Pictures of Lykoi and Sphynx cats

This is 2-year-old Lobo a Lykoi cat, commonly called the werewolf cat, and his buddy, Dobby, who is a Sphynx. The latter is hairless and the former is half-hairless. You have to like hairlessness to like the appearance of these cats whose photographs were taken for their Instagram webpage (sphynx_dobby_lykoi_lobo) by Martin Potgieter who lives with his wife Talana Potgieter in South Africa. He takes a good photograph. I understand that they jointly ‘own’ these cats.

However, once again I have to object to using these cats as a form of entertainment on social media. There is an almost manic desire to get hold of a strange looking cat (e.g. Grumpy Cat and many others) and turn them into money-spinning celebrities. It is a modern phenomenon.

I am very much with PETA on this. Cats are not ours to ‘use for entertainment’. That is what is happening here. You don’t have to be a passionate animal advocate to agree. I understand that a lot of people will disagree with me and I respect that. Please leave a comment if you disagree or agree stongly enough.

: Lykoi and Sphynx. They are Lobo and Dobby.. They are Lobo and Dobby. Photo by Martin Potgieter.

: Lykoi and Sphynx. They are Lobo and Dobby. Photo by Martin Potgieter.

It seems that not everyone likes the Lykoi. Some say it looks as if he has mange or a mysterious skin condition. I can understand that because a bad case of hair loss because of a disease such a mange might cause a cat to look like this which begs the question why the Lykoi is bred. They are rare cats and I suspect that they’ll be expense to buy.

The interest in the breed comes about because they are rare (there are few breeders) and because they look unusual. It doesn’t matter if they look as if they are suffering from a bad case of mange. I feel that I need to present the argument against these breeds which are based on unhelpful genetic mutations which alter the appearance of the cat. A lot of people are coming around to the idea that they should not be bred. To be honest, in a world where there are many unwanted domestic cats, it’s debatable whether even healthy and normal looking cats should be deliberately bred never mind cats with defects.

Hairlessness in healthy cats is due to a genetically inherited mutation. Strictly speaking it is a defect. From the cat’s perspective it is undesirable as it makes surviving harder for the obvious reason that the wonderfully protective coat is largely missing. They are banned in Germany. The CFA does not recognise the Lykoi as yet.

SOME MORE ON THE LYKOI:

Comments

Pictures of Lykoi and Sphynx cats — 2 Comments

R M on February 23, 2020 at 10:28 am said:
Michael, you’d have to know I’d randomly find this. Notwithstanding that those of the Sphynx breed need a lot of care, if personalities are bred into cats, a Sphynx is like Velcro. She is attached to you, like no other cat. Mine sleeps right under my chin and in my arms. The others are very affectionate but not as much as my Sphynx. She’s a delight. She has a sense of humor. Others are very similar as their blog will tell you. Understand that mine is a rescue and has a genetic defect in her eye. The breeder didn’t want her or to have her survive and let it be known there was a defect in that line. Maybe she is an anomaly, but was a delightful one.
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- Michael Broad on February 23, 2020 at 11:37 am said:
  I totally respect your viewpoints and I like your relationship with your Sphynx. I have a PETA viewpoint on cats and animals as you might know by now but it does not stop be respecting others and I don’t want to upset people. I just have to be true to myself when writing about cats.
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