Born out of genetic mutation in a litter in Cornwall in the 1950s, the Cornish Rex are small to medium sized cats with an egg shaped head, high cheekbones and a narrow yet round muzzle. Despite appearing slight in build, these are muscular and active cats, and often display an athletic streak. They are interesting household pets as they love to entertain their owners. Their ears are large while their tails are long. They have a muscular body with slender legs, which enable them to be extremely active.

The coat of the Cornish Rex falls beautifully on the body of the cat. It is short, soft to touch and lies extremely close to the body. It is important to note that there are three types of cat hairs - guard hairs, awn hairs and down hairs. Guard hairs are the outer fur of the cat, which is anywhere between 5 cm in length for shorthairs and 10 cm or more in length for longhairs. Similarly, awn hair is the middle fur and down hair is the undercoat. It is interesting to note that the Cornish Rex only has down hair, which again is short and close to the body.

It is important to understand that as this cat has only down hair, it cannot survive extreme cold conditions. So, it should be kept indoors in the warmth where it can stay dry. Moreover, it is important to note that the body temperature of this cat is slightly higher than other cats. In your house, this cat tends to stay at warm places, either on the light bulb, near your computer monitor or on your laps and shoulders - basically any place that will give it absolute warmth.

The undercoat or down hair of the Cornish Rex is soft, curly and absolutely fine, giving the cat a feel of soft velvet. The coat comes in a variety of colors including solid ones, combinations and patterns. Common solid coat colors are black, blue, white, lavender, red, chocolate, cream and blue cream. There are silver cats, which are shaded whilst the smoke ones have the above colors. There are bi-colored Cornish Rex cats, which are blue and white, black and white, red and white, cream and white or tabby and white where tabby is brown, silver, red, cream or blue tabby. Similarly, bi-colored ones also include blue smoke and white, black smoke and white, cream smoke and white, red smoke and white, lavender and white, tortoiseshell and white etc. Patterned cats are often patched in color or patched with white. Color of the patch can be brown, black, blue, silver etc. Their undercoat requires regular grooming by way of simple brushing while their curls can be straightened with your fingers.

These are friendly cats that love people and are extremely affectionate. They love to mix with the family, often entertaining you for hours with their antics. Absolutely elegant in looks and intelligent, these cats are fantastic home pets for families. Thanks to being extremely active, Cornish Rex cats need to play a lot and can be quite inventive in creating and playing new games, including tossing things or playing with them. Fetch and catch are popular games that these cats love to play akin to most dogs.