Editing Sphynx cat (section)

==History of the cat breed==
The contemporary breed of Sphynx cat is distinct from the Russian hairless cat breeds, like [[Peterbald]] and [[Donskoy cat|Donskoy]]. Although hairless cats have been reported throughout history, breeders in Europe have been developing the Sphynx breed since the early 1960s.<ref name=":5" /> Two different sets of hairless felines discovered in North America in the 1970s provided the foundation cats for what was shaped into the existing Sphynx breed.

The current American and European Sphynx breed is descended from two lines of natural mutations:
* Dermis and Epidermis (1975) barn cats from the Pearson family of [[Wadena, Minnesota]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wadenapj.com/news/469144-prestigious-sphynx-cats-once-considered-feral-breed|title=Prestigious Sphynx cats once considered 'feral' breed|date=21 January 2012|work=Wadena Pioneer Journal|access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>
* Bambi, Punkie and Paloma (1978) stray cats found in [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada, and raised by Shirley Smith<ref name=":5">{{cite web|url=http://beeblebroxsphynx.com/health/about-the-breed/history/|title=Sphynx History|date=15 July 2016|author=James Thoene|website=Beeblebrox Sphynx|access-date=27 October 2020|archive-date=26 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226130801/http://beeblebroxsphynx.com/health/about-the-breed/history|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Toronto ===
The Canadian Sphynx breed was started in 1966 in Toronto, Ontario, when a hairless male kitten named Prune was born to a black and white [[Domestic short-haired cat|domestic shorthair]] queen (Elizabeth).<ref name=":5" />

After purchasing these cats in 1966 and initially referring to them as "Moonstones" and "Canadian Hairless", Ridyadh Bawa, a science graduate of the [[University of Toronto]], combined efforts with his mother Yania, a longtime [[Siamese cat|Siamese]] breeder,<ref name= ":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cat-world.com.au/sphynx-cat-breed-profile.html|title=Sphynx Cat Breed Profile|author=Julia Wilson|website=Cat-World|date=5 July 2017|access-date=20 October 2020}}</ref> and Keese and Rita Tenhoves to develop a breed of cats which was subsequently renamed as ''Sphynx''. The Bawas and the Tenhoves were the first individuals able to determine the autosomal recessive nature of the Sphynx gene for hairlessness while also being successful in transforming this knowledge into a successful breeding program with kittens which were eventually capable of reproducing.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://torontoist.com/2013/03/toronto-invents-the-sphynx-cat/| work= [[Torontoist]] |title= Toronto Invents: The Sphynx Cat|author= Jamie Bradburn|date=20 March 2013| access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref> The Tenhoves were initially able to obtain for the new 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 had concerns over fertility.<ref name=":2" />

The first breeders had rather vague ideas about Sphynx [[genetics]] and faced a number of problems. The [[gene pool|genetic pool]] was very limited and many kittens died. There was also a problem with many of the females suffering [[convulsion]]s. In 1978, cat breeder Shirley Smith found three hairless kittens on the streets of her neighborhood. In 1983, she sent two of them to Dr. Hugo Hernandez in the Netherlands to breed the two kittens, named Punkie and Paloma, to a white [[Devon Rex]] named Curare van Jetrophin.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news| url= https://www.petfinder.com/cat-breeds/sphynx|title=Sphynx / Hairless Cat |work= Petfinder|access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref> The resulting litter produced five kittens: two males from this litter (Q. Ramses and Q. Ra) were used, along with Punkie's half-sister, Paloma.<ref name=":2" />

=== Minnesota ===
The first noted naturally occurring foundation Sphynx originated as hairless stray barn cats in Wadena, Minnesota, at the farm of Milt and Ethelyn Pearson.<ref name=":1" /> The Pearsons identified hairless kittens occurring in several litters of their domestic shorthair barn cats in the mid-1970s.<ref name=":1" /> Two hairless female kittens born in 1975 and 1976, Epidermis and Dermis, were sold to [[Oregon]] breeder Kim Mueske, and became an important part of the Sphynx breeding program.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> Also working with the Pearson line of cats was breeder Georgiana Gattenby of [[Brainerd, Minnesota]], who outcrossed with [[Cornish Rex]] cats.<ref name=":3" />