Sphynx

The first thing people say when they meet a Sphynx is that it feels like a warm suede hot water bottle. The second thing, usually within a minute, is that it will not get off them. Both observations are the breed in miniature: strange to the touch, and relentlessly, unembarrassedly affectionate.

The Sphynx is not truly hairless. Most are covered in a fine down that is easier to feel than to see, with the skin showing the cat's underlying colour and pattern as pigment, a tabby Sphynx has tabby markings printed on the skin. The body is medium, muscular and surprisingly heavy in the hand, with a rounded abdomen, a long neck, enormous ears and prominent cheekbones. Whiskers are often short, sparse or absent altogether. It is not a conventionally pretty cat, and owners are usually the first to say so with some affection.

Temperament is why people put up with the rest. Sphynxes are among the most people-oriented cats in domestic breeding: they greet visitors at the door, follow their owners between rooms, sleep under the duvet rather than on it, and treat any lap as public property. They are clownish, undignified and constantly in motion in a way that reads as comic rather than athletic. Most are excellent with children, other cats and calm dogs, and many households find that a second Sphynx is easier than one, because the two of them stay warm together.

Now the honest part. Without a coat to absorb it, the natural oil the skin produces accumulates, and it transfers to whatever the cat touches, bedding, sofa arms, the shoulders of your jumper. A weekly bath, or a wipe-down with warm water and a soft cloth, is the routine that keeps both cat and furniture comfortable. Skin folds around the neck and armpits collect grime and need attention. Ears produce a noticeable amount of dark wax with no hair to slow it, so a weekly clean with a veterinary ear cleaner and cotton wool is standard. The nail beds accumulate a waxy brown build-up that needs wiping at the same time. None of this is difficult, and a cat introduced to it as a kitten accepts it entirely, but it is a real weekly commitment for fifteen years, and it is where most Sphynx regret comes from.

Temperature is the other structural fact. A hairless cat loses heat quickly and will spend a cold house's day hunting for warmth: under blankets, on radiators, on top of the router, and occasionally behind appliances, which is genuinely dangerous. Keep rooms warm, provide a heated bed or two and several covered hideaways, and accept that this cat sleeps under the covers with you. Jumpers are a partial answer at best and need washing often, since they collect the same skin oil. Direct sun is the flipside, unpigmented skin burns, so a Sphynx on a sunny sill needs shade available and should not be an outdoor cat.

Health is where a buyer must be disciplined. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common heart disease in cats, is over-represented in the Sphynx, and it can be silent until it is severe. Responsible breeders scan breeding cats by echocardiogram with a cardiologist, annually, and will show you the reports. The breed also carries a risk of a hereditary myopathy, tested by DNA, and some lines have skin conditions of their own. Buy from someone who volunteers this paperwork; walk away from anyone who treats the question as an insult.

The verdict is unusually clear-cut. A Sphynx in a warm, busy, financially prepared household with someone who enjoys the weekly ritual is one of the great companion animals, funny, devoted, and impossible to ignore. The same cat in a cool, empty flat belonging to someone who wanted a low-effort pet is a mistake that takes fifteen years to play out. There is no version of this breed that is undemanding, and anyone selling one as an easy cat is selling something else.