ABOUT PETERBALD

About the Breed

The Petersburg Sphynx, or the Peterbald, is the result of the introduction of the dominant gene of hairlessness Hrbd borrowed from the Don sphinxes into the population of the Siamese-Oriental cats.
The breed was given its second name Peterbald – Peter the Bald – in the memory of the founder of Petersburg. This name appeared because of the impression made by the sculpture of Peter the Great by the brilliant and unpredictable Michail Shemiakin in the Petropavlovsk Fortress on the author of the breed Olga Mironova (“Russian cats of the local origin”, O.S. Mironova).
At present more and more representatives of the Oriental group are displayed in shows. The breed of the Petersburg Sphinx is included in this group. Despite the fact that, according to the genetic feature of hairlessness, the Don Sphynxes and Peterbalds have been derived from the same ancestors (in 1987 semi-hairless cats Varvara were found in the street of the city of Rostov-on-Don) these breeds differ from one another quite significantly in the structure of their skeleton, the shape of their scull and the position of their ears. Also, they have different standards approved by the associations of felinologists, and in shows they are subject to examination in different groups of the breed (the Don Sphynxes belong to the group of short-haired cats, whereas the Petersburg Sphynxes are valued in the oriental group).
he breed of Peterbalds emerged at the end of 1994. In breeding the first subtle Oriental-type sphynxes the Don Sphynx Afinogen- Myth was carefully interbred with the Oriental turtle cat, the world champion Radmy von Jagerhof.


Afinogen–Myth was chosen as the male parent because it was of a somewhat lighter type of build than it is common to the Don Sphinxes, had long extremities and a long tail. Though its head did not distinguish itself for a particular length, its cheekbones were flat, and the profile was smoothed. There was no clear passage from the bridge of the nose towards the part of the scull. In its turn, its partner was an excellent expression of the oriental subtlety.
The basis for the breed was laid by the kittens born as a result of the above-mentioned inbreeding: Mandarin and Muscat, as well as Nocturne and Neženka (the nursery “Cats from Murino”). All the kittens of the first generation were not only hairless but they were also of a clearly expressed oriental type. It was the structure of the coat characteristic of the cats of the Oriental group that determined a better structure of hairlessness in the Peterbalds, which, contrary to the Don Sphinxes, can produce “well undressed” hybrids of the first generation. In the opinion of O. Mironova, one of the ancestors of all the currently existing pedigree Peterbalds – the progenitor of the family – must without fail be derived from the first two experimental leads.
he very first Peterbalds (Muscat and Mandarin) had short millimetre-long hair, which practically disappeared when the individuals reached the age of 1.5 – 2 years (however, it remained on the paws, the face and the tail). This type of cover was later called a “flock” because the coat that remained on the body resembled upholstery. Heterozygous samples have a very different cover of hair – beginning with the lightest one that is similar to the skin of a peach and ending with cotton velvet of various densities. It is difficult to guess to what extent the velvet cats will “undress themselves” upon reaching the age of two years. Their body may become absolutely bald, however, some hair may remain on the paws, the face and the tail.
Absolutely hairless kittens (homozygous according to the dominant gene), that is, those who have no gene of the normal coat in their genotype, started appearing among the posterity of the heterozygous parents of different degree of hairiness (carrying the gene of the normal coat). When stroking, the skin did not become velvet, it stretched as if it was made of rubber. Immunity of such kittens was obviously greatly reduced. Since their development was slowed down during the first weeks of their life, they needed maximum care on the part of a human being. They felt best when fed naturally and additionally fed from the very early age.
In case one out of five kittens on average is born with hair, two are born heterozygous and are “flock” ones, and two are born hairless, most often one of the hairless kittens has little chances to survive, unless the breeder takes twenty-four hour care of it. This can be accounted for by the fact that the kittens, which are born hairless, are much smaller than their “dressed” brothers, and it is not always that they can independently push their way to their mother’s teats. Therefore a highly developed breeder must timely perform the functions of the second mother. It is also dangerous for such kittens to become cold because due to an increased heat and energy metabolism in their infancy, their skin cannot protect them from the fluctuations of the external temperature. However, the hairless kittens, having successfully reached the age of 3-4 months, acquire sufficient firmness and by their development catch up with their “haired” brothers. Unlike the hairless kittens, the “velvet” and “flock” kittens distinguish themselves by high resistance and adaptively from their very first days.
The gene of hairlessness does not only effect the coat but also the whiskers and eyebrows. They are highly curly in heterozygous individuals, whereas homozygous individuals either do not have them at all or they are very thin and chipped.

