Starlingflair

The origination of a breed of hairless cats that we know today as the Sphynx began in the mid-1960's with the birth of a hairless kitten to a black and white domestic shorthair queen in Ontario, Canada. After purchasing these cats in 1966 and initially referring to them as "Moonstones" and "Canadian Hairless," Mr. Ridyadh Bawa, a science graduate of the University of Toronto, combined efforts with his mother, a long time Siamese breeder, and the Tenhoves to develop a breed of cats which have been renamed the Sphynx. It is apparent that the Bawas and the Tenhoves were the first individuals able to determine the autosomal recessive nature of the Sphynx gene for hairlessness. They were also successful in transforming this knowledge into a successful breeding program with kittens which were eventually capable of reproducing. The Tenhoves were initially able to get the breed Provisional showing status through the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) but ultimately had the status revoked in 1971 when it was felt by the CFA Board that the breed lacked both a consistent standard and an adequate gene pool. At this time, the breeding program withered with the final traceable lines being Bawa cats--Mewsi-Kal Johnny, Mewsi-Kal Starsky and Prune's Epidermis.

Today’s Sphynx, like so many other cat breeds, are the creation of the simultaneous work performed by mother- nature and many people that were committed to the breed. Two different sets of hairless cats were discovered in North America in the 1970's. These cats provided the foundation cats that have made the Sphynx breed what it is today.