Cats on Tuesday: Sphynx Hair and Skin

Today we will tell you all a little bit about Sphynx hair and skin. There are some new cat bloggers who have been asking us about Sphynx, and our mom figured out how to use the "super macro" feature on her camera, so this is the perfect opportunity to share a little bit more about the Sphynx breed with all of you.

Sphynx are not completely hairless. As many of you know, all Sphynx have a "regular" coat (fur) on the bridge of their nose. Most Sphynx also have hair on the outer edges of the ears, and short, fine hair can also be present on the ears, the tail, the feet, and the scrotum in males.

In terms of the rest of the body, according to the CFA Sphynx Breed Standard:

The remainder of the body can range from completely hairless to a covering of soft peach-like fuzz whose length does not interfere with the appearance of hairlessness. This coat/skin texture creates a feeling of resistance when stroking the cat.

Dragonheart: I have a normally-coated nose (as described in the Sphynx breed standard), and I have fur on my ears. The fur on my ears has become more fluffy/fuzzy this winter. I don't have any hair on my feet, and my tail only has a few short, sparse hair along its length. I have a few, tiny, short, curled whiskers on each side of my face, but I don't have any eyebrow whiskers. The rest of my body is covered in a very fine down. My humans say that petting me is like petting a warm chamois. You can see a close up of my skin below (click to view it larger):


Merlin: I also have a normal coat on the bridge of my nose. I have absolutely no fur on my ears, however! I don't have any fur on my feet, and I have just a little bit of fur on my scrotum. My tail is like Dragonheart's - I have a few, short, sparse hairs scattered throughout the length of my tail. Like Dragonheart, I have a few short, tiny, curly whiskers on each side of my face, and I don't have any eyebrow whiskers. When it comes to the rest of my body, I don't have a perceptible fine down or peach fuzz like Dragonheart does. Instead, I have a few, short, sparse hairs scattered here and there, with more of them appearing on certain parts of my body. You can see some of these hairs on the right in the photo below (click it to view a larger image):


The TICA Sphynx Breed Standard has this to say:

The Sphynx appears to be a hairless cat, although it is not truly hairless. The skin should have the texture of chamois. It may be covered with very fine down which is almost imperceptible to both the eye and the touch. On the ears, muzzle, tail, feet and scrotum, 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.

So hopefully you have learned a little more about Sphynx! If you have any more questions about our breed, leave your question in the comments, and we'll answer any questions in a future edition of Cats on Tuesday!

Tags: Cats on Tuesday, Sphynx, Canadian Sphynx, Canadian hairless, cat, hairless cat, hairless kitten, kitten, Sphynx kitten