Don Sphynx... Is it a cat, really?

"Bald" cats - "Don Sphynx" are attracting increasing attention. These cats generate quite different reaction - it may be approval and excitement or, sometimes unfortunately they may create the feeling of disgust. You`ll never find unconcerned and indifferent people. Though if you marveled the sight of this cat you`ll get enchanted by it seriously and for a long time. It resembles a quickly spreading epidemic. A couple years ago people hardly knew anything about these cats. To imagine a Don Sphynx you`d better forget what an "ordinary" cat is expected to look like. Hairless cats remind of extra terrestrials coming from outer universe. They`ve got large shell type ears, too strong legs and tail, and their eyes make you believe in the transmigration of Basted goddess ghost. The looks of a good Don Sphynx are characterized by magic harmony, but any deviation of the breeder will create a pretty hairless cat and nothing more. Most important trait - the more wrinkles - the better for the cat. All the Don Sphynx cats have very extraordinary looks: a special shape of head, body and limbs, including toys and tail. Just imagine an ET head with long ears and almond-shaped eyes, add the scruff of a giraffe, small belly of a pigling, the tail of the Rats` King from the "Nutcracker", small webbed toys of a monkey and put this creature into a leather or suede vestment, which has numerous wrinkles – you`ll get the surrealistic image of the enigmatic Russian Don Sphynx. Skin of Don Sphynx is similar to human: it`s sweating when it`s hot, it gets sun-tanned. If it`s cold the body will create fat accumulation which will disappear in warm season. The animal has a small so called fatty belly – that`s the place for fat accumulation. These cats are strong and muscular, they are very wise, tender, they like to be with people getting between your feet wherever you go, they are very active, prefer games, and they are very friendly with anyone whom they encounter, getting settled in practically any unknown location. The cats are easily trained and follow voice commands. Don Sphynx has long, slender and muscular legs, oval and prolonged pawns, and their toys are very close to human. These cats are very tender, it`s rather easy to handle them, they eat practically everything; they will survive in any cold climate, but prefer to sleep in warm area, and what`s more important - they love their masters! The point is - Don Sphynx has such type of nature which does not resemble cat, in fact they do not regard themselves as cats and they respect humans as equal. Eating is the best pastime for them. Russian experts recommend Premium type food, though they approve of convenient food for home cats as well. But Don Sphynx is a connoisseur of a special cuisine, these cats will appreciate something new, something that we would never regard as appropriate food for cats, e.g. uncooked potato, fresh tomatoes, pickled cabbage, water melon, apples and kiwi, buckwheat porridge and spaghetti, green pees and corn - we know a cat that likes cakes. Russian Don Sphynx allows its owners to make whatever they want with it, even the unpleasant procedures like medical injections and nails trimming. You`ll hardly find a cat scratching or biting its owners. Though Don Sphynx is very kind to people it may show rather selective attitude towards other cats. But a Don Sphynx, which is snarling at another cat will never bite people. With the loss of fur these cats lost all the traits of cat`s independence and wildness. They will enchant you by their mental abilities, joviality, wonderful tricks, and by their homely and loveable nature. Their motto - Not a scratch! Love to their owners will attract the most rigorous people. Sometimes such love will make Don Sphynx jealous to other cats and may create some minor problems. Don Sphynx will try its best to be the only one beloved. The history of this breed usually starts with the story about the first hairless cat which was discovered in the city Rostov-on-Don in Russia in 1987. Elena Kovaleva, professor of the State Pedagogical Institute, headed home as she encountered a wild scene - boys playing soccer with a bag, inside the bag there was a kitten squalling of fear and pain. Elena took the bag and brought the kitten home. The cat was named Varvara, it grew up ... loosing hair. Varvara was treated against lichen, demodecosis, but all in vain, and in couple of years it ... gave birth to completely hairless kittens. People decided that the kittens were unhealthy and tried to get rid of them, but one of the kittens got to Irina Nemikina - enthusiast and professional cat breeder. In several years Irina generated a completely new breed of Russian hairless cats - the Don Sphynx. None of the experts did accept the news about the Russian Sphynx seriously. People talked about one more trick, it was a unified decision all around Russia. But Russians like gifts, they received kittens as gifts, they examined the cats and found out that no one shaved or epilated the cats and then the experts had to change their resolution... During the next years the new breed of hairless Russian cat - Don Sphynx - witnessed drastic development in Russia. In spite of high prices it turned out to be very prestigious to have a Don Sphynx at home. But there were problems with the breeding of the new cats. The limited number of purebred animals was the main difficulty. It was allowed till 2000 to breed Don Sphynx with other Russian aboriginal breeds which were close to Don Sphynx. The Siberian and European short-hair cats (ONLY !!!) were used for the breeding. At present purebred Don Sphynx cats are numerous and there is no need to use other cat breeds to maintain the breed of Don Sphynx. Don Sphynx catteries are located in Moscow, Chelyabinsk and other cities of Russia, producing admirable Sphynx cats in the fourth generation. Some breeders chose the other way for mixing Don Sphynx with other breeds, e.g. with Siamese cats. The resulted breed got the name of Petersburg Sphynx (Peterbald). Though Peterbald is a hairless cat, it`s a completely different breed with all the