Thursday Thirteen

#1 - Thirteen Things About Sphynx

1. Sphynx are a naturally hairless breed of cats. We are born this way.
   
2. Sphynx are not always totally hairless; we can have fine down on the body. Some light hair is often present on the nose, tail and toes. I am hairless except on the bridge of my nose.
   
3. Sphynx have no whiskers, or very short whiskers. I have tiny, short whiskers that curl.
   
4. Sphynx get cold only if it is cold enough for a human to also be cold. If a human needs a sweater, chances are we need one too, although we're also happy to find a warm human to curl up with (or another cat or even a dog if they are around).
   
5. Sphynx are friendly, extremely inquisitive and love to be the center of attention.
   
6. Because of the lack of hair that would normally absorb body oils, Sphynx need to be bathed periodically.
   
7. Sphynx eyes are ears need to be cleaned as well, since we lack hair in our ears, and so ear wax builds up more quickly, and we lack eyelashes, so dirt builds up more quickly in the corners of our eyes.
   
8. We Sphynx have a very high natural metabolism. Because of our higher metabolism, we eat more and more often than "regular cats" do, and we need to be fed very high quality pet food. Our bodies have to work harder than that of other cats to keep ourselves warm, since we lack fur.
   
9. Some people who suffer from cat allergies can tolerate living with Sphynx cats. However, depending on the type and severity of the individual's allergic reactions, there are still people who cannot live with this breed. My human dad is allergic to cats, but he can tolerate Sphynx without any problems.
   
10. In 1966 a domestic cat gave birth to a hairless kitten in Toronto, Canada. It was discovered to be a natural mutation and the Sphynx cat, as we know it today, came into existence.
    
11. Cat breeders in Europe and North America have bred the Sphynx to normal coated cats and then back to hairless for more than thirty years. The purpose of these selective breedings was to create a genetically sound cat with a large gene pool and hybrid vigor.
    
12. Sphynx hairlessness is produced by an allele of the same gene that produces the Devon Rex, which has only one of the usual two fur coats. The Sphynx allele is incompletely dominant over the Devon allele; both are recessive to the wild type.
    
13. The most famous Sphynx is, of course, Mr. Bigglesworth, Dr. Evil's cat in the Austin Powers movies. Contrary to what some people believe, they did not shave a poor cat for the movie. They used a Sphynx! The cat who played Mr. Bigglesworth is a Sphynx named SGC Belfry Ted Nude-gent.

Do you have any questions about Sphynx cats? If you do, ask your question when you leave your comment, and I'll answer your questions in next week's Thursday Thirteen. If you have any questions about ME, you can ask them too!


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Tags: Sphynx, memes, hairless cats