Oregon Rex cat

The Oregon Rex was found in 1959 in, where else, Oregon, USA. This cat has an American Shorthair body and the Rex coat. The awn hairs are thicker, apparently.

The three better known cats with Rex in their name are the Devon, Cornish and German Rex cats. These three rexoid mutants carry an autosomal recessive gene that produces the curly coat. The German Rex and Cornish Rex have either identical mutant genes or very similar. The Devon has a difference in phenotype to the other two.

The Oregon Rex also has an autosomal recessive gene that is independent of the gene carried by the Devon and Cornish. The gene symbol is ro.

Although this cat breed was being breed for a while it appears to have drifted and faded one way and another. When a Devon or Cornish Rex is crossed with the Oregon Rex normal coated kittens are born.

At the date of this post is there any sign of activity in the breeding program of the Oregon Rex? I am afraid the clear signs are that no comback is apparent or on the horizon (wrong - please tell me in a comment). There are no pictures of this cat either so people are going to have to look at the American Shorthair cat and visualize curly hair on this cat instead.

Oregon Rex cat to Cornish Rex cat

See a list of more domestic cat breeds that are not mainstream