, the characteristic that makes this cat unique is its fur. It is short, velvety, and has wave-like pattern. The German Rex cat breed does not have any guard hairs.

Coat, color, and grooming

The coat of the German Rex

A German Rex’s coat is made up of very short, fluffy fur. The bristles are very dense and feel pleasantly velvety to the touch. The characteristic wave patterns are more or less pronounced depending on the cat, but are nevertheless always present and recognizable.

The colors of the German Rex

In theory, we can find German Rexes of any color. With that being said, the LOOF standard does not accept chocolate tones and cinnamon tones and their variations. All patterns are accepted. For example, there are patterns such as bicolor, tricolor and tabby.

Grooming the German Rex

Unlike what the German Rex’s Russian origins would suggest, this cat breed is actually sensitive to the cold. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye on this cat’s health in the winter during walks and when playing outside. Other than this, this cat does not need a particular type of food. It is best to feed this cat according to its age, health, and physical activity.

To take care of this cat’s coat, you can brush it gently and regularly. This will allow the German Rex to keep the beauty of its coat. German Rexes lose very little hair.

Similar to most cats, it’s important to keep an eye on their eyes and ears, these are the most sensitive parts of their body.

Did you know?

The first two German Rexes were discovered by accident. They were named Kater Munk and Lämmchen. These cats were discovered 2 years apart, the first in Kaliningrad, the second near Berlin.

It’s likely that these cats were related. It is believed that this is how the breed came to be, after some interbreeding with Cornish Rexes.

This cross allowed the breed to be saved from a chronic skin disease that hit pure-bred German Rexes.