A German Rex has 3 weak points and 1 constant burden: heart muscle, a thin curly coat that cannot shed sebum properly, an ear canal that fills with wax, and a body that loses heat faster than a coated cat's. The screen is an echo at 12 months and every 12 after, a skin and otoscopy check every 6 months, a urinalysis yearly, 1 DNA panel, and a home routine of ear checks every 7 days and bathing every 10 to 14 days. Published breed evidence is limited, so these numbers come from Rex-coat and cardiomyopathy practice and should be treated as a floor.
4 problems, and why the coat is one of them
The Rex coat lacks the stiff guard hairs that normally carry sebum away from the skin, so oil accumulates at the base of the curls, oxidizes, and feeds yeast. The same sparse coat gives almost no insulation: a Rex at rest in a 16 degree C room burns more energy to hold 38 degrees C than a coated cat does, and a cat that is losing weight without a diet change is often just cold. The ear canal in this breed produces wax faster than average and narrows with repeated inflammation, and the heart carries the breed's HCM risk on top of all 3.
Screening schedule by age
| Test | Start (months) | Repeat (months) | USD | CNY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiac echo | 12 | 12 | 250-450 | 1,800-3,200 |
| HCM DNA panel | 2 | 0 (once) | 80-150 | 600-1,100 |
| Thoracic X-ray (heart silhouette) | 12 | 24 | 110-200 | 780-1,420 |
| Skin cytology and otoscopy | 6 | 6 | 40-80 | 300-580 |
| Urinalysis with specific gravity | 12 | 12 | 45-90 | 320-650 |
| Dental check | 24 | 12 | 90-200 | 650-1,450 |
Two rows are easy to skip and should not be. The thoracic film at 12 months gives a heart silhouette to compare against later; the echo measures the wall, while the film shows whether the whole silhouette has enlarged, and the 2 answer different questions. Skin cytology every 6 months is cheap because it separates 3 conditions that look identical through the curls: yeast overgrowth, bacterial folliculitis and seborrhea.
Cold is a health item, not a comfort item
A cat's normal rectal temperature runs 38.1 to 39.2 degrees C. Below 37.5 the cat is hypothermic and should be seen within 2 hours; below 37.0 it is an emergency. Keep the room at 20 to 24 degrees C, provide a heated bed at 28 to 30 degrees C surface temperature, and never let a Rex sleep on a floor below 15 degrees C. A Rex that eats 20 percent more in winter without gaining weight is compensating for heat loss, not being greedy; weigh monthly and check the temperature of the sleeping spot before changing the diet.
4 signals visible at home
- Greasy coat within 48 hours of a bath. A waxy feel at the tail base or a sour smell at 30 cm means sebum is not being cleared and yeast is likely involved.
- Brown wax every 7 days. A cotton pad that comes away brown after 2 wipes, or more than 3 head shakes in an hour, is the ear canal filling faster than it drains.
- Shivering, or curling on hard surfaces. A cat that seeks the radiator, sleeps in a tight ball for more than 4 hours, or shivers at 18 degrees C needs a warmer spot, not a bigger meal.
- Sleeping respiratory rate above 30. Count 30 seconds while asleep and multiply by 2; 3 days at 30 or more means the echo moves forward.
Hour-level thresholds: when to stop watching
| Signal | Threshold | See a vet within (hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Body temperature | below 37.5 degrees C | 2 |
| Body temperature | below 37.0 degrees C | 0 (now) |
| Open-mouth breathing at rest | 1 minute or more | 0 (now) |
| Skin: open sore or oozing patch | 24 hours without improvement | 24 |
| Ear discharge with odor | 48 hours, or tilt over 30 degrees | 24 |
| Refusing food | 24 hours | 12 |
The temperature rows are the ones unique to this breed, and they are the ones owners argue with, because a Rex that feels cool to the touch is normal while a Rex that stops grooming is not. Take the temperature with a digital thermometer, not by feel: a reading of 37.6 with normal behavior is a warm bed, and a reading of 37.4 with hiding is a clinic visit within 2 hours.
The skin and ear routine, in numbers
Bathe every 10 to 14 days with a mild cat shampoo, and wipe the skin every 48 to 72 hours in between; washing every 3 to 4 days strips the lipid layer and the glands answer with more oil within about 7 days. Clean ears every 7 to 14 days with 2 to 3 drops of a vet-supplied cleaner on a cotton pad, never with a pointed nozzle into the canal. If cytology shows yeast or bacteria, the medicated shampoo or ear preparation is a prescription item and should be used for the full 7 to 14 day course, not stopped when the smell fades at day 4.
Cost, and what moves the number
Echo at 250 to 450 USD (1,800 to 3,200 CNY at 7.1) and the first-year block of echo, DNA, X-ray and 2 skin checks lands at 520 to 900 USD (3,700 to 6,400 CNY). Skin and ear work is the recurring line: cytology at 40 to 80 USD (300 to 580 CNY) twice a year, plus 20 to 40 USD (140 to 280 CNY) per bottle of medicated shampoo, which lasts 6 to 10 baths. A dental at 350 to 700 USD (2,500 to 5,000 CNY) is the single largest item most owners face before age 6.
The first 12 months, step by step
- Week 8 to 10: DNA panel, blood group, first exam; record weight and body condition score on the 1 to 9 scale.
- Month 4: start the 48 to 72 hour skin wipe and the weekly ear check; set the room thermostat to 20 to 24 degrees C.
- Month 6: first cytology and otoscopy; if wax is already brown, move to cleaning every 7 days.
- Month 12: echo, thoracic X-ray, urinalysis with specific gravity; photograph the coat and ear canal for a baseline.
- Month 12 to 24: repeat cytology every 6 months, echo every 12; add a heated bed before the first cold season, not after.
Year 1 with nothing found runs 550 to 950 USD (3,900 to 6,700 CNY). The related screens at /health/breed-cornish-rex-health-screen/ and /health/breed-selkirk-rex-health-screen/ use the same coat logic with different curl genetics, and /tools/breed-quiz/ helps confirm the line before you commit to a plan built around a coat that may not be a true Rex at all.
Terms mentioned in this article
Frequently asked
How do I know if my German Rex is too cold, rather than just being quiet?
Take a rectal temperature with a digital thermometer: normal is 38.1 to 39.2 degrees C, and anything below 37.5 needs a vet within 2 hours. Behavior helps too. A cat that keeps grooming and eats normally at 18 degrees C is fine, while one that stops grooming, curls on a hard floor for hours and shivers is losing heat faster than it makes it. A heated bed at 28 to 30 degrees C surface temperature is the fix, not a bigger meal.
Is a greasy coat in this breed normal, or a sign of a skin problem?
Some oil is normal because the Rex coat lacks guard hairs to carry sebum away, but grease returning within 48 hours of a bath is a flag. A sour smell at 30 cm, brown staining at the tail base or blackheads on the chin point to yeast or bacterial overgrowth on top of the oil. Cytology at the clinic separates the 3 causes in 10 minutes, and a medicated shampoo needs a full 7 to 14 day course.
Can a Rex live in a cool house without health consequences?
It can, if the cool room is above about 15 degrees C and the cat has a warm sleeping spot at 28 to 30 degrees C. Below that, the cat spends energy on heat instead of growth, and a kitten can stall at the same weight for weeks. Weigh monthly through the first winter: a 4 month old gaining less than 100 g a week is a signal to raise the room temperature before changing the food.