No HairThere Sphynx

Hello Everyone and Welcome No Hair There Sphynx. We are a very small cattery located in Southern California. In addition to our Sphynx family members we also have dogs, birds, 2 hairless rats, and a bearded dragon. We also have 3 beautiful children that help to feed, water, and play with our animals. So if you purchase a Sphynx Kitten from us you will get a very well socialized little alien.

Sphynx are not only unusual in apperance, but have the greatest personalities. If you want a loner cat that comes around occasionally for a pet on the head or two,  or only at feeding times you do not want a Sphynx. They crave human attention. They will follow you around and want to be in your lap. Some say they are part monkey, part dog, part human. Some have even been known to fetch, I've been told. All though I've tried this - mine usually run after a ball or toy thrown but then just want to play with it. 

 

The Sphynx gene and the Devon gene are alleles to each other: they share the same locus. They are incomplete dominant towards one another: neither gene dominates the other. Three hairless cats were found roaming the streets of Toronto, in the same area where Prune was born in 1963. One male ended up with Canadian breeder Linda Birks (prefix AZTEC). Bambi died without leaving any off spring at a very old age. The two females were given to a Dutch breeder named Hugo Hernandez (prefix Q) who brought the two (Q Punky and Q Paloma) to the Netherlands. I believe he was a CFA judge or something and that's why he got the cats. Due to the lack of hairless cats (there were no other), and because some Devons have poor coats, he decided to breed the cats to Devon Rex. Q Punky was brought to Devon Rex breeder Tiny Hinten (prefix JETROPHIN, still residing in Amsterdam) who bred them to Curare van Jetrophin, a white Devon Rex. Photo's of this historic breeding were made. Much to everyone's surprise all kittens turned out to be bald! Unfortunately Curare turned out to be a carrier of muscle distrophy a.k.a. spasticity - and that's how these disease came into the Sphynx gene pool. Curare and Punky had several kittens, one of which Q Ramses, that was mated to Q Paloma, owned by a friend of Hugo Hernandez, named Hannah Nathans (prefix CALECAT). One of these kittens was Hathor de Calecat, that was sold to Tonia Vink (current name van Wijngaarden) who at that time resided in Rotterdam, my home town. Tonia's prefix is AJAHANDA. Hathor was eventually sold to list members Jan Plumb and Angela Rushbrook, and became the first Sphynx touching British soil. Jan/Angela breed under the joint prefix SHAIRD. Tonia sold several cats to the French TICA judges ALine and Philippe Noel. They bred Sphynx under the prefix AMENOPHIS. Several Amenophis Sphynx were used by Lisa Bressler (RINKURL). Another cat of Hanah Nathans - a sibbling to Hathor - went to Devon breeders Walt & Carol Richards (BRITANYA) who bred Chenom de Calecat initially to several Devons. RINKURL and BRITANYA eventually became sort of two camps in the States: the snake faces (Rinkurl) and the apple heads (Britanya).

The Sphynx (also known as Canadian Skinless or A Cat Without Skin) is a rare breed of cat The Sphynx appears to be a Skinless cat, although it is truly hairless. The skin should have the texture of chamois. It may be covered with very soft, fine down, which is almost imperceptible to both the eye and touch. On the ears, muzzle, tail, and feet, a short, soft, fine hair is allowed. Lack of coat makes the cat quite warm to the touch. Whiskers and eyebrows may be present, either whole or broken, or may be totally absent. Their skin is the color their fur would be, and all the usual cat marking patterns (solid, point, van, tabby, tortie, etc) may be found in Sphynx too. People are surprised by how different their personalities are. Many describe them as part monkey, pig and human because of how intelligent, extroverted and affectionate they are.

Many people with typical allergies to furry cats find that they tolerate the sphynx breed. This may be due to the fact that the proteins in cat saliva are often the culprit. Because sphynx lack hair and do not leave it behind, many have fewer difficulties living in harmony with the breed. There is no guarantee, however, and allergies vary greatly between individual people.

Sphynx cats are not maintenance-free. Their lack of hair results in increased body oils. Regular bathing is often necessary. Care should be taken to limit the Sphynx cat's exposure to outdoor sunlight at length, as they can develop a sunburn, similar to that of human exposure. In general, Sphynx cats should never be allowed outdoors unattended, as they have limited means to conserve body heat in colder temperatures, and their curious nature can take them into potentionaly dangerous situations.                                                   

We are TICA/CFA Registered.

CFA SPHYNX STANDARDS WEBPAGE:

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/standards/sphynx.html

TICA SPHYNX STANDARDS WEBPAGE: http://www.ticaeo.com/Content/Publications/Pages/SX.pdf