Are Sphynx Cats Really Hypoallergenic? What Allergy Sufferers Need to Know
The Fel d 1 protein lives in saliva and skin, not hair — so what does a hairless cat actually change for an allergic household?
Category: Breed facts
Why is a Sphynx hairless, and what actually separates it from a Donskoy, a Peterbald, a Bambino or an Elf cat? These guides cover the genetics behind hairlessness — a recessive keratin mutation in the Sphynx versus a dominant one in the Donskoy — and what that means for coat texture, from bald to the peach-fuzz and “flock” coats that come and go with the seasons. We also cover colours and patterns on skin rather than fur, wrinkles, whiskers and why some hairless cats have none, and dominant odd eyes, which is our own speciality. Written by Sphynx breeders, with the breed-standard positions of TICA and CFA noted where they differ from what you will read in casual breed listings.
Why Are Sphynx Cats Hairless? The Genetics Behind the Breed
The Canadian origins of the breed, the recessive KRT71 variant behind the fine down, and why the Donskoy mutation is a different thing entirely.
Sphynx vs Donskoy vs Peterbald: How to Tell Hairless Breeds Apart
Recessive versus dominant hairlessness, the coat types, the body shapes and the temperament differences — from a house that keeps two of the three.
Elf, Bambino, Dwelf and Minskin: The Sphynx Hybrid Breeds Explained
What each hairless hybrid actually is, which registries recognise them, and the welfare questions worth asking about the dwarf-gene crosses.
Sphynx Cat Personality: Why They Act More Like Dogs Than Cats
The demanding, affectionate, people-following temperament the breed is known for — and how much it varies cat to cat across our own household.
Sphynx Cat Colours and Patterns — Including the Ones With Hair
How colour and tabby patterns show on bare skin, why many Sphynx cats keep fuzz, and how Donskoy coat types differ from all of it.
Dominant Odd Eyes in Sphynx Cats: The Rarest Look in the Breed
How heterochromia happens, why the white spotting route makes it a lottery, and what it means to breed odd eyes as a reliably inherited trait.