Hairless cats, sphynx, hairless cats for sale, hairless cat, sphynx cats, sphynx cat
On yesterday’s XPN Morning Show I recounted meeting my neighbors’ hairless cat Captain Jack Sparrow, named for Johnny Depp’s character in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He’s very animated (the cat) and loves to pirouette around while holding a peacock feather in his mouth that’s five times longer than he is. One of our boardies requested a photo on this blog.
The cat looks like something that jumped off a computer screen or arrived from outer space. He’s multi-colored, grey and pink with translucent brown feet that seem to be made of rubber, and his neck skin wrinkles in concentric circles.
It turns out that hairless cats, which were bred after a mutation, need to be bathed a couple of times a week to prevent buildup of the oil that cats secrete. Cats with fur distribute the oil through their pelt when they lick themselves, but no such luck for the hairless ones. (Wonder why they’re called hairless if the thing they’re missing is fur…???).
Anyway, I got an e-mail from Ruth K, whose friend has a hairless cat named Flanny:
I mentioned that when my neighbors’ cat ran up, it looked like a chihuaha at first. Here’s Ruth’s chihuahua Elvis:
And here comes the musical payoff
……Flanny yodels
The Sphynx (also known as Canadian Skinless or A Cat Without Skin) is a rare breed of cat. The Sphynx appears to be a Skinless cat, although it is truly hairless. The skin should have the texture of chamois. It may be covered with very soft, fine down, which is almost imperceptible to both the eye and touch. On the ears, muzzle, tail, and feet, a short, soft, fine hair is allowed. Lack of coat makes the cat quite warm to the touch. Whiskers and eyebrows may be present, either whole or broken, or may be totally absent. Their skin is the color their fur would be, and all the usual cat marking patterns (solid, point, van, tabby, tortie, etc) may be found in Sphynx too. People are surprised by how different their personalities are. Many describe them as part monkey, pig, and human because of how intelligent, extroverted, and affectionate they are.
Many people with typical allergies to furry cats find that they tolerate the sphynx breed. This may be due to the fact that the proteins in cat saliva are often the culprit. Because sphynx lack hair and do not leave it behind, many have fewer difficulties living in harmony with the breed. There is no guarantee, however, and allergies vary greatly between individual people.
Sphynx cats are not maintenance-free. Their lack of hair results in increased body oils. Regular bathing is often necessary. Care should be taken to limit the Sphynx cat’s exposure to outdoor sunlight at length, as they can develop a sunburn, similar to that of human exposure. In general, Sphynx cats should never be allowed outdoors unattended, as they have limited means to conserve body heat in colder temperatures, and their curious nature can take them into dangerous places or situations.
Two-week-old Sphynx kitten.
Two-week-old Sphynx kitten.
The Sphynx breed is known for a sturdy, heavy body (many cats of this breed also develop a pot belly), a wedge-shaped head, and an alert, friendly temperament. Although hairless cats have been reported throughout history (hairless cats seem to appear naturally about every 15 years or so), breeders in Canada have been working on the Sphynx breed since the early 1960s. The current American and European Sphynx breed is descended from two lines of natural mutations:
* Dermis and Epidermis (1975) from the Pearsons of Wadena, Minnesota, USA.
* Bambi, Punkie, and Paloma (1978) found in Toronto, ON, Canada and raised by Shirley Smith.
Other hairless breeds might have different body shapes or temperaments than those described above. There are, for example, new hairless breeds, including the Don Sphynx and the Peterbald from Russia, which arose from their own spontaneous mutations. The standard for the Sphynx differs between cat associations such as TICA, FIFE and CFA.
It has been theorised that Sphynx hairlessness might be produced by an allele of the same gene that produces the Devon Rex (re), with the Sphynx allele being incompletely dominant over the Devon allele and both recessive to the wild type. However a different genetic symbol (hr) is given to the Sphynx gene and it is more likely that these are different genes interacting with each other. Sphynx were at one time crossbred with Devon Rex, but unfortunately this led to the introduction of some genetic diseases and is now forbidden in most breed standards associations. Herediary spasticity and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (a genetic heart defect) were introduced by the Devon Rex breed. The only allowable outcross breeds in the CFA are now the American Shorthair and Domestic Shorthair. Other associations may vary and the Russian Blue is a permitted outcross in the GCCF. In Europe mainly Devon Rex has been used for outcrosses.
In 1999 SGC Apophis Nordstrom of Classical Cats won the TICA International Alter of the Year. In 2006 SGC Classical Cats Valentino won the TICA International Cat of the year. In the Cat Fancier’s Association, GC, RW, NW Majikmoon Will Silver With Age was Cat of the Year for 2006. The following year, GC, RW, NW Enchantedlair NWA Cornflake Girl was Kitten of the Year. These awards are handed out for the highest scoring cats, across all breeds.
Popular culture
* A Sphynx, Mr. Bigglesworth, appears in the Austin Powers movies as Dr. Evil’s cat. Mr. Bigglesworth was played by SGC Belfry Ted Nude-Gent, owned and bred by Michelle Berge of Belfry Sphynx.
* In the Friends episode ‘The One with the Ball’, Rachel Green buys a Sphynx cat named Mrs. Whiskerson (”What am I gonna call her, Fluffy?”). Both Ross (”Why is it inside-out?”) and Joey (”It’s not a cat!”) think it’s hideous.
* In the reality TV show LA Ink, tattoo artist Kat Von D has a pet Sphynx named Ludwig.
* In the Disney cartoon series “Kim Possible”, villain Camille Leone is always seen with her Sphynx cat named Debutante.
* At the beginning of Ghostbusters 2, Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray) introduces next week’s show as “Next week on “World of the Psychic”. Hairless cats… weird.” as he holds one up. Ghostbusters 2 was released in 1989.