The first thing most people notice when they see a Devon Rex is probably the ears. Sometimes the entire breed seems to begin with them: enormous, wide-set and utterly out of proportion to an ordinary feline head. Yet a careful look at a good Devon soon makes it clear that large ears alone do not make a cat a Devon Rex.
For me, a good Devon is above all about balance. The ears, eyes, short muzzle, profile, body and even the expression must form one recognisable whole. You can produce enormous ears, but set them high and upright and the impression changes completely. You can have large eyes, but without the right head they do not create true breed type either.
The ears are, of course, one of the breed’s most important features. I like a very broad base and low setting, so that the ear seems to begin at the side of the head. The inner ear should be deep and spacious. We once examined this architecture in detail using our Gwen as an example. An ear should not look like a large triangle attached to the top of the head; it is part of the head’s entire construction.
The Devon head is broad but not round. I like neither a long Oriental wedge nor an excessively heavy, rounded head. To my eye it is more horizontal: broad between the ears, with pronounced cheekbones, a clear whisker break and a very short muzzle. Seen from the front, width should be more apparent than height. This construction gives space to the enormous ears and eyes while preserving the characteristic expression.
The profile is another feature I now assess almost automatically. A good Devon should have a pronounced stop and a very short bridge of the nose. In our own drawing of the ideal Devon we once marked that angle separately, at roughly 90 degrees. The number itself is not what matters to me; it is the impression. The profile should not flow smoothly from forehead to nose as it would on a cat with a long, straight bridge. The transition should be obvious and the nose short.
The muzzle is very short and neat, with pronounced rounded whisker pads. At the same time, I dislike the ‘human face’ effect which can arise when the corners of the mouth or cheeks are exaggerated. To me, a good Devon looks lively, attentive and slightly astonished by life itself, but should not literally smile at a person. It is a subtle difference, but once seen it becomes difficult to ignore.
The eyes are large and wide open, with a very large iris. I like an oval-almond shape: the upper lid follows a gentle curve, the outer corner rises slightly and almost no white is visible. Size is not an end in itself here either. The eye must work with the broad head and ear setting; otherwise one merely has a cat with very large eyes. In our earlier study we identified precisely this expression — intelligent, lively and attentive.
For all that unusual head, the Devon Rex body should not be fragile. I like a light, elegant, fairly high-legged silhouette, but beneath that visual lightness the cat should feel physically strong. The chest is broad and deep, the body muscular, the hind legs slightly longer than the forelegs, the paws small and the tail long and fine. We once put it quite exactly: a Devon should look light, graceful and supple while remaining strong.
The coat, however, is far more interesting than adult photographs might suggest.
The Devon Rex coat is short, soft and fine, with a characteristic wave. On a good adult it may form a beautiful repeating curl across the body. That does not mean a three- or five-month-old kitten must look like a miniature version of a fully coated adult.
Nor must every Devon lose its coat in kittenhood. Some kittens have a well-developed coat from an early age and keep it as they mature. Others pass through a stage when the coat becomes extremely short, almost velvety. It may be less dense in places — around the neck or belly, for example — and later grow in perfectly normally.
At such a stage, a person may stop seeing the curls they expected from a Devon Rex. This is especially alarming to new owners: the kitten was curly, then the coat became short and almost straight — where did it go?
In my experience, nowhere.
An extremely short coat may simply have too little length for the curl to show properly. As it grows, a wave appears and the breed’s characteristic structure becomes increasingly visible. Some kittens pass through a fairly modest velvety stage; others carry a magnificent coat almost from the beginning.
The Devon Rex coat changes considerably with age. I usually assess the final adult version at about one year. I would not confidently predict an adult coat from a kitten of four, six or even eight months. Density and continuity of coverage should always be considered in relation to age, season and the animal’s physiological condition.
At the same time, I would not explain every case of hair loss by age. A healthy young Devon with an extremely short velvety coat and a few less-covered areas is one thing. Sudden hair loss, skin changes, itching or other symptoms are another. The breed may be unusual, but common sense still applies.
That is probably why I find it strange when people judge a Devon by a single feature: the largest ears, the shortest muzzle, the biggest eyes or the strongest curls.
That is not how a good Devon works for me.
A cat may possess all these pronounced breed characteristics, but none should exist separately from the rest. Enormous ears must be set correctly on a broad head. A short muzzle must work with good cheekbones and eyes. A light body must remain strong and muscular. A beautiful coat should complete the cat, not become the only feature for which everything else was forgotten.
When we once explored the image of the ideal Argo’s Legend Devon Rex, we described it as a balance of anatomy and emotion. I still like that idea. Correct lines of head and body matter greatly in this breed, yet somehow the face is what stays in the memory first.
Enormous ears, enormous eyes and the attentive gaze of a cat who has plainly already thought of something.
