Back in the early 20th century, in different regions of the Urals, information about a population of curly cats emerged. They were born from straight-haired felines, among which there were both fluffy ‘Siberian’ and smooth-haired mongrels.
The progenitor of the officially recognized breed of ‘Ural Rex’ cats was a cat named Vasily, who was born in the city of Zarechny, Sverdlovsk Region, in the late 1980s. His mom was a simple mongrel named Mura.
Felinologists from Yekaterinburg learnt about him, convincing the owners to present the unusual cat at an exhibition, where he attracted well-deserved attention.
But, he was not the only one. In 1992, another cat with such kittens took part in the same exhibition. Musya was a wavy, long-haired ‘Siberian’, while her two kittens were born with curls. Both kittens were purchased by Leningrad breeders.
Thus, felinologists found out that the curly hair gene is recessive and set themselves a goal to purposefully breed ‘Ural Rexes’.
Breeders tried to introduce the ‘Ural Rex’ to other curly-haired cats, but such pairs still gave birth to just straight-haired kittens. It turned out that the Ural curl gene is different. Nowhere else in Russia were such cats ever encountered. ‘Ural Rexes’ have their iconic curls formed in childhood, and it is a thin coat with a double flat wave. Already at the age of 3-4 months the kitten has distinct curls, and at the age of 6-7 months – nice even waves.
The breed standard was set back in the mid-1990s. However, there are not very many breeders. For most part, they live in Sverdlovsk Region, although some can be found in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
‘Ural Rexes’ are an indigenous breed and they boast good health. They live on average for 12-16 years.
Despite its modest parameters (adult cats weigh about 4 kg), this cat has a healthy appetite, athletic build and sociable character.
Unlike some other breeds, ‘Ural Rexes’ do not require any special care, it is enough to comb them from time to time. They always eat with great gusto, but remain relatively slim until old age. What is interesting is, this breed is even recommended to be fed natural, rather than specialized cat food. In addition to meat, they like oatmeal, rice and buckwheat, as well as apples and carrots!
So far, this phenomenon is little studied, but breeders assure that the ‘Ural Rex’ only meows when they are young. It is almost impossible to hear an irritated "meow" from them. But, at the same time, they will occasionally "chirp", as they "talk" in their own way!
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