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Devon Rex Diet: A Guide to Proper Nutrition at Different Life Stages
This Devon Rex diet guide breaks down what a Devon Rex actually needs to eat, how that changes by age, and the most common feeding mistakes to avoid.
10 Devon Rex Colors: Common & Unique Varieties
According to the official CFA Devon Rex breed standard, the breed's coat color is judged on the principle that "any genetically possible color and pattern, and any combination of genetically possible color and pattern," is allowed within the breed.
That single rule explains why no two Devon Rex cats look quite the same. Unlike breeds with a restrictive, narrow color standard, the Devon Rex has essentially no ceiling on coat variation: every recognized cat color and pattern combination is fair game. For anyone wondering what does a Devon Rex cat look like, the honest answer is: it depends entirely on which one you meet.
Devon Rex coat colors refer to the base pigmentation of the cat's wavy, sparse-guard-hair coat, while Devon Rex color patterns describe how that pigment is distributed: solid, tabby, tortoiseshell, bi-color, and several more specialized arrangements. Both dimensions combine independently, which is how a single breed produces such an enormous range of looks.
This guide walks through ten of the most common and distinctive Devon Rex colors and patterns you are likely to encounter.
10 Devon Rex Colors
1. Solid Colors
A solid Devon Rex displays one uniform color across the entire coat, without shading, tabby markings, or patches. According to the CFA standard, solid colors include white, black, red, cream, chocolate, lavender, cinnamon, and fawn – each with a distinct nose leather and paw pad color that must match the coat.
Notable solid colors:
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Black: dense, coal black, sound from root to tip
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White: pure glistening white with pink nose leather and paw pads
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Chocolate: rich chestnut brown
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Lavender: frosty grey with a pinkish tone
Red and cream cats are technically classed as solids but almost always show faint tabby markings on close inspection – a quirk of the genetics behind those two colors specifically.
2. Blue (Solid Grey)
Blue is one of the most requested Devon Rex coat colors and is simply the dilute version of black – a soft, even, slate-grey tone with matching blue-grey nose leather and paw pads. It photographs beautifully against the breed's already striking ear and eye proportions, which is likely part of why it remains a consistently popular request among prospective owners.
3. Tabby Pattern
Tabby is not a color but a pattern, and it is one of the most common across the entire breed. A tabby coat displays the characteristic "M" marking on the forehead along with stripes, swirls, or spots distributed across the body.
Tabby sub-patterns found in Devon Rex:
|
Pattern |
Appearance |
|
Classic tabby |
Bold, swirling "bullseye" pattern on the flanks |
|
Mackerel tabby |
Long, narrow stripes running down the sides |
|
Spotted tabby |
Distinct spots on the body with striping on the legs |
|
Ticked tabby |
Lighter roots with darker tips, minimal body striping |
Tabby patterning can appear in essentially any base color – brown tabby, blue tabby, red tabby, and beyond.
4. Tortoiseshell ("Tortie")
Tortoiseshell Devon Rex cats display a mottled mix of two colors, typically black and red, in irregular patches across the coat. The mottling effect shifts depending on the base colors involved: a blue-cream tortoiseshell, for example, displays soft blue mottling paired with cream patches rather than the bolder black-and-red contrast.
Tortoiseshell coloring is sex-linked, which is why the overwhelming majority of tortie Devon Rex cats are female.
5. Calico
Calico is often confused with tortoiseshell, but the two are genetically and visually distinct: calico cats display three colors (typically white, black, and red) rather than the two-color mottling of a tortie, with the white forming a clear base rather than blending into the pattern.
Calico variations include:
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Standard calico: white base with black and red patching
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Dilute calico: the same pattern in softer blue and cream tones
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Van calico: color confined mostly to the head, tail, and legs, with the body almost entirely white
Like tortoiseshell, calico coloring is also sex-linked and seen almost exclusively in females.
6. Bi-Color
A bi-color Devon Rex pairs any solid coat color with white, generally distributed in a balanced, roughly even split across the body. Common combinations include black-and-white, blue-and-white, and tabby-and-white, with the classic "tuxedo" look: a dark coat with a white chest, belly, and paws, being one of the most recognizable bi-color variations.
