Sphynx Cat

Origin – History

This cat breed is one of a group of cats that came about because of a natural and spontaneous genetic mutation of a recessive gene. On this occasion the event took place in Toronto Canada in 1966 (although it seems that this line of Sphynx cats died out due to a failed breeding program, but see below).

Photos – Copyright Helmi Flick. These are thumbnails linked to large format images

 
The breed is therefore otherwise known as the “Canadian Hairless”, “Moon Cat” and “Moonstone Cat”. There are, though, well documented instances of the hairless cat mutation occurring many times before 1966 without attracting sufficient attention for a new breed to be formed from the mutation. For example, in 1830 in Latin America and in many other countries including England, Australia, USA and Russia, to name a few.

A notable example of another occurrence of this genetic mutation would be the birth of brother and sister “Dick” and “Nellie”, Mexican hairless cats of 1902 (there are, though, recorded instances of hairless cats going back as far as the 1830s). It seems that Dick and Nellie were quite famous. They were given to E J Shinick, Albuquerque, New Mexico by the Pueblo Indians. Mr Shinick did not mate Nellie. While Dick, although a strong healthy cat, was killed by dogs. Dick liked to sneak out of the house despite Mr Shinick’s best efforts and was attacked. Mr Shinick said he would have survived one dog but not a group of dogs. Mr Shinick was aware of the rarity of his cats and their value. They were valued at $1000 (about $20,000 today) each and he valued Nellie at $300 (about $6,000 today).

Another example is the story of a cat named “Nonesuch”. So named as the owner wasn’t sure if the animal was a cat or a dog. The time: mid 1936. The place: USA – Wilmington. The parents were ordinary cats and the occurrence was put down to a recessive genetic mutation. This event sparked a certain Professor Etienne Letard, in France, to write about “Hairless Siamese Kittens And Their Parents” (the “French Bald Cat”). There is also the dominant gene mutation that results in a hairless cat named the Don Sphynx (Russia 1987) and the Hawaiian Hairless (or Kohana Kat). This mutation was noticed in 2002 in Hawaii. The hairlessness is different as there are no hair follicles as opposed to a very small amount of downy hair.