Personality: Peterbalds have a wonderful loving personality and are extremely intellegent. They are usually sweet-tempered, affectionate, peaceful, curious, smart and energetic. Peterbalds love their family members and need to communicate with them; they are not a loner type of cat. Peterbalds live in harmony with other cats and pets and also with children. They are also not vindictive, and all of their characteristics make peterbalds an excellent companion cat.
Peterbalds adopt easily to multi-cat or multi-animal families.
Peterbalds look very elegant and slim and have a distinctive head: narrow and long with a straight profile, almond-shaped eyes, and big set-apart ears. Peterbald cats look much like hairless Oriental Shorthair cats.
The Peterbald History and Description
The Peterbald breed was created at the end of 1994 in St. Petersburg, Russia as the result of experimental mating of a Don hairless (Don Sphynx or Donskoy) male called Afinogen Myth and an Oriental Shorthair female World Champion Radma von Jagerhov, by a well known Russian felinologist named Olga S. Mironova. The first two litters gave four peterbald kittens: Mandarin iz Murino, Muscat iz Murino, Nezhenka iz Murino and Nocturne iz Murino. These four peterbalds are the founders of the breed.
In 1996, the breed was adopted in the Russian Selectional Feline Federation (SFF) and given a standard and an abbreviation (PBD). In 1997 it was adopted in The International Cat Association (TICA) with the abbreviation PB, and in 2003 in the World Cat Federation (WCF) with the abbreviation PBD. Other used handles of the breed are PBD, PTB, PD and PSX.
These days the breed develops in the direction of modern Oriental and Siamese types, that is to say a long muzzle, large set-apart ears, flat cheekbones, and an elegant body on long legs. Therefore, all standards for this breed encourage mating with Oriental and Siamese cats.
The Sphynx is not always totally hairless; there can be a fine down on the body, which makes the cat feel like a warm peach. Some light hair is often present on the nose, tail and toes. The texture of the Sphynx skin has been compared to a suede covered hot water bottle or a heated chamois. All colors and patterns are possible and may be presented at any stage of maturity. The color is seen in the pigment of the skin and the few hairs that they do have. One of the questions most asked is "Don't they get cold?" Well, of course, if it is too cold for you it will be too cold for a hairless cat too. However, these cats are smart enough to find a warm human, dog or cat to curl up with or they will get under your bed covers.
Because of the lack of hair that would normally absorb body oils, the Sphynx needs periodic bathing and ear cleaning. This is not a difficult task with a cat that has been acclimated from kitten hood with bathing and grooming proper for the Sphynx.
Some people who suffer from cat allergies can tolerate living with Sphynx cats. However, depending on the type and severity of the individual's allergic reactions, there are still people who cannot live with this breed.
According to TICA STANDARDS:
PERMISSIBLE OUTCROSSES:
Oriental Shorthair, Siamese, Donskoy
HEAD:
Shape: Long, inverted triangle, measuring from ear tip to ear tip to blunted muzzle, forming a wedge. Flat forehead and flat high cheekbones. Ears: Extra large, pointed, and broad at the base, slightly flared. Set to extend just below the line of the wedge.
Eyes: Medium in size, almost almond in shape. Obliquely set, flush with the skull, neither protruding nor recessed. Distance between eyes not less than width of one eye. Eye color
independent of coat color. Profile: Straight nose and flat forehead forming two distinct flat planes meeting midway over the eyes in a convex angle. Two-planed.
Muzzle: Strong, slightly blunt and not narrow. Smooth wedge with no whisker pinch, although whisker pads will be evident. Whiskers, if present, should be crinkly and kinky and may be or appear to be broken.
Chin: Strong, straight line from tip of nose to tip of chin. Not protruding.
Neck: Long and slender.
BODY:
Torso: Medium-sized, long and graceful. Shoulders and hips equal in width.
Legs: Long, medium-fine boned. Firm muscles. Straight vertical forelegs. Hind legs slightly longer than front legs.
Feet: Oval, medium in size with long, agile prominent toes and non-prominent foot pads.
Tail: Long, strong and whippy.
Musculature: Firm and well developed. Boning: Medium-fine.
COAT
The Peterbald coat is the single most important feature of the breed. A Peterbald may have a single coat type or it may have a combination of coat types.
Generally, if there is more than one coat type, the body has one type and the extremities or points have another. A Peterbald may be born with one coat type which changes to a different type over time. Peterbalds may be born with or without coat. Those born bald may be
100% hairless or may have barely discernible fine residual hair at the base of the ears, on the muzzle, feet, lower legs and tail that feels like velvet. Except in those Peterbalds that are born completely hairless with no whiskers or eyebrows, the Peterbald coat changes or evolves with age. For those born with coat, that become hairless, loss of coat begins at the top of the head or nape of the neck and continues down the body to the tail. Short fine down may be retained on the extremities. There are two basic Peterbald coat textures: hairless and brush. The hairless Peterbald has soft, warm, elastic skin that may range from ”sticky” to having a texture akin to suede or peach skin or feeling like silk. The hairlessness can range from being 100% hairless to having
almost imperceptible fine hairs, to having short fine, down which appears truly hairless when viewed from a distance. When inspected closely there are clearly visible hairs. Coat that is retained on the extremities is short, close-lying and downy. Brush coat ranges from a sparse wiry coat of irregular texture in which the skin is seen through the coat, to a dense, wiry, short, wavy or kinky brush coat. Brush coat ranges from 5mm or longer in length and should in no way feel or look like a normal coat when closely inspected. A cat with heavy dense brush coat will not lose its coat.
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