OUTCROSSING INFORMATION

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The Cat Fancier's Association (CFA) allows American Shorthair or British Shorthair. Kittens born on or after May 1, 2028 may have only Devon Rex parents. 

The International Cat Association (TICA) PERMISSIBLE OUTCROSSES: American Shorthair, British Shorthair, European Shorthair, Burmese, Bombay, Sphynx, Siamese. 

We often get asked about our outcross kittens and why we do outcrossing.  The Devon Rex breed as a whole is a relatively new breed . We do this to avoid inbreeding (breeding pair have 1 or more close relatives in common)  or line breeding (may have 1 or more relatives on their pedigree) in our cats.  

While some breeders take part in this practice (which is acceptable) we do not.  It is estimated that when a cat is over 17 percent inbred, you start to experience genetic defects.  When we outcross we use British Shorthair cats and Traditional Burmese cats - both are extremely healthy breeds and are known for their excellent dispositions.  

Outcrossing does take some time to get to the achieved goal.  For example, to achieve a curly coat you would breed a curly coated Devon Rex to an allowable outcross cat. Kittens from this pairing are born with straight coats but carry the curly gene. They are registered as Devon Rex F1 (F stands for foundation).  If you breed the F1 to a curly coated Devon Rex, you will have kittens with curly coats and kittens with straight coats.  They are registered as F2 Devon Rex.  If you breed F2 curly to curly, you will get 100 percent curly kittens.  If you breed F2 straight coat to curly, you will get both curly and straight coated kittens