The Peterbald is a very special cat, which takes up the characteristics of the Donskoy and the Siamese, from which it descends. He is therefore both hyperactive and possessive, but also quite talkative. This may put off, as it may please some. He demands constant attention and does not appreciate being left alone in his corner. Its maintenance is not necessarily easy, but its health is solid.
Breed History
The Peterbald is a fairly recent cat since its appearance dates back to 1994. Its country of origin is Russia where it was born from a cross made by Olga S. Mironova between a Donskoy and an Oriental. The desire of the Russian breeder was to combine the elegance of the Oriental with the particular skin of the Donskoy. This gave a very typical morphology to the Peterbald.
Then, gradually, the marriages with the Donskoy faded. Only crossings with Siamese and Orientals were allowed. The Russian Feline Federation wrote a first standard in 1996. This breed of cat is still too little known in Europe.
Physical peculiarities
His body: The Peterbald has an oriental type body, as mentioned in his standard. It is rather long and firm. We find an athletic cat, with flexible but firm musculature and finally quite slender. We can distinguish an impressive density by lifting it. Note that his frame remains fine despite everything.
His hair: The Peterbald comes in 3 distinct varieties. Indeed, we find first of all the naked Peterbald, which presents an elastic skin, with an impression of touching rubber. He does not have a mustache. The Peterbald can also be “velvet”, that is to say have a skin with a very short hair. Finally, there is the “brush” variety which gives a cat with short, curly and hard hair. His mustaches are curly and broken. Note that the standard favors the “velvet” variety.
Its color: The Peterbald standard accepts all possible coat colors.
His head: The Peterbald has a fairly long and triangular head. 3 types of profile are accepted: the straight, the slightly convex and the “2 planes”. The adult may have jowls. The nose has no pinch. In profile, it is long and straight.
His eyes: They are medium-sized, oriental type and almond-shaped. Eye color varies depending on its category. Intense blue for the point and intense green for the traditional one. Odd eyes are tolerated for particolors, as for whites.
His ears: The ears of the Peterbald are quite large, wide at the base and well spaced.
His tail: In the Peterbald, the tail goes hand in hand with the height of the legs and the length of the body. It is therefore quite long.
Feed
The Peterbald’s diet must correspond to his needs. This is an active cat and therefore tends to burn calories. Be careful not to overfeed him either, it would be harmful to his health. It is possible to give him industrial food, provided that it is of high quality.
