Cats - Sphynx  

Sphynx cats were named as a breed in Toronto, Canada, though hairless cats have occurred naturally in different parts of the world. In 1966, a Canadian cat give birth to a hairless kitten. Since then, breeders have bred hairless cats to coated cats, and mated the offspring back to hairless again. This has produced a wide gene pool of hairless cats, and a wide variety of colours.

It is very difficult to judge a Sphynx because they come from such diverse backgrounds. Judges in different organisations like different looks. In South Africa they like a slightly longer face. In Europe and America they prefer a shorter face but we are all working to a standard look. The Sphynx is still under development. A few breeders in South Africa and international are outcrossing (only with allowed breeds) to make the gene pool bigger and to breed to better the health.  

The sphynx may be bald, or have a downy coat, like peachskin. It feels warm to the touch. The cats should be kept indoors as they can get skin cancer even if they are of darker colours. They are sensitive to both cold and heat. Some sphynx owners put protective film to cover the windows to keep the UV rays out. Even through windows they can get sunburnt. They put screens on windows and doors to keep them in. They can only go out under supervision and must be kept out of the sun. 

Regular bathing keeps the skin clean. They can be bathed once a week and wiped with a cloth between baths.  Some only need a bath once in two weeks. It all depends on the type of skin. The balder the cat the more sticky he gets (that is why we refer to sticky bald cats) The cats that feels like peach/suede do not dirty so quickly. The ears and nails must be cleaned once a week. Because the Sphynx sweat and have no hair (just a down) to absorb the oil the skin produced, they need to be cleaned. The nails must be clipped once in two weeks. They are high maintenance but grooming does not take that long. 

A van means the cat has two colours. In a van the colours are on the head and tail. 80% white and 20% other colour. In a bi-colour (also two colours the colouring is on the whole body head etc) The placing of the colour and how much colour there is distinguishes between a van and a bi-colour. There are lots of colours and patterns and it can have different names in different breeds.
.
The ears are large and erect. They are medium sized cats. They have pointing like the Siamese cat: seal-point, chocolate-point, blue-point and lilac-point.

Sphinxes love people and make good house pets.