THE WONDERFUL PETERBALD, AT LAST CITIZENS OF SOUTH AFRICA
(By Mariette Burger, with sincere thanks to my mentor, Neva Barker of NW Wedgies, Oregon, USA)

The Peterbald, a MUST have

Your life is about to change.  Is it a dog? Is it a monkey? Is it a bat? No… It’s a very special breed of cat.  Perhaps even the rarest pedigreed cat breed in the world: The Peterbald.
Only one word can describe the Peterbald and that word is not ‘naked’ or ‘hairless’, that word is LOVE.  This intense feeling of tender affection and enthusiasm so aptly describes the Peterbald.  These fantastical little creatures will steal your heart when they dart to your side, hold your face in their slender front paws and give you a head butt and non-stop purrs.

The Peterbald is the ultimate attention-seeker.  They crave cuddles and kisses and will not stop until they have your undivided attention and affection.  Mischievous and comical, the Peterbald is forever faithful to their owners, and possibly anyone who gives them that craved belly tickle.

So very like the Oriental and Siamese breeds, the Peterbald forms strong bonds with its human.  Their own somewhat “human” personalities will draw you in and offer you endless hours of amusement and affection.

Rivaling the temperament of the ever-popular Siamese, once you have an encounter with one of these wonderful creatures, you will never want to be owned by anything else, ever!

A relationship with a Peterbald is one of epic romance.  They will adore you and you will find them simply irresistible.  They will want to dine with you, sleep with you and even hear your thoughts.  They will be loyal and devoted, while at the same time make you giggle at their antics and their unwavering enthusiasm for life.

You will never be lonely with a Peterbald at your side, on your shoulder, in your dinner plate or under the sheets.  This, the purr…fect companion, has now become a South African Citizen.

History of the Peterbald ~ A Breed Apart
Russian breeder Elena Kovaleva brought home a homeless, bald female cat.   She thought that it was sick and tried to cure it from the supposed disease that caused the loss of hair.  But it was soon discovered that the absence/loss of hair was not from a disease, but was in fact a natural mutation. The female cat was named Varvara (Varya) and she later gave birth to hairless kittens.
Varya (pictured at left) was soon to become the foundation cat of a new, wonderful breed.  The first thought, of course, was that this mutation was the same gene that caused the hairlessness in the Sphinx.  For that reason, you will see the name Don Sphinx used in some descriptions and on some pedigrees.  This proved to be untrue and it was soon discovered that these were two totally different breeds.  The Sphinx gene is a recessive gene and after breeding the Don Sphinx, the gene was found to be dominant.
The difference in these types of genes means the following:  If you breed a Sphinx (recessive gene) to a normal-coated cat, you will get normal-coated cats in the first generation.  If you breed a Peterbald (dominant gene for hairlessness) to a normal-coated cat, you will get hairless kittens in the first generation.
Varya went on to be the foundation cat for two wonderful, but different breeds.  Some of Varya’s kittens were bred to European and Domestic Shorthairs.  This produced a very stocky built cat that became known as the Don Hairless or, what is now known as the Donsky.
In 1993 a very oriental-looking brown mackerel tabby Don Hairless male, Afinguen Myth, was mated to a tortie Oriental female, Radma Von Jagerhof.  These oriental-type hairless cats were called Peterbald.  They were unpopular in Moscow, but became very popular amongst St. Petersburg breeders.  In January of 1994, the new, more refined look of the Don Hairless became known as the Russian Peterbald.
Breeders from the United States became increasingly interested in the Peterbald.  Several Peterbald were shipped from Russia to the States to be used in breeding programs.  Neva Barker of NW Wedgies Cattery, Oregon, USA, became actively involved with the promotion and advancement of the breed, her first Peterbald was a beautiful queen who came from Mercuryhold Cattery, owned by Olga Shidlovskaya of Russia.
Both Olga and Alexy (also from Russia) were of the very first breeders to bring the Peterbald to the States and who helped American breeders commence Peterbald breeding programmes.  While there are still a few breeders that were involved back then, there has been an increase in Peterbald breeders over the last 10 years to over 40 registered breeders, as well as hundreds of Peterbald owners world-wide.
Olga Shidlovskaya is still breeding and showing Peterbald in both the United States and Russia, and Alexis is also a Judge for TICA, one of many of the cat organisations world-wide that recognises Peterbald cats as a breed apart.

Acceptance of the Peterbald by the Cat Fancy World-Wide
In 1996, the Peterbald was accepted by the Russian Selectional Feline Federation (SFF) and given a standard and an abbreviation for registration purposes, i.e. PBD.  In 1997, the Peterbald was accepted by The International Cat Association (TICA) with the abbreviation PB.  In 2003, the World Cat Federation (WCF) accepted the Peterbald, with the abbreviation PBD.  Other used handles of the breed are PBD, PTB, PD and PSX.
Breeders in the United States have succeeded in obtaining full Championship status of this breed in 2007, with the abbreviation PD.
Lean and elegant, but at the same time muscled, finely featured, big-eared, long-legged and whippy tailed, this cat has a totally different look from that of the Sphinx.  However, although these graceful cats have the elegant, oriental-type body, they have a unique look, coat and personality, distinctly their own.

