I always thought Sphynx cats were bizarre until I went to a cat show about 15 years ago and got to hold one. It was very friendly and kind of cute. I also discovered that Sphynxes weren’t really hairless but covered with a fine down. The one I held felt as if were made of suede.
The hairlessness is caused by homozygosity for a single recessive gene, hr.
Anyway, this striking moggie seems to have an affinity for human hair, perhaps compensating for its own deficit. The video shows the affectionate nature of the breed, and the notes say that its name is “Applesauce.”
h/t: Andrew Sullivan via Greg Mayer
One of my favourite breeds. Love the close-up
Rockin’ out to Journey too.
– Hank: You folks see that flashing sign up there? Now, that sign says: “Applesauce.” No, no, I’m kidding. It says “applause.” Ray, do me a favor. Could you flick that once? [crowd applauds] All right. Now remember. You’re all a big part of the show, so the better you are, the better Larry is. You see this gentleman? He’s giving me this sign and it says, “We’re on in ten seconds.” So get ready to have a good time. All right, here we go. This is exciting, isn’t it? –
Bit of nostalgia there
The cat is rubbing against a short, bristly beard. Likely feels similar to a cat tongue.
Not to rain on any parades but the moggie’s behavior is probably allorubbing, a method of scent-marking from glands at the corners of cats’ mouths.
http://felinedocs.com/tag/allorubbing/
Which does not preclude affection. From the link you posted:
Extraterrestrial ears! Does he work for NSA? 🙂
It looks unclothed without fur. I think the Cuddly Quotient (CQ) goes way down when four-legged critters come without a fur coat. Maybe it’s just me…
Me too, nothing against the poor furless animal but I prefer my cats with all the floof.
That flea was really persistent.
Very cute 🙂
Slightly OT:
I do worry about breeds like the hairless cats, though. How ethical it is to deliberately breed cats that lack fur and whiskers? Cat’s have metabolisms and grooming instincts based on having fur. And they are meant to have whiskers, which this cat mostly lacks. Seems kind of unfair to kitties to breed them to have these issues rather than to be healthy kats – it’s the main reasons I’ve only been to a cat show one. Other breeding for conditions that seem wrong goes for dwarf kitties, kitties with squashed faces that make it hard to breathe, etc. Breeding Manx kitties can be especially bad as many of them not only have shorter tails, but also shorter spines and shorter life spans.
I’m glad this kitty has a loving home, I adore cats, but I’m also not comfortable with purposely breeding for traits that seem harm the animal’s well being.
Finally I can add this!
I agree. This has been done with dogs for a long time, but as cats tend to choose their own mates this is a recent development.
The cross of this with an achondroplasic ‘Munchkin’ cat has produced the ‘Minskin’.
This is all very cutesy & appeals to the person who wants a permanent kitten, but I think it would be better to give a loving home to a rescue cat than breed these for human pleasure.
My cat, Tom, is an American shorthair, and very affectionate. He has a luxurious coat of his own, but he behaves like Applesauce does, every morning in bed when we wake up. We nuzzle for minutes on end.
Reblogged this on What People Say.
“I can haz bodyheat?”