No other cat breed could have triggered as many reactions as the Sphynx did when it first appeared. "It just ain't no cat!" some will say. "It's THE cat!" others will say. One must admit that it seems quite ugly at first: it’s “naked”, has folded skin, and eyes that seem too big. But it is extremely sensual to pet! And if it made the headlines of all the newspapers when it arrived in France 20 years ago, the excitement has now cooled down again, and this cat now has a small army of fans, who take great care and interest in its destiny. This breed is currently well-established, and it is high time to re-establish some truths about it!
As strange as it may seem, the Sphynx is not the result of shameful genetic manipulations, but that of the love of ordinary stray-cats. Indeed, naked animals have always been born naked in all breeds, from "normal" parents. The absence of hair is caused by a recessive gene, i.e. a hidden gene, which expresses itself only when the father and mother are carriers. Most of the time, the young animals die of cold, or are abandoned by their mother. But man, always interested by what nature can offer him, then interferes. He was attracted by these poor; little, fragile things, and decided to protect them and help them to grow up. The Mexican hairless dog has been known for centuries.Picture: Brown tabby and white Sphynx
The story of the Sphynx is both simple and extraordinary. In 1966, in Toronto, a hairless kitten was born to a very ordinary white and black mother and an unknown father. In 1978, still in Canada, three hairless kittens were found in the street, which are considered nowadays as the ancestors of modern Sphynxes. One of them, Bambi, remained in Canada where it had many descendants. Its two sisters, Punkie and Paloma, were sent to the Netherlands at Dr Hugo Hernandez's. He kept breeding them by crossing them with Devon Rex, a curly-coated breed, which often comes hairless on a good part of its body.
In France, Patrick Challain imported the first subjects in November 1983, a whole litter made of three males and two females. they were shown in January 1984, at the Baltard Exhibition, Paris, sheltered behind a glass cage, and more than 20,000 people came and saw them. Even though none of these kittens left any progeny in France, one of them, imported in the USA, at Vickie Markstein's, is at the origin of the first American Sphynxes.
In 1985, Aline and Philippe Noël imported two kittens from the Netherlands, still issued from Hugo Fernandez's line: Ajahanda’s Attila Timothy, also called Gizmo and Ajandaha’s Zendila, called Mogwaï. Gizmo and Mogwaï played a major role in the history of the breed, and their daughter Amenophis Clone (top picture) was the model for the breed standard, which is still used today.
Being hairless is not enough to be called a Sphynx. Many other minute criteria are required.The Sphynx is a medium-sized cat, with a triangular head. The cheekbones are prominent and the ears are large, broad and wide open. Its eyes have a peculiar shape, called lemon, which explains it all. Its body is round, like that of a little pig, which has just eaten, with a large chest, making it look like a bulldog, when seen from the front. Its legs are quite high, with strong, although not heavy, bones. Its feet are oval, with long fingers. Its tail is long slender, like a whip.Of course, the main quality of the Sphynx is its hairlessness. Yet, its skin is not wholly hairless, but covered with a fine down, invisible to the eye, but that you can feel when petting it. Hairs are allowed only on the top of the nose, the ears, the tail, the feet and the testicles. But the less hair the cat has, the better it is.The Sphynx kittens are very impressive with all the folds of its skin, which seems too big for it. Its forehead is folded, as if it is thinking hard. When the kitten grows up, the folds almost completely disappear. Unlike certain dog breeds, like the Shar-pei for instance, there is no pathology associated with this phenomenon. The Sphynx is, on the whole, a very healthy cat.Picture: Kitten, aged 10 days.
You need to pay much attention to its skin, if you want it to remain soft. Do not think you will have no care at all with a Sphynx as it has no hair. It takes quite a long time to take care of this cat. Actually, it sweats a lot, as it is hairless. Especially males and light-skinned cats - remember that a pink Sphynx is actually a white cat. And it is far less pleasant to pet when it sweats. You should therefore bathe it at least once a week, and wash it with a hypoallergenic lotion.Meanwhile, you can rub its body with a baby lotion. Your cat will be clean and it will smell nice. You should also clean its ears regularly and carefully, as they produce a great deal of wax. In summer, if your Sphynx goes out, you should protect its skin with a sun cream. A Sphynx can tan and it can get sunburnt !Picture: Black and white Sphynx.
Yet, you should not think that Sphynxes are fragile cats. It is robust, with no particular disease, and it has a surprising lifespan for a purebred cat. Mogwaï, a pioneer of the breed, died last year at the age of 16 1/2!If you are allergic to cat's hair, Sphynxes are not ideal, as there are many other allergies, the most frequent being an allergy to saliva.Be careful.Picture: Common games for uncommon cats
Finally, one cannot talk about Sphynxes without talking about their character. Kittens are truly amazing: they open their eyes the day after their birth and they purr only three days after. And they will never be afraid of anything in their whole life. They delight in being near you. Yet, they are not the kind to purr noisily all the time. It will simply always be at your side, looking at you with its keen and penetrating eyes. Males are particularly endearing. So watch out! If you meet a Sphynx one day, you may want to keep it…for good!
Picture 1 and 3 courtesy of Mrs Aline Noël
Log in