distinguishing traits. "Bald" cats - "Don Sphynx" are attracting increasing attention. These cats generate quite different reaction - it may be approval and excitement or, sometimes unfortunately they may create the feeling of disgust. You`ll never find unconcerned and indifferent people. Though if you marveled the sight of this cat you`ll get enchanted by it seriously and for a long time. It resembles a quickly spreading epidemic. A couple years ago people hardly knew anything about these cats. To imagine a Don Sphynx you`d better forget what an "ordinary" cat is expected to look like. Hairless cats remind of extra terrestrials coming from outer universe. They`ve got large shell type ears, too strong legs and tail, and their eyes make you believe in the transmigration of Basted goddess ghost. The looks of a good Don Sphynx are characterized by magic harmony, but any deviation of the breeder will create a pretty hairless cat and nothing more. Most important trait - the more wrinkles - the better for the cat. All the Don Sphynx cats have very extraordinary looks: a special shape of head, body and limbs, including toys and tail. Just imagine an ET head with long ears and almond-shaped eyes, add the scruff of a giraffe, small belly of a pigling, the tail of the Rats` King from the "Nutcracker", small webbed toys of a monkey and put this creature into a leather or suede vestment, which has numerous wrinkles – you`ll get the surrealistic image of the enigmatic Russian Don Sphynx. Skin of Don Sphynx is similar to human: it`s sweating when it`s hot, it gets sun-tanned. If it`s cold the body will create fat accumulation which will disappear in warm season. The animal has a small so called fatty belly – that`s the place for fat accumulation. These cats are strong and muscular, they are very wise, tender, they like to be with people getting between your feet wherever you go, they are very active, prefer games, and they are very friendly with anyone whom they encounter, getting settled in practically any unknown location. The cats are easily trained and follow voice commands. Don Sphynx has long, slender and muscular legs, oval and prolonged pawns, and their toys are very close to human. These cats are very tender, it`s rather easy to handle them, they eat practically everything; they will survive in any cold climate, but prefer to sleep in warm area, and what`s more important - they love their masters! The point is - Don Sphynx has such type of nature which does not resemble cat, in fact they do not regard themselves as cats and they respect humans as equal. Eating is the best pastime for them. Russian experts recommend Premium type food, though they approve of convenient food for home cats as well. But Don Sphynx is a connoisseur of a special cuisine, these cats will appreciate something new, something that we would never regard as appropriate food for cats, e.g. uncooked potato, fresh tomatoes, pickled cabbage, water melon, apples and kiwi, buckwheat porridge and spaghetti, green pees and corn - we know a cat that likes cakes. Russian Don Sphynx allows its owners to make whatever they want with it, even the unpleasant procedures like medical injections and nails trimming. You`ll hardly find a cat scratching or biting its owners. Though Don Sphynx is very kind to people it may show rather selective attitude towards other cats. But a Don Sphynx, which is snarling at another cat will never bite people. With the loss of fur these cats lost all the traits of cat`s independence and wildness. They will enchant you by their mental abilities, joviality, wonderful tricks, and by their homely and loveable nature. Their motto - Not a scratch! Love to their owners will attract the most rigorous people. Sometimes such love will make Don Sphynx jealous to other cats and may create some minor problems. Don Sphynx will try its best to be the only one beloved. The history of this breed usually starts with the story about the first hairless cat which was discovered in the city Rostov-on-Don in Russia in 1987. Elena Kovaleva, professor of the State Pedagogical Institute, headed home as she encountered a wild scene - boys playing soccer with a bag, inside the bag there was a kitten squalling of fear and pain. Elena took the bag and brought the kitten home. The cat was named Varvara, it grew up ... loosing hair. Varvara was treated against lichen, demodecosis, but all in vain, and in couple of years it ... gave birth to completely hairless kittens. People decided that the kittens were unhealthy and tried to get rid of them, but one of the kittens got to Irina Nemikina - enthusiast and professional cat breeder. In several years Irina generated a completely new breed of Russian hairless cats - the Don Sphynx. None of the experts did accept the news about the Russian Sphynx seriously. People talked about one more trick, it was a unified decision all around Russia. But Russians like gifts, they received kittens as gifts, they examined the cats and found out that no one shaved or epilated the cats and then the experts had to change their resolution... During the next years the new breed of hairless Russian cat - Don Sphynx - witnessed drastic development in Russia. In spite of high prices it turned out to be very prestigious to have a Don Sphynx at home. But there were problems with the breeding of the new cats. The limited number of purebred animals was the main difficulty. It was allowed till 2000 to breed Don Sphynx with other Russian aboriginal breeds which were close to Don Sphynx. The Siberian and European short-hair cats (ONLY !!!) were used for the breeding. At present purebred Don Sphynx cats are numerous and there is no need to use other cat breeds to maintain the breed of Don Sphynx. Don Sphynx catteries are located in Moscow, Chelyabinsk and other cities of Russia, producing admirable Sphynx cats in the fourth generation. Some breeders chose the other way for mixing Don Sphynx with other breeds, e.g. with Siamese cats. The resulted breed got the name of Petersburg Sphynx (Peterbald). Though Peterbald is a hairless cat, it`s a completely different breed with all the distinguishing traits.