Sphynx

Strictly speaking the Sphynx is not entirely hairless; although there are no eyebrows or whiskers the mature cat develops a fine downy coat, more evident on some areas of the body than others. The texture of the skin is like chamois leather, quite unlike normal skin and with a distinctly warm feel. Kittens have very wrinkled skin and the adults retain wrinkle, particularly around the head, which acts as insulation. The skin needs a good deal of care; certainly protection from extremes of temperature and sunlight. Regular bathing is necessary to keep the skin in good condition; their nails and ears also require attention.

Affectionate and people-oriented they are playful and love snuggling up to owners or under the bedclothes. With their enthusiastic purr they are known as "the purring hot-water bottle". Any colour pattern is acceptable in the Sphynx and a typical pose is one front paw lifted with the head tilted up in a quizzical gaze. Quite distinct from other cats in more ways than their hairlessness, the Sphynx has an enthusiastic following.

The Sphynx is sweet-tempered, lively, intelligent and above all amenable to handling.

The Sphynx cat has to be the most unusual breed in existence, as, unlike other cats, the Sphynx is hairless. The Sphynx is said to be named so because early breeders felt that there was a similarity between their cats and the Egyptian cat sculptures in the British Museum and the Louvre. The Sphynx is also known as the Canadian Hairless Cat. First bred in Canada, the Sphynx cat originated from a mutant hairless kitten that was born in a litter of shorthaired cats in 1966.

Sphynx cats of today are highly affectionate, sociable and intelligent. They get along well with other animals in the household. Sphynx cats have an alert, affectionate and inquisitive nature that makes them a truly wonderful pet. They were described in TICA 86 Show program as the most loving cat it is possible to meet. Sphynx cats come in a variety of colors. The skin and down can be any recognized color and pattern, and the eye color should harmonize with the coat.

Generally, Sphynxes like being with humans, but they are also said to get along with other animals, including dogs.

Remember that as a hairless cat, a Sphynx cat is just as likely as you to get cold, so be ready to cuddle up in cold weather.

Like many of the other cat breeds developed in North America in the last decades of the twentieth century, the Sphynx breed owes its existence to a spontaneous mutation. The mutation occurred in a single cat in Toronto in 1966. Other cats around the world have also been hairless due to genetic mutation. Various such cats were brought together to create the Sphynx breed. Over thirty years, hairless cats were bred with non-hairless cats, and the offspring were bred back to hairless cats, as breeders took care to preserve the hairless characteristic while ensuring a broad, diverse gene pool.

The purpose of these selective breedings was to create a genetically sound cat with a large gene pool and hybrid vigor. This is a very robust breed with few health or genetic problems.

The Sphynx is not the first instance of hairlessness in domestic cats. This natural, spontaneous mutation has been seen in various locations around the world for at least the last ninety-something years, and probably longer. The Book of the Cat (Simpson, 1903), mentioned a pair of hairless cats belonging to a New Mexico fancier. Called the "Mexican Hairless," these cats supposedly were obtained from Indians around Albuquerque.

In 1950 a pair of Siamese cats in Paris, France, produced a litter that included three hairless kittens. The results were repeated in subsequent matings of the same pair, but breeding the parents to other Siamese cats produced no new hairless kittens.

Other hairless specimens turned up in Morocco, Australia, North Carolina, and, in 1966, in Canada, where a pair of domestic shorthairs produced a litter that included a hairless kitten. A breeder named Ryadh Bawa obtained the parents and, with the help of other breeders, began a breeding program. The CFA originally granted New Breed and Color status, then in 1971 they withdrew recognition due to infertility problems with the breed. This line was not pursued after 1980 and is not part of the current bloodline.

The breed as we know it today began in 1975, when Minnesota farm owners Milt and Ethelyn Pearson discovered that a hairless kitten had been born to their normal-coated farm cat, Jezabelle. This kitten, named Epidermis, was joined the next year by another hairless kitten named Dermis. Both were sold to Oregon breeder Kim Mueske, who used the kittens to develop the breed. Georgiana Gattenby of Brainerd, Minnesota, also worked with kittens from the Pearson line, using Cornish Rex as an outcross.

At almost the same time (1978), Siamese breeder Shirley Smith of Ontario, Canada, found three hairless kittens on the streets of her neighborhood. In 1983 she sent two of them to Dr. Hugo Hernandez in the Netherlands. Dr. Hernandez bred the two kittens, named Punkie and Paloma, to a white Devon Rex named Curare van Jetrophin. The descendants of these cats, along with the descendants of the cats from Minnesota and Oregon, became the foundation of today's Sphynx breed. The breed has made considerable strides since its inception due to a small group of dedicated breeders.

While most fanciers have welcomed the Sphynx as unique and exotic, some members of the cat fancy wish that the Sphynx would put on some clothes. Like other breeds that have diverged from the basic design, the Sphynx has drawn some negative attention. Also, the gene that governs hairlessness can be considered a genetic disorder, since the cat is more susceptible to both heat and cold. On the other hand, fanciers argue that we humans are pretty much hairless ourselves compared with our closest relatives, and we've managed to get by pretty well.

