Cat Anatomy of a Hairless Cat

The naked cat reveals bits of anatomy that are usually hidden underneath clothes. There are several breeds of naked cat and partially naked cats.

The best known naked or nude cat is the Sphynx. I have a well known one on this page, Gunner, who has been photographed by a better known photographer, Helmi Flick. Helmi as you probably know by now is one of the world’s best and best known cat photographers.

Other nude or partially unclothed cat breeds are the Don Sphynx (looks like a Sphynx) and the Peterbald. The Peterbald has the fuzzies…! A very odd and striking looking cat.

Gunner an unneutered male Sphynx cat
Gunner an unneutered male Sphynx cat
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There are at least three bits of anatomy that are revealed or made much clearer when a cat is hairless. The first is a rather delicate point and concerns the male’s manhood, err cathood. His testicles. They are very prominent in the top photograph of Gunner. I think people are used to seeing male cats without testicles because most of them are removed when the cat is neutered.

When they are fully revealed it is almost shocking. I feel someone should put some clothes on the guy. It reminds us that we have to live with a cat that has lost his cathood. It is both a shame and a necessity sadly.

The next standout observation is Gunner’s paws, specifically his toes. They look very odd. As do his claws. Are these normal claws that are retracted? Why are the ones that I think I can see, brown in colour? I have just been trying to have a good look at my cat’s toes and it is almost impossible to see then even when I fiddle around trying to part the fur etc. I don’t think we are used to seeing a cat’s toes. When the fur is removed we see something that we are not familiar with. Gunner has very long toes. Sphynx cats are know for monkey like fingers rather than classic cat toes.

The next item of anatomy is the webbing between the toes. It seems quite marked. Of course, the paw is not like a duck’s webbed feet but there is a certain similarity. I guess domestic cats were born to swim if they have to. A lot of wild cats are good swimmers and some of them like swimming and spend a lot of time in the water. Examples are, the tiger, leopard, jaguar, fishing cat, jaguarundi, flat-headed cat.

Lastly, if Gunner had fur it would have been a pretty solid color. The fur pattern follows the pattern on the skin. This is not visible normally. It seems that the cells in the skin that produce the pigment that finds its way into each hair strand also finds its way into the surrounding skin. There can no other explanation if all cats have a pattern on their skin that matches the pattern on their fur unless their down hairs on the skin – the fuzz – takes up the pattern. That may be the reason.

You can see a faint change in skin color divided by a sharp line on Gunner’s rump in the top photograph. I think you can also see faint tabby banding on the upper parts of his left foreleg in the top photograph. Perhaps Gunner is a tabby cat?

The Sphynx is a stocky, strong cat. You can that solid looking body on Gunner. You’d think that a Sphynx was a bit fragile, but no. There is just the question of warmth and getting sunburnt, that’s all.

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