Videos Sphynx Breed Information
The Sphynx (aka Canadian
Hairless) is a rare breed of
cat. The Sphynx appears to be a hairless cat,
although it is not 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.
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.
1. 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.
Copyright (c) 2008 Kitt Killion Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
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