Personality

According to the French breed standard, the Sphynx is part monkey, part dog, part child, and part cat. The breed does seem to possess some personality traits of each, despite what geneticists might say about such a combination. To say Sphynxes are lively is an understatement; they perform monkey-like aerialist feats from the top of doorways and bookshelves. Very devoted and loyal, they follow their humans around, wagging their tails doggy fashion and purring with affection. They demand your unconditional attention and are as mischievous (and lovable) as children. And despite all that and their alien appearance, they are completely cats, with all the mystery and charm that has fascinated humankind for thousands of years. While the Sphynx may not be for everyone, its unique appearance and charming temperament has won it an active, enthusiastic following.

The Sphynx is not always totally hairless; there can be a fine down on the body, which makes the cat feel like a warm peach. Some light hair is often present on the nose, tail and toes. The texture of the Sphynx skin has been likened to suede, a hot water bottle, or a heated chamois. They can be registered in a wide variety of cat colors. The color is seen in the pigment of the skin and the few hairs that they do have. One of the questions most asked is "Don't they get cold?" Well, of course, if it is too cold for you it will be too cold for a hairless cat too. However, these cats are smart enough to find a warm human, dog or cat to curl up with or they will get under your bed covers.

Appearance

Once you get past the shock of seeing a naked cat, you'll notice that this breed has other distinctive traits. Their ears, for one thing, look large enough to intercept satellite transmissions. Their paw pads are thick, giving them the illusion of walking on tiny air cushions. The large, lemon shaped eyes are expressive, slightly slanted, and set wide apart. The head is a modified wedge shape, with prominent cheekbones and whisker pads and a strong, well-developed chin. Medium-sized cats, Sphynx are broad-chested and hard-muscled.

The Sphynx isn't really more wrinkled than other cats. All cats have loose, wrinkled skin; the cat's skin is the thinnest of all the domestic animals, and also the most flexible. It's just easier to see the wrinkles on a hairless cat.

Actually, Sphynx only appear hairless. The skin is covered with a fine vestigial covering of down that resembles the texture of chamois. Sphynx feel like warm suede to the touch. Despite the virtual lack of hair, Sphynx come in every possible color and pattern since color, like beauty, are more than fur deep. However, the exact color is sometimes difficult to determine on a hairless cat, so in the show ring no points are awarded or taken away for color or pattern.

Like the gene for long hair, the gene that governs the Sphynx's lack of hair is recessive. In order for a cat to be hairless, she must inherit one copy of the Sphynx gene from each parent. If a cat has one copy of the hairless gene and one copy of the gene for short hair, the cat will have short hair but will carry the gene for hairlessness. When two such cats are bred, statistically one cat in four will be hairless. On the plus side, when two hairless cats mate they produce entirely hairless litters.

This is a substantial cat, medium sized and strong, with adult males being larger than adult females. Sphynx have sturdy boning and good muscle development and should have a bit of a belly as if they just finished dinner. They have an open-eyed, intelligent face and a friendly expression. The Sphynx are extremely inquisitive and love to be the center of attention. They perform silly antics for your entertainment and are sometimes downright clumsy...on purpose it seems. They make great show cats because of this "look at me" attitude and they are easy for judges to handle. They prefer human attention but enjoy the company of dogs and other cats. They have an abundance of energy and mischief and are always with you, on you or showing off for you. "Love Mooch" is the perfect term for these amazing cats.

Because of the lack of hair that would normally absorb body oils, the Sphynx needs to be bathed periodically. This is not a difficult task with a cat that has been accustomed to a bath from kittenhood and it takes no time at all to dry a Sphynx.

Some people who suffer from cat allergies can tolerate living with Sphynx cats. However, depending on the type and severity of the individual's allergic reactions, there are still people who cannot live with this breed.

Conformation

When the first matings of the breed occurred, breeders discovered that the Sphynx's lack of hair is governed by a recessive gene. It takes two copies of the gene for the trait to express itself and, if each parent has only one copy of the hairless gene, the number of hairless kittens in any litter is approximately one in four. This makes establishing a large gene pool more difficult. However, it was also discovered that the hairless gene is an incomplete dominant over the gene governing the Devon Rex's wavy coat. Crosses between the Sphynx, Devon Rex, and the American Shorthair widened the gene pool.

The Sphynx only appears hairless-its skin, or parts of it, is covered with a fine, almost imperceptible vestigial covering of down that gives the skin the texture of chamois. Heterozygous Sphynxes (those that possess only one copy of the hairless gene) usually exhibit more hair than homozygous Sphynxes (those possessing two copies).

Wrinkles are a desirable trait in the show Sphynx. It isn't really more wrinkled than any other cat, though; you can see the wrinkles because of the lack of fur. The lack of coat makes the Sphynx feel like warm suede to the touch.

One would expect a hairless cat to produce no symptoms in the cat-allergic, but this is not the case. The Sphynx considerately refrains from shedding all over your couch, but can still make you sneeze. It's not the hair itself that causes the allergic reaction, but rather an allergenic protein called Fel d1 secreted via saliva and sebaceous glands. Sphynxes produce this secretion just as all cats do; they just don't deposit allergen-laced hair all over the place.

Sphynxes also require grooming. They must be regularly bathed to remove collections of oily sebaceous secretions on the skin. These secretions are normal; it's just that Sphynxes don't have hair to absorb them. Allowed to collect, these oils can cause skin problems.