# What are velveteen coats exactly?



## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

I recently got a baby velveteen girl and am obsessed with her coat. She feels like a little soft cotton ball. But when I looked up velveteen coats, I read that they aren't technically a coat or something?? I read it's just like a "bad" rex. I know nothing about breeding or what traits carry over etc, can someone explain to me what a velveteen coat is? Is it like a genetic mutation of some sort??


----------



## LittleSparrow (Apr 14, 2014)

I have been wondering the same thing! One of our girls, since she's been a baby, has had a seriously soft coat. It feels like velvet when you touch her and it has stayed like that as she grew up. I'm curious as to what answers people will come up with!


----------



## akihba (Apr 26, 2014)

According to this site: http://ratvarieties.com/type/velvet/


The easiest way to identify a velveteen coat is to do this:
"One often mentioned way of telling a velvet rat from a standard coated rat is to brush the fur in the wrong direction. With most rats this would feel obviously incorrect and the fur would try to sit back down, but in velvets their plush fur will stand being brushed in any direction."


----------



## LittleSparrow (Apr 14, 2014)

I will have to try that with Harlie! Her fur feels and looks exactly like a rex rabbit. Thanks for the link!


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Most "velveteen" rats are usually bad rexes. That could be what you read? There are separate genetics involved, but almost always velveteen rats are just really bad rexes in regards to curl and guard hairs. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## MimiSkye (Feb 3, 2014)

LittleSparrow said:


> I have been wondering the same thing! One of our girls, since she's been a baby, has had a seriously soft coat. It feels like velvet when you touch her and it has stayed like that as she grew up. I'm curious as to what answers people will come up with!



Well one of my girls has a velveteen coat and the other has an unknown coat...it's not fluffy like a velveteen, it's flat and really thin but SOOOO soft. People have told me it's probably just a really soft standard coat, but my third girl has a standard coat and they feel/look completely different. With my velveteen girl you can tell she has a different coat...it almost looks like a rex but its not as curly. Heres a pic of my velveteen:








Shes like a little puff ball. I love it!


----------



## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

nanashi7 said:


> Most "velveteen" rats are usually bad rexes. That could be what you read? There are separate genetics involved, but almost always velveteen rats are just really bad rexes in regards to curl and guard hairs.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


This is correct. Velveteen was thought for a while to be only a poor rex, as that's how many were categorized, but it's since come to be accepted that velveteen is its own coat type. It is still dependent on the rat being categorized correctly, though.


----------



## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

MimiSkye said:


> Well one of my girls has a velveteen coat and the other has an unknown coat...it's not fluffy like a velveteen, it's flat and really thin but SOOOO soft. People have told me it's probably just a really soft standard coat, but my third girl has a standard coat and they feel/look completely different. With my velveteen girl you can tell she has a different coat...it almost looks like a rex but its not as curly. Heres a pic of my velveteen:
> View attachment 135553
> 
> 
> Shes like a little puff ball. I love it!


Doesn't look like velveteen. Likely just a poor rex if anything, but it's also probably just her baby coat. At that size, she hasn't moulted yet.


----------

