The Elf is a hairless cat with curled-back ears; a hybrid between the American Curl and the Sphynx. It is not one of the dwarf cat breeds. The breeder, Anna Jewerly, tells us that the kitten is a brown tabby but it is impossible to tell as there is no fur and therefore no tabby markings. Although when we do see patterns on hairless cats (and we do sometimes) it is because of the fine, downy almost invisible fur that covers the cat. You can see clear bicolor patterns on hairless cats. The likeness of this Elf kitten and a Komodo dragon is in the mouth and muzzle, the cat’s skin texture and the short legs (because this is a young cat) which are splayed out with claws sort of visible.
The Elf cat is an example of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Personally I do not find this cat breed beautiful. I see the reverse to be perfectly honest but I totally respect others who find the cat interesting and sometimes beautiful, I suppose. I do believe, however, that this cat is an example of a breeder experimenting in crossing one breed with another and it just so happened that nobody at the time (2008) had crossed an American Curl with a Sphynx and so Karen Nelson and Kristen Leedom took the opportunity to plug that hole in the range of cat breeds of which there are over 100 at my last count. Although, only about 47, as I recall, are accepted by the major cat association, the CFA.
SOME MORE ON HAIRLESS CATS:
