Sphynx Cat Breed

by Michael
(London)

Casper - photograph copyright Michael Broad

I'll be honest with you. When I first saw a Sphynx cat I thought that there probably wasn't a place for the Sphynx cat breed as a domestic cat. The mutated gene that causes the cat to have no hair put me off for a start.

It cannot be said that this cat looks pretty or beautiful. Think of the Maine Coon Cat - big, handsome, slender yet powerful, solid character and athletic. Hard to beat. The same goes for the Siberian Cat.

The Siberian is a relatively new breed of cat in the UK. The breed has been here about 5 years and has not yet been granted full status by the Governing Body (GCCF) so she cannot win the top prizes that will surely come her way.

I love these natural breeds, un-engineered by mankind; the way it should be, I believe.

But then I went to the National Cat Club Show at Olympia in London today 8th December 2007, and photographed a little skinny Sphynx kitten in his cage and I changed my mind.

This little boy is called Casper and he is 16 weeks of age; just old enough to come to a competition and make a nuisance of himself but in a very charming way.

In the picture heading this page Casper is trying to get the attention of his Mom (the human) because he wants to make the point that it is time for him to get out of this Bl**dy cage and get judged.

This is because he is so confident that he is going to win his merit prize and then go on to better and bigger things.

He spent half the time I was there climbing up and around the cage like a monkey. If you want to see more pictures of him click on the footer of this website and you'll get there. When you're at the blogger site click on the "Cat Show" label in the left margin.

He put his extremely soft and gentle paw out to me through the cage bars. His touch was slightly cold. Not a hint of a claw.

His skin felt like soft chamois leather. He was warm to touch. Apparently they are 2 degrees warmer than humans (internal body temperature).

They lose heat more rapidly than other cats (obviously) which may mean that they eat more to compensate.

Above all, his character was great. Not jittery, just calm and normal and under the circumstances of a cat show, excellent bahaviour.

And as for his appearance you can warm to it in no time just like touching his chamois leather skin.