Cowboy Claws Peterbald Cattery

 Born-Bald

A Born Bald is a cat that was born hairless and stayed forever hairless. In general, there are two types of Born Bald Peterbalds, the Ultra-Bald and some of the Shami (see definitions below).

The Ultra Bald by definition is a Born Bald-it's a cat that never has any hair throughout his lifetime. Shami cats can sometimes be Born-Balds as well. .If a kitten is born Shami and stays Shami throughout all seasons and throughout his life, he is considered a Born Bald. If he grows hair at any point during his lifetime, even if he later lozes the hair, then he is not considered a Born Bald.

The distinction is important only for breeding purposes since at this time it is not a good practice to mate Born Balds to each other. For Show, Pet or any other purposes, it is irrelevant whether the Peterbald gained or lost hair during the first few years of his life.

* * *

   Ultra Bald-

An Ultra Bald is a completely hairless cat. They are also known as Rubber Cat or Sticky Bald. An Ultra Bald is a special type of Born Bald kitten that does not ever grow any hair during any season or during any period of his life. They are born bald and they stay forever bald. Ultra Bald kittens are born with their eyes open. They are born without whiskers and eyebrows. Their skin is thick, warm and sticky to the touch with more than average wrinkling on the head and body. You can’t really run your hand down the back of an Ultra Bald when you pet them because your hand will get stopped by the stickiness of the skin. You have to just pat them on the head or the back.

Often the Ultra Bald are much smaller at birth than the other kittens and can have a less well-developed immune system. Often the Ultra Bald are less active and less playful with a more introverted personality when compared to the other kittens..The Ultra Bald is extremely useful in a breeding program because he is capable of producing only brush coated or bald kittens.

* * *

Shami-

A Shami coat is fur so short that you can not see or feel it. The skin is very thin, soft and warm but not sticky to the touch. You can run your hand down the back of a shami from his head to his tail when you pet him without getting "stuck".

(Pictured above are 3 CowboyClaws cats)

The Shami coated cats have broken, curled or bent whiskers as well as eyebrows. If a kitten is born Shami and never grows any hair during any season or point in his life, then he is considered a Born-Bald. A kitten that is born Shami may later grow hair to become a brush coat.

Or a kitten that is born Shami may later grow hair, then loze it, becomming Shami again.

(Pictured above is CowboyClaws Prickly Pear Poett from birth to 2 years)

A kitten that is born brush or suede may later loze the hair and become a Shami.

(Pictured above is BlueBonnet Pioneer of CowboyClaws from kitten age to 2 years)

It can often take a Peterbald up to two years to reach his final coat. Many kittens with heavy thick brush coats can become Shami after a couple of years. Other kittens with short suede coats may never become Shami. There is no way to predict with absolute certainty if a kitten born with hair will become a Shami over the next couple of years. The coat type of the kitten is stated in terms of the amount of hair he currently has. If he was born Shami but has grown a Brush coat now, he is not a Shami. If he was born a Brush Coat but has lost it down to a Shami now, then he's considered a Shami.

* * *

Suede-

A Suede coat is composed of extremely short, fine hairs. When you look at a suede coat from a distance, you don’t see the hair but if you pet the kitten, it will feel like you are petting fur. When you closely examine the skin of a Suede cated cat, you can see fine downy or short hairs. The Suede coated cats have broken, curled or bent whiskers as well as eyebrows. If a kitten is born with a suede coat, he may loze it later to become a shami or he may grow a brush coat. The suede coat is considered a bald cat for Show/Pet purposes even though there are short hairs. For purposes of mating, a suede coat is not considered a Born Bald. There would be no reservations about mating a suede coat with a Born Bald.

 * * *

Velvet-

A Velvet coat is a very short, thick, soft coat of fur. You can both see and feel the Velvet coat. It is not considered a bald cat for Show or Mating purposes. A thinner version of the Velvet coat is sometimes called the Velour coat by some Breeders..

(Pictured are Billy Joe of CowboyClaws, Calamity Jane of CowboyClaws, Ritz Cosmos of CowboyClaws)

* * *

Fur-Points

Often a cat that is born Brush or Velvet coated can loze all of his hair except for velvet points (velvet on the face, ears, feet and tail). Sometimes cats are born with no hair except for velvet points. These cats are considered Bald with Fur Points for Show purposes..

  * * *

Brush-

A Brush coat can range from short to medium length. Often it is comprised of coarse, kinky hairs comparable to a "Brillo" in texture.

Sometimes the hairs are a rough texture made of looser waves. The coat can be so thin you can see the skin thru it or it can be very thick.

Sometimes a Brush coat may appear to be mostly straight but will stick out all over due to the rough texture and frizziness. Some Brush coats are almost similar to a Straight coat except for the rough coarse texture in the last third of the hairs.

Over time, a Brush coat can grow longer, become thinner or become thicker, or it can be lost entirely. Usually if a cat is going to loze a Brush coat, it will gradually occur by the time he is two years old. Some Breeders, for simplicity, will refer to any coat type other than Straight or Bald as a Brush.

* * *

A Straight coat is a regular textured and length coat similar to what an Oriental Shorthair would have. The straight coated cat will have long straight whiskers and eyebrows. This is a non-standard coat type and these cats cannot be shown at Cat Shows. At this time while the breed is still in such a developmental stage, it is often necessary to keep a Straight coat in a breeding program so that specific desirable traits can be incorporated into the existing lines. A Straight coat will never loze hair.

* * *

Flocked

Flocked is a European type term that some American Breeders use to designate a hairy kitten with unknown future coat type. It is often described as similar to cheap Christmas ribbon, which is developed by chemically treating waste swept off factory floors, & thown away after the Holiday . Because the connotations associated with Flock are negative- cheap, low quality, throw-away ribbon, it is not commonly used by many American Breeders.

Hair-Lozing

Sometimes a Peterbald coat type may be referred to as "hair-lozing". If a particular cat or kitten is called "hair-lozing", it means that at the current time, if you pull lightly on a clump of hair, it will easily fall out into your fingers. The kitten or cat is lozing it's coat at the current time and appears to be going hairless. A cat or kitten is not "hair-lozing" just because it has a thin or short brush coat or someone thinks that it might loze it's hair or it was born with a bald spot on it's head. The hair has to be actually falling out at this exact point in time for the cat to be classified as "hair-lozing".

Return to Peterbald