Ural rex

The Ural Rex has been known since World War II in Russia, however the political withdrawal of the USSR did not allow the breed to develop in Europe and America. It was only from glasnost that this breed became known in the West, similarly to the Kurilian Bobtail or the Siberian. The founder of the breed is a black bicolour male named Vasilly born in 1988 in Zaretchny. To fix the curly gene, several inbreeding crosses are carried out. It emerges from these crosses that the Ural Rex is a breed of good constitution, free from hereditary disease. However, to guarantee a sufficient genetic pool, crosses with the European are authorized. The first Ural Rex breeding establishments concentrated in Yekaterinburg, in the catteries "Ural Rex", "fairy tales" and "Emerald", breeding was exported to Moscow in 1997. The name Ural Rex refers to the breed's region of origin, the Urals and the fact that it is a rex cat. The Ural Rex is recognized by the WCF in August 2006. The first importations outside Russia were made in June 2007 in Germany: the German lineages develop from a female "Dorothea Uralochka" and her half-brothers "Dimka" and "Eroshka Uralochka"; the first litters were registered in 2008 and 2009.

The World Cat Federation is the only federation of significance to recognize the Ural Rex. The body is of medium size, muscular and relatively short. The legs are proportioned to the body, thin and ending in oval feet. The thin tail is of medium length. The head is in the shape of a short wedge with rather prominent cheekbones. The forehead is flat. The muzzle is slightly curved at the level of the lower eyelids. The cheekbones are pronounced with a distinct pinching. The chin and lower jaw are firm. The medium-sized ears are placed high on the head, the tip is rounded. The large oval-shaped eyes are well-spaced; their colour must correspond to that of the coat. The coat is short or semi-long, silky and dense. It ripples over the entire body and tail. The waves must be well elastic. All traditional colours are accepted. The pattern is tabby, solid or bicolour. The ticked tabby pattern is prohibited, as is sepia. Crosses with the European are authorized until December 31, 2011.