On the whole Devons are a fairly healthy breed and are very low maintenance, requiring only a minimal amount of grooming. However they often get very grubby ears, and the black wax can be mistaken for ear mites. Cleaning the ears regularly should keep on top of it; a baby wipe is the best thing to use, cotton buds need to be used with care.

    Devons, particularly those with bare bellies, can also get a grubby black build up as a result of too little coat to absorb the skin oils. An occasional bath may be needed but a wipe over with a damp cloth or baby wipes will help. Occasionally the pigmentation can be as a result of a fungal infection and baths with a shampoo such a Malaseb may be needed to resolve this.


Blood Groups

    One particular issue in Devons is blood groups. There are 2 main blood groups in cats, A and B. A is the dominant blood group and B is recessive. Devons have roughly a 50/50 split in terms of A and B. In most cases this isn't a concern as cats rarely need transfusions however it is important that breeding cats are blood typed because of the risk of blood group incompatibility in new born kittens.

    This is neonatal isoerythrolysis, which is a similar situation to Rhesus factor in humans. Kittens that are A should not be allowed to feed from an B Mum during the first 16-18 hours after birth. During that time, the gut wall of the newborn kitten is still permeable (meaning larger molecules i.e. antibodies can pass through), these antibodies from the milk cause an immune reaction: attacking the kitten's own blood cells. This can result in jaundice, in more severe reactions the extremities may die as they don't have an adequate blood supply and in the most extreme scenario it can result in the death of the kitten.

One way to check if a kitten is suffering from neonatal isoerythrolysis is to check their urine using damp cotton wool, if it is a dark reddish colour then you need to stop it feeding from Mum and hand feed.

    If a kitten is A, feeding from a A Mum poses no problems - it is only the A kittens feeding from a B Mum that you have to worry about. However it is easy to prevent by knowing the parents blood types; if Mum is an B, the kittens need to be hand-fed for the first 16 hours (tiring but not difficult!). There is also an AB group, which is rare: treat any AB cat as A. Read more about it here and here (under health).

    Previous problems such as myopathy (or spasticity), a form of muscular dystrophy, have been test mated out of the breed in this country. Read more here and here.

    Luxating patella is a relatively rare problem that has been seen in Devons. It occurs when the kneecap slips out of place and can, in some cases, cause pain and difficulty in moving the leg properly. Severely affected cats may develop arthritis as they age or may  require surgery to correct the problem. Read more here and here.

    Hip dysplasia is another rare problem that can occur in Devons. Affecting the hip joint, the head of the femur (leg bone) moves out of the hip joint, causing problems. Most cats with it show little evidence of symptoms, and it is often only diagnosed when the cat is x-rayed for something else.
Read more information  here.