The Peterbald kittens are born with an absolutely different type of coat:

Hairless kittens. They are absolutely hairless, their skin is sticky. They have no whiskers. They are born with their eyes open. It should be noted that it is only hairless spynxes that cause no negative reaction in people suffering from allergy.

Flock (velvet) kittens. The skin is velvet to the touch, they are born with short hair or with hairy wool and a bald forehead. With the passing of time the kittens “undress”. Their whiskers are curly, the eyes open on the second-third day. These kittens are really beautiful and pleasant to the touch. During the cold season some places of the entire body may become covered with fluff.
Brush kittens. Their entire body is covered with rough curly hair.
Straight-haired kittens. These kittens are born with an ordinary coat. They are not sphynxes, they are rejected and are not used for breeding.

Since the year 2000 mating of the Don Sphynxes and the Peterbalds has been forbidden in Europe. It should be noted that the introduction of blood of the new oriental breeds into the population of the Peterbalds en mass has undoubtedly improved their type, however, at the same time the number of “undressing” individuals has increased considerably. It was noticed that from one and the same hairless male parent, when mating it with different representatives of the oriental group, the leads, which differ greatly in the degree of hairiness among them, could be born. It is most likely that the groups of the Siamese and Oriental cats have different bloodlines with different gene modifiers, which have an effect on the appearance of the gene of hairlessness.
In breeding the Peterbalds, quite a large group of animals of an intermediate type appeared – something between the Don Sphynxes and the Peterbalds. When interbreeding the angora, Siberian, Russian blue and other cats with the Don Sphynxes, a large number of “brushy” cats appeared. This group of animals does require any further selective ennoblement.
Since the breed develops in the direction of its extreme type (that is, towards clearly expressed features of its breed; a long face, ears placed apart towards the sides, flat cheekbones, an elegant body on long legs) it is allowed and recommended to mate the Peterbalds with the representatives of the oriental groups: the Orientals, Siameses, as well as with their semi-long-haired variations: the Balinese and Javanese (also called the Mandarins).
At the present time this is the youngest and rarest breed in the world. In 1996 this breed was registered with the Selection Federation of Felinologists and the breed was assigned the abbreviation PBD, and in 1997 it was registered with the International Cat Association (TICA) (the abbreviation PD). In 2003 the breed was registered with the World Cats Federation (the abbreviation PBD). At the present time the breed is becoming ever more popular in Europe.

They differ from two other hairless breeds in a more graceful and elegant body. The paws of the Peterbalds are longer and thinner, their heads are prolonged, the ears are large and placed apart towards the sides.
The Peterbalds are peaceful, clever, energetic and very sociable. “This is both a cat, a puppy, a monkey and a child in one small hot body”. These cats are devoted to their masters like dogs. The definition “the cat that walked by itself’ does not suit them.
They like warmth, therefore they can often be found on the heating devices and equipment or on a television set (a computer). The sphinxes like sleeping under a blanket and preferably with their masters!
Keeping sphynxes causes no special problems, however, some peculiarities of this breed should be taken into consideration. Their energy metabolism is very high therefore the body temperature is 0.5-1 degree higher than that of ordinary cats. Seeking to maintain it, the sphinx must eat a lot (on average twice as much as an ordinary cat). It should not surprise you. You have to observe the cat’s weight – overweight is bad for the cat’s health. Practically they eat almost everything. The food should contain vitamins and minerals though in case of their excess, fluff might suddenly appear on the cat’s paws and tail.
The Peterbalds have some features characteristic of this breed. For example, as the representatives that are worth their ancestors, they have a rather strong voice, which they willingly use because they want to communicate with their masters and “make a sound recording” of their actions very much. The cats “speak” especially loudly during the time of mating, and the males – during the time of their sexual maturity and during their “marriage” games. Of course, there are pleasant exceptions, however, they are quite rare.
The skin of the hairless cats has the features similar to those of the human skin: when it is hot it sweats and in summer, under the effect of the sunrays, it becomes tanned. The skin of the “rubber’ sphynxes is especially sensitive to radiation, dryness, mechanical impact, therefore it is necessary to protect it. If we are taking a cat to the country in summer, its skin should be rubbed with baby oil or baby sunscreen. However, one should not become too keen on creams and lotions because the latter might poison the cat! The tan disappears in winter, only the changing “winter spots” and birthmarks remain. Pigmentation becomes more pronounced during pregnancy and the lactation period.


Standard of the Breed (click here for PDF report) TICA standard