Origin
The Bambino Cat is a short legged hairless cat (in fact there is usually a very fine down). The breed was deliberately created by crossing the Sphynx cat and a Munchkin cat. In terms of hairlessness, you can read more by clicking on the link to the Sphynx cat. The Munchkin is the founding breed of the dwarf cats and imports the dwarf gene into this breed. The breed was created very recently, in 2005. Stephanie and Pat Osborne of the Holy Moly cattery organized the breed. As Pat is of Italian extraction and as the cat keeps her kitten-like appearance and character throughout its life they named the breed “Bambino”.
This cat breed is one of the rarest. On a scale of 1-10, it is ranked 8 on my analysis of the rare cat breeds.
Appearance and Character
The Bambino has a wedged shape head. The eyes are set wide apart and its lynx tipped ears are set on top of the head. She/he is an agile, muscular cat, medium boned and of good character, both mischievous and affectionate.
The Bambino likes to interact with humans and is friendly and intelligent. Breeding produces both long and short (dwarfed) legs.
This cat has all the characteristics of dwarf cats in general including considerations regarding health. You should explore the other dwarf cat pages starting from the dwarf cat page.
(Lincoln berious).
It perhaps goes without saying that this new breed is in development. Clearly the skin texture and feel is all important as this is a hairless cat. In any event the feel of a cat hairless (or not hairless) is important as there is a lot of stroking to do.
The skin should feel like touching warm suede. The founders emphasize the importance of the texture of the coat. If the cat is entirely hairless (i.e. no downy hair at all) then they are referring to the texture of the skin.
The goal is for a muscular and stocky body as opposed to slender or thin. Although, the tail should be slender and whip like with a tuft of hair on the end like a lion.
The photograph above illustrates (beautifully) the cat’s features. The only difference between the short-legged type and his/her taller siblings is leg length.
Registration
The Dwarf Cat Association are keen to progress their breeds in terms of registration in order gain recognition of these rare cats. Currently the Bambino is registered in the Rare and Exotic Feline Registry (REFR) and as an experimental new breed with TICA (2006).
Bambino Cat – Willie – © SOSborne
Breeders
The Bambino Cat is a USA breed. The Dwarf Cat Association is based in the USA.
Hobbitcats [link broken Nov 2016]
This is a well-established website with a Pagerank and traffic rank. The cattery also breeds other breeds of dwarf cat. Hadrian’s Wall featured in the photographs above are from this cattery.
MalheurButte
Munchkins, LaPerms, Skookums and soon, Bambinos (but check on Bambinos as these were projected to be breed at the time the website was built). Based in Eastern Oregon in the City of Ontario, USA. Website appears to be closed (2012)
Cleaning
This is a postscript. You probably know that if you own a Sphynx cat you have to clean the cat on a fairly regular basis because the sebaceous gland oils (sebum) from the cat’s skin have nowhere to go. It stays on the surface of the skin rather than going into the cat’s fur. Therefore, it is advisable to clean a hairless cat and as the Bambino is obviously hairless the same rules apply.
