Sphynx Vs. Peterbald

[nbolin]

Hello everyone :) At a recent trip to Pet Supplies plus I bought myself the CATS USA 2009 Annual edition magazine. As I was going through it and looking at the different breeds I came across the Peterbald breed. Now I tried to look up information on both Sphynx and Peterbald..and found no real differences. So I guess my question is..what is the difference? Is Sphynx and Peterbald the same thing? i'm confused

[kalliee129]

Ahhh the big debate question Personally I don't think there is a HUGE difference but then again I think I'm the only one on here that owns a Peterbald....please don't kick me out I always called Meecho a sphynx but I stopped that after the cat show and now just refer to her as a peterbald. Why? because 98% of the people and granted there weren't a lot but the ones who did have sphynx's were, well to put it nicely were slightly snobby about them having a sphynx and me a peterbald. Kinda made me feel like Meecho was inadequate or something. Now here are some things that I know from my research when I was looking for a sphynx. The Peterbalds are a little more rare because they haven't been around very long, I think sometime is the 80's or 90's. They originated in St. Petersburg Russia which is how they got their name (kinda cool because Meecho is actually part of the original line...here is my snobby part). Some if not most are born with hair like Meecho was and by the time they are 1-2 they will have shed most if not all of their hair. If you look at my pictures you will actually see one where Meecho is on top of some of her brothers and sister and when they were born they were born from no hair to full hair and now even the hairest is pretty much bald. Also if you want to show your cat I think you can only show a Peterbald in a TICA show, but I'm not positive on that as I don't show Meecho. Here are some more blurbs from other sites that I found:

Of course, the main difference is the fact that the gene responsible for the Peterbald's hairlessness is basically dominant (if you are interested in a long discussion about the genetics of the PD coat types, send me an Email, and I will spare the rest of you ;) ), while the hairless gene of the Sphynx is recessive. The look of these cats is also very different. The Peterbald is lean and muscular, with long legs and a long, thin body. They are to have a long, wedge shaped head, with large, low (wide set) ears, no "whisker pinch," and much less defined cheekbones. The Sphynx, on the other hand, is to have shorter legs, a "barrel shaped body" that is much shorter and rounder than the PD, high, large ears that point up instead of out on their shorter head, and the noted facial differences.

Head:
Shape/Size: Medium. Modified long wedge, without muzzle break ending in a slightly blunted muzzle. Muzzle: Strong, smooth, slightly blunt. Not extremely narrow. No whisker pinch. Chin: Strong, tip of nose in line with tip of chin, not protruding or receding. Profile: Almost straight profile with a noticeable angle from nose to forehead, two planed – flat nose, flat forehead. Ears: Very large. Broad at base and open. Set to extend slightly below the line of the wedge. Eyes: Almond shaped, medium size. Set on and angle, flush with skull, neither protruding nor recessed. At least one eye width distance between the eyes. Open eye preferred to squinty appearance. All eye color accepted.

Body and Tail:
Body: Medium, long and graceful. Shoulders and hips appear equal width. Musculature: Firm and well developed. Legs: Long, medium-fine boned. Straight forelegs. Hind legs slightly longer than front legs. Feet: Oval, medium sized with long agile, prominent toes. Tail: Long, strong, and whippy. Boning: Medium-fine

Coat:
Ultra Bald, or Sticky Bald (Appears 100 % hairless): An Ultra Bald Peterbald is born completely without hair. They are absolutely hairless, and will not ever grow any coat. The skin is soft, warm and sticky to the touch. Chamois, or Flock (90% hairless): A Chamois has soft, warm skin that can range in feel from almost sticky (but not oily) to the touch, to a chamois-like texture. The coat is notably smooth and there will be essentially no visible hair. The coat on the body measure from 1/100th mm to 1 mm. They may also have a residual coat on the legs, tail, and face that is slightly longer and/or more dense that the coat on the body. This may or may not be lost as the cat matures. Whiskers/Eyebrows are kinky, curly, broken, or combination of these.

Velour (70% hairless): A velour has covering all over, which ranges from 1- 5 mm in length. This coat may vary from short a fine to longer, close down which offers resistance to the hand when stroked. The velour may appear hairless until close examination. Texture: can range from a sparse, thin coat, to a dense, heavy coat with in the given length guidelines. This coat can be lost, most often before the cat’s second year. They may also sometimes have a residual brush coat on the legs and tail.

Brush Coat: The Brush Coat is one of the Peterbalds most distinguishing characteristics. No other breed ahs a coat similar to this. The brush coat varies both in texture and density. Fine brush coats have hairs that are both long and short. The skin can be seen through the coat. The wiry hairs may have a soft or a very coarse texture. Heavier brush coats will be dense, wiry, and have irregular texture. The coat will show definite waves in the hair. Whiskers are always kinky, curly, or may appear to be broken. A velour coat is sometimes confused for a “light brush”. The difference can be determined by the coat length and the wiry texture of the brush (remember, the texture of the velour coat is soft).

Color:
Accepted in all recognized colors/patterns registered by ACFA. Irregular spots of white are accepted. Eyes may be any color on any coat color/pattern.

Here are some pictures to show the progression of hair loss.

[ilovemysphynx]

Kalliee there is no way we would give you and Meecho the boot! Now what would we do without you two?
Meecho being A peterbald is cool and hey you can stick your nose up and say haha I have the only peterbald on SphynxLair!

[sydkat7]

nbolin, we had this discussion before on an earlier thread...here's the link for more info:
http://www.sphynxlair.com/showthread...ight=peterbald

BTW, even though Meecho isn't a sphynx, she's still the cutest peterbald I've seen yet and totally belongs on this site!

[CoolSphynx]

Meecho is also one of the best dressed baldies on the block!

[kalliee129]

Thanks guys you actually made me cry and feel so special. Although between you and me I think Meecho secretly wants to be a sphynx or at least marry one. She has her eyes on quite a few of them from here

[ilovemysphynx]

Originally Posted by kalliee129

Thanks guys you actually made me cry and feel so special. Although between you and me I think Meecho secretly wants to be a sphynx or at least marry one. She has her eyes on quite a few of them from here

Athena says she is so sorry but Leo is already spoken for

[nbolin]

I apologize I didn't realize this was already discussed. Kalliee thanks for such a thorough answer, def makes sense to me now :)

[lovinsphynx]

Well i consider Meecho a sphynx just because she is hairless lol if it has hair it's just a cat if it is bald it belongs on sphynx lair lol

[Mews2much]

She is a cute Peterbald.
In fact I was thinking of getting a Peterbald before I got Wrinkles.