Hairless Cats
8 Hairless Cat Reviews

Hairless cats have appeared throughout history. The first documented case of these cats was the Mexican Hairless found in New Mexico in 1903. Hairless Mexican cats are thought to date back to Pre-Colombian times (prior to 1500's) and even back to the Aztecs. The Mexican Hairless is believed to be extinct.

In the Sphynx (Canadian Hairless), a spontaneous mutation, caused by the recessive 'allele hr' gene results in nude cats.

Recessive means it can skip many generations before it once again comes to light. It is believed that these natural mutations occur in the cat population every 15 to 20 years.

Hairlessness has been recorded amongst many of the established cat breeds and is not unique to the recognized 'nude' breeds.

In the Donskoy (Don Sphynx, Russian Hairless) the hairless trait is
a natural and spontaneous mutation caused by a dominant hair loss gene.

Hairless Cats

The level of hairlessness differs between the different cat breeds. Some are entirely bald (even absent of hair follicles) whilst others have a fine down covering their bodies. Their skins or coats can be described as having the same texture as a warm, soft and fuzzy peach.

Sphynx Cats

Sphynx Cats are known by many other names - the Canadian Sphynx, Sphinx, Moon Cat and Moonstone Cat. This hairless kitty was discovered in Canada around 1966 but 'nude' cats can be traced back to the time of the Aztecs. Our comprehensive Sphynx cats profile provides interesting facts about this unusual and special cat.

Donskoy

The Donskoy, like the Sphynx is known by various other names - the Russian Hairless, Don Sphynx, Don Hairless and the Donsky. This cat is often confused with the Sphynx, but the gene that causes the hairlessness in these cats is different. To find out more about this little Russian beauty, visit our Donskoy profile for fascinating facts about these cats.

Peterbald

The Peterbald is not a natural breed, but rather a 'Russian creation' - this cat was developed by crossing a handsome male Russian Hairless (Donskoy) with an Oriental Shorthair female. The Peterbald joined the 'cat walk' in 1994.

Kohana

The Hawaiian Hairless, aka the Kohana Kat was discovered in Hawaii in 2002. These very rare hairless felines do not have downy fur like the other cats mentioned here - they are totally bald and are absent of hair follicles.

Bambino Cat

The Bambino cat belongs to the group of dwarf cats developed in 2005 crossing the short-legged Munchkin cat with the Sphynx. The result of this cross is an adorable hairless cat with short legs.

Minskin

The Minskin was developed by Paul McSorley in 1998. His aim was to create a short-legged cat with fur restricted points (or extremities), much like the color points of Siamese cats. The Munchkin, Sphynx, Burmese and Devon Rex were used to create the Minskin.

Dwelf Cat

The Dwelf cat is a miniature or dwarf cat created by crossing the short-legged Munchkin cat with the unique curly eared American Curl and the hairless Sphynx.

Ukrainian Levkoy

The Levkoy-cat hails from the Ukraine. This hairless cat was created in 2000 by crossing a cat with folded ears (probably a Scottish Fold) with a Sphynx cat. The result of this union was a nude cat with lop-ears. It is believed that their name was taken from the Levkoy plant which has leaves that resemble the Levkoy's folded ears.

Cat History