A Peterbald may have different coat types; from thick and silky, or wiry, flocked or suede, naked or sticky and everything in-between.  One of the most notable features of this elegant cat is the new and unique coat called a brush coat:  It has a similar texture to the coat of a wirehair, but is very short, definitely not curly and not dense, more sort of brushy.

The South African Link
The South African Cat Council (SACC) had accepted the Peterbald for Championship status as far back as November 2001, with the abbreviation PET.  This, once again, shows the forward thinking of the SACC judges in South Africa.  (Refer to the Standard of Points as set out by the Breed Council of SACC.)

Are you ready to be owned by a Peterbald
Peterbald males, females, neuters and kittens require undivided attention.  These cats cannot be left on their own, they NEED their human entertainers.  They are ideal companions and get along famously with each other and with other cat AND dog breeds.  They will walk on a leash without any training to do so and they will come running when you call them by name.  These little gems also play fetch and love games of hide-and-seek.
The Peterbald have “batwings”, and when jumping into the air to “catch”, they have a moment of air-borne suspension which is truly awesome to behold.
The Peterbald “coat” is easy to maintain and might only require a monthly bath.  Some owners prefer to bath them more frequently.  Peterbald love their bath and will wait patiently, standing upright without a fight while you exfoliate, wash and rinse their skin/coat.  Males and neuters require a daily wipe-down with a cleansing wipe (Johnson’s Facial Wipes or such) of their tail to prevent excess build-up of oil that might result in blackheads at the base of the tail.  The nail beds and ear shells will also require a weekly wipe-down.
The Peterbald should never be exposed to long periods of strong sunlight; their skin will sunburn like human skin, resulting in painful skin conditions and severe sun damage.
To enquire how to be owned by one or more of these very unique cats, contact LaBling Peterbalds of Outstanding Quality in South Africa (Pretoria) at mburger@postwired.co.za or the LaBling (future) sister cattery in South Africa (Durban) at kioko@iburst.co.za. 
Three breeding Peterbald adults were imported and registered at SACC with the LaMASKA Siamese and Orientals prefix.  Progeny from the imported foundation Peterbald will be registered under the prefix LaBLING.
Acknowledgements:

• All About Cats
• Neva Barker, Oregon, USA
• Steve Rekun, Israel
• Susanna Tally-Shon, USA
• Ingrid de Wet, RSA
• Nicole Barrat, RSA
• Photo of Vanya, courtesy www.amadeisphynx.com/history

White Peterbald Adult Male
Ch LaMASKA Mack the Knife (IMP)
Breeder: Neva Barker                                                                                            At 1 year of age, his coat has all but fallen out.

SACC Standard of Points for the Peterbald
(extracted from the Breed Standards as set out by SACC, from the official SACC website)

• The Peterbald is a graceful cat of oriental body type and modified oriental head type which appear to be hairless (although they are not truly hairless).  The baldness is caused by a dominant gene, not related to other genes causing baldness in cats.  Full-coated offspring may appear in litters and shall be registered as variants (PETC) and may be used for breeding, but not for showing.  The cat has firm, fine bones and an elongated body and feet, with a delicate, elastic, warm "chamois" skin.  A fine down coat along the body is allowed;  more furry, soft, fine coat is allowed on the ears, muzzle, tail and feet.
•  
• The head is long, wedge-shaped with flat, high cheekbones and a flat skull.  The profile should ideally be straight, although a very slight break may be allowed.  The muzzle is strong, not narrow, ideally with straight lines, although a very slight whisker break may be allowed.  The Peterbald has a strong, but not protruding chin.  It has several vertical lines/wrinkles on the forehead which diverge in front of the ears, at near right-angles.  The whiskers and eyebrows are wavy or broken off near the skin.  The ears are large, broad at the base, fairly high on the head, straight set, following the line of the wedge and pricked.  The eyes are medium in size and are oval in shape, deep and set at a slight angle towards the nose.
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• The Peterbald is a sturdy, lean cat.  It has a long neck with running wrinkles.  The body is long, muscular, cylindrical with a deep flank.  The legs are long, with firm, fine boning.  It has straight, vertical forelegs.  The paws are oval with long toes.  Young cats have wavy coat on their feet and may have fine coat on the extremities until the age of 2 years.  The tail is long, straight and whippy.  Up to 3 cm of the tail tip may be covered with coat.  The skin is thin, soft, tender, fine and pigmented in hairless areas.  The skin is wrinkled, easily moving along the body on the neck and underside.
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• Clear signs of a rex coat may be visible until the cat is 2 years old.  True baldness begins from the head, neck and upper part of the back.  If there is still coat on the extremities, it should be soft, short and wavy on the muzzle, base of the ear, forelegs, feet and last third of the tail
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