7. Chinchilla and Shaded
These two closely related patterns both involve a white undercoat with color "tipping" layered on top, differing mainly in how much of each hair shaft carries that tipping.
Chinchilla carries the lightest tipping, concentrated mainly on the back, head, flanks, and tail, giving a sparkling, almost frosted appearance, with the chin, chest, and stomach remaining pure white.
Shaded carries deeper, more extensive tipping that shades gradually from dark along the back down to white on the underside, creating a more dramatic gradient effect than chinchilla.
8. Smoke Pattern
Smoke is a striking, almost optical-illusion pattern. The undercoat is white, deeply tipped with the marking color. A cat with this pattern appears to be a solid color while resting, but the white undercoat becomes visible the moment the cat moves, giving the coat a shifting, smoky quality that is genuinely difficult to capture accurately in still photos.
9. Pointed Pattern
Pointed Devon Rex cats carry a lighter overall body color with darker "points" – the mask, ears, legs, tail, and feet – clearly defined against the body. This pattern gives the breed a passing resemblance to a Siamese, though the underlying genetics and breed standard are entirely separate. Eye color in pointed Devon Rex cats is restricted to some shade of blue, per the CFA standard.
10. Mink and Sepia Patterns
These two patterns sit on a spectrum between fully pointed and fully solid coloring. Mink pattern shows a body with noticeable color, where contrast between the body and the points ranges from subtle to distinct depending on the cat's age and base color. Sepia pattern carries even richer, more even body color, shading only slightly lighter on the underside, with eye color ranging from gold to green to blue-green.
Both patterns can combine with nearly any base color, which is part of what makes a thorough understanding of Devon Rex coat colors feel less like memorizing a list and more like learning a flexible visual language.
What Does This Mean If You Are Choosing a Devon Rex Kitten?
Color and pattern are a matter of personal preference and carry no bearing on health, temperament, or quality. A reputable breeder prioritizes health testing and temperament over coat aesthetics, and color should be the last factor in your decision, not the first.
That said, there is genuine joy in finding a coat color or pattern that speaks to you personally and with a breed offering this much variety, the right one is almost always out there. Browse available Devon Rex kittens to see the range firsthand.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Devon Rex cat look like?
A Devon Rex has a short, soft, wavy coat, an oversized pair of low-set ears, large oval eyes, and a wedge-shaped head with prominent cheekbones, giving it an elfin or "pixie" appearance. Coat color and pattern vary enormously, since the breed standard permits virtually any genetically possible combination.
What are the most common Devon Rex coat colors?
The most commonly seen Devon Rex coat colors include black, white, blue (grey), red, cream, and chocolate, along with tabby and bi-color patterns. Because the breed standard allows essentially unlimited color combinations, rarer colors like lavender, cinnamon, and fawn also appear regularly.
Are certain Devon Rex colors rarer or more valuable than others?
No color is officially considered more valuable from a breed-standard perspective, since CFA recognizes all genetically possible colors and patterns equally. Certain colors like lavender or chinchilla may be requested more frequently by buyers, but this reflects demand, not breed quality.
Do Devon Rex color patterns affect health or temperament?
No. Coat color and pattern are determined by separate genes from those affecting health and temperament, so neither factor influences the other. Health and temperament depend on responsible breeding practices and genetic screening, not coat appearance.
Can a Devon Rex have blue eyes?
Yes, particularly in the pointed pattern, where blue eye color is required by the CFA standard. Other patterns allow a wider range of eye colors, including gold, green, copper, and hazel, depending on the specific coat color and pattern combination.
Why do tortoiseshell and calico Devon Rex cats tend to be female?
Both patterns are linked to the X chromosome, and the genetics generally require two X chromosomes to produce the mottled or three-color effect. Male cats, which carry only one X chromosome, rarely display these patterns, and on the very rare occasion they do, it typically indicates a chromosomal abnormality.
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