Devon and Cornish Rex: grooming and care

Every cat's skin makes oil. On a Rex, with no long guard hairs lying over the coat, it stays close to the skin, where it darkens pale coats along the back and leaves a mark on favorite blankets. CFA's Cornish Rex page says it plainly: some cats may become greasy over time, and a bath may be needed occasionally when they do. VCA goes further and says the Cornish benefits from regular baths, adding that the thin coat dries quickly once wet.

For the Devon, VCA's profile suggests stroking the coat with a piece of chamois leather or your hands to spread the natural oils, and wiping the cat down with a cat-safe baby wipe or a warm, damp washcloth. The right interval depends on the cat. Let the coat and the bedding tell you, and bathe when the back feels tacky rather than on a fixed date.

Winter on Cape Ann adds one more consideration. A Rex feels the cold: CFA calls the Cornish easily chilled and suggests a sweater may help, and VCA says the breed is always looking for a source of heat. From November to March, plan baths for the warm middle of the day and keep the cat in a heated room until it is completely dry.

CFA's method for the Cornish is a good shampoo and a thorough towel dry, and it warns never to use a blow dryer, which it says will ruin the curls. The thin coat dries fast, which helps, but a damp Rex chills quickly in a Gloucester kitchen in February. Warm the room first and have two towels within reach before the cat goes near the water.

Choose a gentle shampoo labeled for cats, and keep anything medicated for when your vet has prescribed it. Pay attention to the folds of the armpits and groin and to the skin between the toes, where oil builds up first on these breeds.

Research led from the Royal Veterinary College in England found Malassezia yeasts on 90 percent of the Devon Rex cats it sampled, against 39 percent of Cornish Rex and 50 percent of domestic shorthairs, and described the Devon as a breed prone to seborrheic dermatitis caused by one of those yeasts. A related pilot study recorded greasy dermatitis in the armpits, groin and claw folds and between the toes of the affected Devons.

That pattern looks like ordinary grease at first, which is why it matters. If a Devon's armpits, groin or claw folds stay brown and greasy within days of a bath, or the skin is red, flaky or itchy, see your vet before booking another wash; the treatment is theirs to choose. The same goes for bare patches spreading on an adult, and for sore, pink skin on a Cornish that has been lying in a sunny window, since CFA warns the coat gives little sun protection.