Are all cats wrinkly like hairless cats but we just can’t see it?

No, normal cats do not have wrinkly skin like the hairless cat breeds. Do breeders of hairless cats deliberately make their skin wrinkly? Hairless cats such as the Sphynx have incredibly wrinkly skin. Take a look at the cat below, bred in Moscow, Russia. It is like the skin of a 99-year-old man (worse!). Cats with coats do not have skin like this. What is going on? If you part the fur on a normal cat, you see whitish, smooth skin.

Are breeders creating skin wrinkles on hairless cats deliberately. Photo and breeding by Cattery Murmetroll, Moscow, Russia. This might be a Don Sphynx, Russia's version of the Spkynx.

I have asked a couple of Russian hairless cat breeders using FB messenger why their cats' skin was so wrinkled but no response. Maybe they are embarrassed. Perhaps they feel that they have been found out?

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No one has discussed this properly but it needs to be explained. Perhaps the gene that makes these cats hairless also affects the elasticity of the skin. Or perhaps the skin has to be washed so much that it is damaged and becomes wrinkled. 

You probably know that the hairless cats become dirty because the oils from the sebaceous glands which are meant to go into the coat to make it glossy is deposited on the skin, as it has nowhere else to go, and it attracts the dirt. Yep, it is one of those troublesome little details that a hairless cat owner has to contend with.

My favourite reason why Sphynx and Elf cats have wrinkled skin is because the breeders selectively breed them like that. The breeders like the wrinkles as it gives the cat 'texture' and makes them look more interesting. Fair enough.

I have just checked the reddit.com website where they discussed this issue but no answer. They don't know. And that was 2 years ago.

Comments welcome please. We need to get to the bottom of this :) .

Cat Coats Hairless

Cat Coats Hairless looks like an illogical statement as there is meant to be no coat but as you might know, even in hairless cats, there is a coat (of sorts). 

Sphynx cats can have oily skin which smells unless bathed regularly. Picture in public domain.

Often there is a downy coat particularly in kittens and on the muzzle, nose, tip of tail, for example. 

The gene that produces a hairless cat is not confined to the Sphynx cats. I'm talking of the Sphynx (Canadian) and the Don Sphynx (Russian). 

It is possible to think that these are the only hairless cats, which as stated is not the case. The Donsky is more hairless apparently than the Sphynx, perhaps due to the dominant gene producing hairlessness in the Donsky allowing for more efficient breeding. 

Another notable hairless or semi-hairless cat is the Peterbald an associate or relative of the Don Sphynx (same founding cat). This cat breed was created in 1993 (a cross between the Don Sphynx and Oriental/Siamese). 

There have been numerous occurrences of the manifestation of the phenotype (physical attributes) of the mutant gene over the years as it pops up here and there. There is a link with the Rex coat as well. 

The Rex coat is crinkly and curly. Some Don Sphynx kittens have a Rex coat until adulthood. The Don Sphynx whiskers are often crinkly and brittle to the point where they snap off. 

The Rex coat is found on cats such as the Laperm and Devon Rex. The Devon Rexes are prone to baldness (hairlessness) so you can see link between these genetic traits. Sarah Hartwell records the occurrences of hairless cats on her website. 

Here are some recorded instances: 

- Latin America 1830

- Paraguay "Scant-haired cat" 1902

- Mexican Hairless (Mexico) 1932 

- Le Chat Nu (the naked cat) 

- France 1930s? 

- "Cat-Dog", Carolina, USA 1950 

- Paris France - two hairless cats born to Siamese cat 1963 

- Toronto, Canada 1978 

- Toronto, Canada - hairless street kittens 1978

- England - hairless Birman kittens 1981, 1984 

- England - reports of hairless kittens 2002 

- Hawaii - Hawaiin Hairless 

There are other examples and there will be more no doubt in the future, occurring randomly of their own accord. 

The gene that produces the hairlessness is dominant for the Don Sphynx and recessive for the Sphynx. 

The gene for the Donsky (dominant) is labelled "Hp" and the gene for the recessive (Canadian) Sphynx is labelled "hr". 

There are apparently two other recessive genes producing hairlessness (there may be more) and these are the French "h" and the British "hd". 

From Cat Coats Hairless to Peterbald cat