Whenever someone thinks of a cat, he or she might think of a fluffy cat, with a long coat, and a sweet expression. There will be quite a few who would think about a hairless, skinny cat with a little weird and strange expression like the Sphynx cat. It is one of the oddest appearing and distinctive cat breeds found in the world. This hairless cat is a result of genetic mutation and selective breeding.

History of The Sphynx Cat

The history of the Sphynx cat is not very old. This breed was produced as a result of selective breeding done in 1966. The breed is also known as Canadian Sphynx as it originated from Toronto, Canada, with the birth of a hairless kitten Prune. It was born to a black and white domestic Shorthair Queen.

Some breeders wanted to have a cat breed with no hair at all and decided to produce a cat breed that will produce offsprings with consistent hairlessness.

This breed was originally called Canadian Hairless. It moved to America and the breeders and experts of America started breeding this cat with other cat breeds to get the hairless sphynx. At first, this breed was only popular in North America. Gradually, it gained fame in the European world and now it is becoming famous in the rest of the world as well.

This breed was first recognized by the Cat Fanciers Association CFA in 2002, and by The International Cat Association TICA in 2005. Some of the cat breeds did not register this breed for the fact of being hairless. According to them, this genetic mutation can be dangerous for the health and life of this cat breed.

Height & Weight

The Sphynx cat has a compact smart looking body. This cat breed is about 13 to 15 inches long from head to tail and weighs about 6 to 12 pounds.

Life Span

The life expectancy of this cat breed is 9 to 15 years approximately.

Body Features

The Sphynx cat bears a body of medium length and a smart compact look. Their body is muscular and hard with a well-rounded and broad chest. They have a medium and slightly arched neck that is also rounded and muscular.

They have a long head with prominent cheekbones, straight nose, and large to very large pointed ears. The interior of the ears is unfurnished. Their eyes are wide, large, and of lemon shape.

The legs of the Sphynx cat are sturdy and muscular. The rare legs are longer than the front legs. The paws are oval in shape, thick, soft padded, and webbed. They also have a long flexible whipping tail.

Eye Colors

The large lemon-like eyes of the Sphynx cat have colors like green, gold, and gold-green.

Coat and patterns

The body of the Sphynx cat is completely hairless with a wrinkled and bald appearance. Shorthair can be often seen on the ears, tail, and paws. Their body appears with markings of different patterns like solid, point, tortie, van, and tabby.

Colors

The Sphynx cat breed is available in white, black, red, chocolate, tortoiseshell, calico, lavender, and mink.

Personality & Temperament of the Sphynx Cat

Unlike their weird appearance, the Sphynx cat is a highly affectionate, intelligent, friendly, and fun-loving cat with a sweet-temperament. The study of 2012 rated this cat breed as the most affectionate cat breed due to their extremely loving and friendly nature.

The Sphynx cat is a great companion that is funny as well. It finds new ways to entertain their owners. It is a highly playful and fun-loving cat breed. It loves to play, jump, fetch, and swim with other cats and dogs. It is a highly social cat and loves to make new friends. This is a bold cat breed that never feels shy to demand attention.

The Sphynx cat is a natural athlete. These cats have great agility and are the high energy cats that love performing acrobats.

When they are not in a mood of doing any activity, they just love to cuddle and sit in the lap. They love cuddling and also get into your warm bed at night to stay warm as they don’t have a coat and tend to lose more body heat than other cat breeds.

They are the best therapy cats for their warm nature, friendliness, and a great sense of humor.

Health Problems of The Sphynx Cat

The Sphynx cat overall gives a healthy outlook. However, this crossed breed can inherit some diseases from its ancestors too.

Skin Diseases

The body of Sphynx cats lacks a coat. This makes the cats vulnerable to makes skin problems. Sunlight is the major concern for this breed. If its body gests a direct exposure to sunlight, the UV rays can harm the skin.

Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome

CMS is an inherited neuromuscular disorder that is mostly found in the hairless cat breeds like Sphynx and Devon Rex. This disease causes muscle weakness and fatigue.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

This is the heart disease that is common in most of the cat breeds. Domestic, hybrid, and mixed, all types of cat breeds can acquire HCM. This disease causes thickening of the left ventricle and affects the blood circulation.

Periodontal Disease

This gum disease is also common in this cat breed. The gums that hold the teeth get infected by this disease and cause severe pain.

Nutrition of the Sphynx Cat

The Sphynx cat is a food lover. It likes to eat anything that is given to it. This cat breed has a fast metabolism due to which it has more requirements for food than other cats.

Small portions of food given several times a day will keep the Sphynx cat in good health and active. Dry food is good for the teeth of this breed. Make sure that the cat takes plenty of water as well. Some cat experts also suggest wet canned cat food and raw fish.

Care of the Sphynx Cat

Many people would be thinking that without a coat, the Sphynx cat will be low at maintenance. But this is not the reality. The hairless cat breeds also need special care for good maintenance.

• The body oil that is absorbed by the coat hair appears on the skin of Sphynx cats. Daily grooming is required to protect the skin infections and skin oil staining different things at home.
• Once a week bath is a must for this cat breed to keep it clean and tidy. Wash and scrub carefully between the skin wrinkles to remove hidden dirt, oil particles, and bacteria.
• Brush their teeth twice a week to avoid periodontal disease.
• Provide a swimming pool and climbing tree for the tree to perform its activities safely.
• Never leave the cat alone. If you remain busy, bring a fellow Sphynx cat to keep your cat busy and engaged with it.
• Cat toys, cat house, cat tree, puzzles, and other interactive toys will make the Sphynx cat happy.
• To protect the Sphynx cat from UV rays, keep it indoors.

Friendliness of the Sphynx Cat

Friendliness is a hallmark of this cat breed. It has an extremely friendly nature for the owners, children, other pet animals, and even for strangers. It welcomes everyone and never gets shy towards new people. It loves to play with children and other animals and can spend several hours with them.