Devon Rex Breeders: One Breed, Five Rulebooks
Five registries, five different outcross policies, one reasoned ban, and the two questions that sort Devon Rex breeders: the COLQ test and blood typing.
Published August 21, 2026 5 min read
Contents
The registry facts first, because they are what a actually means. The Devon Rex has been 's #5 most-registered breed and its most popular shorthair for five consecutive registration years (2021 through 2025, per CFA's own dated articles). 's current breed committee profile dates the UK recognition precisely: application 1966, breed number 33a granted 1967.
's own Rules of Registration give three exact dates: registration effective February 1979, Provisional May 1981, Championship May 1983. The US-based Devon Rex Breed Club has run since 1979. The UK Devon Rex Owners Club is a member club. (A commonly repeated ACFA date, 1972, appears only in secondary accounts we could not confirm at ACFA's own source, and we label it that way.)
The outcross map: five registries, five answers
Ask "which breeds may a Devon Rex be crossed with" and every registry answers differently. That is the single most practical fact on this page for reading a . permits seven outcross breeds (Siamese included), with no end date. permits exactly two, American Shorthair and British Shorthair, both sunsetting for births after May 1, 2028. 's window is already closed: January 1, 2021. permits none at all. And sits at the quotable extreme.
Its breeding policy EXCLUDES Sphynx ancestry explicitly, with a stated genetic reason: the only reasoned, named-breed prohibition we have found in any registry document on this site. (The reason is real. The two breeds share the KRT71 coat gene at different alleles, and the Sphynx allele is dominant, so Sphynx blood disrupts the Devon coat; the profile carries the genetics.) We state the five policies and arbitrate none of them: each registry's document governs its own paperwork.
The two questions that sort breeders
Generic buyer checklists recycle themselves across every breed. This breed has two SPECIFIC questions, and a breeder's answers do the sorting for you:
"Are the parents COLQ tested?" The breed's hereditary myopathy (congenital myasthenic syndrome) has a validated genetic test, listed at UC Davis VGL for Sphynx and Devon Rex. A serious breeder can show both parents' results; a blank look is your answer.
"What are the parents' blood types?" 's own breed page states genetic testing is essential for breeders "because of the high incidence of blood type B in the gene pool". A type A kitten born to a type B risks fatal from the mother's own , unless the breeder manages it. A breeder who can explain their blood-type plan in one breath has done this before.
The legal floor, market by market
Minimum kitten ages are jurisdiction-specific, so here they are with their jurisdictions attached. Maine's statute sets 56 days. Several other US states have no breed-relevant floor, so the registry norm (12 weeks in most cattery contracts) does the work. In New South Wales, the actual rule is a 12-week IDENTIFICATION (microchip) requirement, not the "8-week sale age" that circulates on aggregator sites: a correction worth carrying.
In England, Scotland and Wales, the Lucy's Law family of rules governs WHO may sell (the breeder, from the kitten's birthplace, with its mother). That is a different question from a minimum age. Everywhere: registries recommend 12 weeks; check the legal minimum where you live.
Where to actually look
The two breed clubs beat any marketplace: the Devon Rex Breed Club (US, founded 1979, -affiliated) and the Devon Rex Owners Club (UK, whose breeders list is a directory of named, club-vetted catteries). In Canada and Australia, where listings are thinner, the registry's own breeder search (, , the member bodies) is the door; the price page carries what the named catteries in each market actually charge, and what they only reveal by email.
The outcross map on one card
| Registry | Outcross policy | The date that matters |
|---|---|---|
| Seven permitted breeds, Siamese included | No sunset date | |
| Two breeds: American SH, British SH | Sunsets for births after 1 May 2028 | |
| Window CLOSED | 1 January 2021 | |
| Excludes Sphynx ancestry BY NAME, with a stated genetic reason | The sharpest reasoned ban we have found | |
| None permitted | n/a |
The vet's take
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Frequently asked questions
How do I find a reputable Devon Rex breeder?
Start at the breed clubs (the US Devon Rex Breed Club, the UK Devon Rex Owners Club) and the registries' own breeder searches, then ask the two breed-specific questions: COLQ myopathy test results for both parents, and the parents' blood types. The answers sort the field fast.
What should a Devon Rex breeder test for?
The validated COLQ (congenital myasthenic syndrome) DNA test, blood typing (the breed carries a high incidence of type B, per CFA), and the general health screens any pedigree cattery runs. No HCM DNA test exists for this breed; treat any "HCM tested by DNA" claim with care.
Can Devon Rex be crossed with other breeds?
Depends entirely on the registry: TICA allows seven outcross breeds with no end date, CFA two until 2028, CCA-AFC none since 2021, ACF none, and GCCF specifically excludes Sphynx ancestry with a stated genetic reason.
How old should a Devon Rex kitten be at sale?
Registries recommend 12 weeks. Legal floors vary by jurisdiction (Maine: 56 days by statute; NSW: a 12-week microchip identification rule, not a sale-age rule): check the law where you live.
Community questions
Got a question this page doesn't cover? Ask it: the best ones get published here with their answer.
This is information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot tell you what is wrong with your cat. Our rule is a simple one: if something is wrong with your cat, call your vet, and call an emergency clinic if it is out of hours. Nothing you read here is a reason to wait.
Medical information applies to every reader. Prices, legal duties and common practice do not: unless stated otherwise, they are given for the United States, and they differ in the UK, Canada and Australia, and often between states or provinces. Check with your own vet and your own local authority.
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