Toronto Star

Sphynx cat breed traces origins to Toronto

- MADELINE SMITH THE CANADIAN PRESS

One of the most peculiar and polarizing pets — the hairless sphynx cat — can be traced back to Canada’s largest city.

The wrinkled cat with large, batlike ears provokes strong reactions. To some, the sphynx is a grotesque, alien-like creature that barely deserves to be called a cat. To others, it’s an affectiona­te companion whose personalit­y belies its looks.

The controvers­ial cat dates back to the 1960s, when breeders say a hairless cat named Prune was born in Toronto in a litter of otherwise normal, furry kittens.

Riyadh Bawa, a University of Toronto student at the time, has been credited by breeders as the first to identify the hairlessne­ss as a result of a recessive gene. Bawa, in partnershi­p with other breeders, bred Prune with his mother, producing several more hairless kittens.

While the lack of a full furry coat means sphynxes don’t shed, they aren’t a totally hypoallerg­enic breed, since people often react to a protein in cats’ saliva rather than the hair itself.

And although the cats don’t need to be brushed, they have to be bathed every week or two to deal with the oil that builds up on their skin, experts and owners say.

More hairless cats were later discovered in Toronto and Minnesota, and the sphynx has now been recognized as an official breed by the Cat Fanciers’ Associatio­n for almost 20 years. Today, breeders sell sphynx kittens for up to $1,500.

Alex Latta, a sphynx owner in Toronto, has built an Instagram following of more than 7,000 fans for her one-year-old hairless cat Peaches, who often sports sweaters to keep his furless skin warm.

“(Sphynxes) are kind of like dogs. They recognize their name, they fetch, they like to be all over you, they like to eat your food,” Latta says. “It’s a nice middle ground, because you can still go off to work and leave your cat at home — it’s still a cat. But they’re really friendly.”

 ?? ALEX LATTA/THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? The sphinx cat is one of the most peculiar and polarizing pets.
ALEX LATTA/THE CANADIAN PRESS The sphinx cat is one of the most peculiar and polarizing pets.

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