The Peterbald originated in Russia in 1988,
The Peterbalds have a graceful body, with fine boning.
This is a lean, muscular cat that has large ears set lower than an Orientals or a Siamese.
Although, they look similar to an Oriental and a Siamese, they are there own unique breed.
The Peterbald appears hairless, though they are not truly hairless.
The skin is wrinkled, elastic and loose and feels like warm chamois cloth or the skin of a peach.
Some kittens have a fine soft down.
The degree of hairlessness can vary from full nakedness to a "brush" coat to a "flocked" or a straight coat.
More of a soft coat can appear on the ears, muzzle, tail and feet.
All of this depends on the genes that is carried by the parents.
Flocked is more of a velour and brush is partially bald bu
t covered with curly, rigid residual hairs.
PETERBALD COAT DESCRIPTIONS
The Bald Categories
Ultra bald
Ultra bald, also known as rubber bald, ultra hairless, born naked, born bald, sticky bald, hairless born: These kittens are born without hair. They are the baldest of the bald and feel like rubber. It is a little difficult to run your hand down their skin, therefore, you would 'massage' these types of kittens, not pet them. Many people describe them as "feeling sticky," like running your hand down warm rubber. These kittens sometimes require bathing. They are often born without whiskers or eyebrows, and with their eyes open.
Flock Bald
Flock bald, also known as smooth bald, soft bald, silky bald, and chamois: This coat type feels like a piece of silk. It is smooth to touch and no hair is visible. There is no resistance to the coat when pet backwards. Many people confuse the term 'flocked' and believe it refers to a longer hair, but in actual fact, flocked is so short that it cannot be seen by the naked eye. The hair measures between 1/100th of a mm to 1 mm in length. "Flocked" is actually a type of material typically used to make red Christmas bows. If you have one of these bows, you can feel it and get an idea of what a flocked coat is; however, the flocked Peterbald has hair that is shorter than the Christmas bow fabric. When looking at a flocked kitten, it has the appearance of being completely hairless and is a bald cat. The coat is maintained with baby wipes, if at all necessary. Kittens are born mostly or completely without hair; or, they are born with a distinctive bald patch on their head. They may be born with eyes open or closed. Whiskers are kinky, curly, broken, or a combination of these.
Velour Bald
Velour bald: The velour coat has hair that is 1mm to 5 mm in length. From afar, it appears hairless, but on close inspection, this coat can be seen. It can be sparse, short and slightly wavy, or very dense. A dense velour coat is easy to identify because it will SHINE. The hair is shiny, giving the cat a very sleek look. Whiskers are kinky, curly, broken, or a combination of these. The velour coat can be lost and become a bald coat before two years of age.
The Haired Category
Brush Coat
Brush coat: The coat is comprised of wiry hairs. It ranges from just barely wavy hair to almost curly hair. It will feel somewhat coarse, but may transition to a soft wiry feel as an adult. Kittens are born with curly/wavy hair that transitions to the brush coat over time (typically 3 months of age but can take longer), or they are born with a normal-looking coat (and curly whiskers) which transitions to a brush coat over time. The brush coat kitten will not lose its’ hair. There is also some discussion as to whether the brush coat stems from a different gene than the hair-losing gene that is currently attributed to Peterbalds. The Peterbald brush coat is unique and there is no other cat in TICA that has this coat at this time. There is currently a movement amongst Peterbalds breeders to enter the brush coat into TICA as a separate coat category.
Straight-Coat
Straight-Coat (almost like a normal coat): The Peterbald straight-coat is a short, close-lying coat. It can be compared to the Siamese or Oriental coat. Kittens are born with a straight-coat and do not change. Straight-coats do not have a hair-losing gene and will keep all of their hair over time. They have no undercoat so shedding is minimal. This kind of coat is great for people who want a haired cat but want less shedding.
Notes on coat
The Peterbald coat is very different from any other coat. A Peterbald may have the coat mentioned above or can have a combination of two or more of the above coats. A Peterbald can also have one coat type over its’ body and a different coat type on its’ points. It can be born with one type of coat and change to a different coat over time. Generally, it can be determined at birth or before the age of 3 months as to which coat the Peterbald will have.
These are possible scenarios:
1, Born bald and does not change
2, Born bald, grows some hair and re-loses it over the first two years of
its’ life. This kind always returns to its’ original coat from birth.
3, Born with hair and loses it over the first two years of its’ life.
4, Born with a brush coat
5, Born with a brush coat that becomes denser over time
6, Born with hair and does not lose it
The Peterbald personality
Peterbalds have a wonderful loving personality. These are some of their characteristics:
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· Easily trained to do various tricks such as fetching, toilet-training, and shaking a paw (yes, I said shake a paw!)
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· Affectionate, loving, and curious
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· Adapt easily to multi-cat or multi-animal families
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· Loyal and likes to follow you around the house and be in the same room with you.
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· Low to medium vocal (can be more vocal in single-cat homes)
The Peterbald Body
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· Graceful, muscular, agile, lean cats
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· Webbed feet
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· Firm, fine bones and elongated body, neck, feet, and legs
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· Long, wedge-shaped head, with flat, high cheekbones and flat skull
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· Strong muzzle.
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· Strong but not protruding chin
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· Large ears, set low
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· Oval paws with long agile fingers and toes, which allows them to be able to grasp objects
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· Long, straight whippy tail
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· Almost almond-shaped eyes (however, many different eyes shapes are currently seen in Peterbalds)