Caturday: naked edition

"Sidney," A photo contributed to the Boing Boing Flickr pool by Adam Baron Photography. This kitty is a Sphynx, or Canadian Hairless.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

More at Boing Boing

Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

Geekized

Cats look better with fur.
http://twitter.com/tntjarks Tom Tjarks

The eyes…oh FSM, the eyes!!! *runs and holds his Maine Coon Tux Cat for comfort*
joeposts

unicorn chaser, plz?
jmccance

Sphynx cats always look furious about their own existence.

“Why did you make me this way? WHY?!”
- http://twitter.com/AngerMonkey AngerMonkey
  
  I was popping in to say the EXACT same thing.
  “This is YOUR fault, Homo sapien.”
BarBarSeven

“WET FOOD! Do I have to say it again, human?”
Eain Bankins

Man, if I were ever to want a pet, it’d be a Sphynx. They just look AWESOME.
snagglepuss

“Tired, Yezzzzz………You are geddink VERY TIRED, Yezzzzzzzzzzz…….LOOK INTO MY EYESSSSSSS….YOU ARE ZO ZEEPY…”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Spitty-Sumo/100002601661770 Spitty Sumo

d’aww, who’s a grumpy grumpus? i wonder if he’s deaf, and what he feels like. i also wonder if they instinctively try to wash themselves like regular cats.

any sphynx owners here?
- tblack
  
  Yes they clean themselves just like regular kitties and the are the coolest most loving creatures I have ever been around. I have 2 and would never be without one. Once you have been loved by a sphynx, only then you can understand. Magical.
  - psychethos
    
    All true. As much as I love “normal” cats, sphynxes are a step above.
  - MDwebguy
    
    And once you’ve been loved by a Sphinx, you’ll be cleaning sand out of places where sand should never collect.
- psychethos
  
  They feel like warm velvet. When I first touched one I somehow expected it to feel sort of cold and reptilian (very stupidly when I now think of it), but they feel very nice to the touch. They groom themselves just as any other cat. Why would he be deaf?
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Spitty-Sumo/100002601661770 Spitty Sumo
    
    “Why would he be deaf?”
    
    it’s a genetic thing for white cats (which this charming hairless fellow appears to be) with blue eyes.
    
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaf_white_cat
    
    re: grooming, i know when my cats try to groom me, i often have to stop them because the bristly tongue is just too much. so i just imagine a sphynx feeling driven to bathe, yet quickly annoyed by the rasping on bare flesh! (maybe that’s why they look so extra grumpy?)
    - psychethos
      
      Blue eyes are actually quite common in sphynxes for all of the varieties of skin tones. I think this kitty is cream in colour, not white.
      
      My sphynx is very fond of licking herself and anyone else that happens to be around, so I don’t think they’re bothered by the roughness of their tongue.
lyd

Do they always look like that, or is it really pissed off?

If there is a chaser it really ought to be a shaved unicorn.
http://twitter.com/blindeschildpad Blinde Schildpad

Imagine it, Smithers: electrical lights and heaters running all day long.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ken-McCracken/593349865 Ken McCracken

I thought it was a house elf from Harry Potter at first.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GVKHNINUD55NXFN4TRNHMBRDB4 Alexandros

I see what it is thinking:
“I will kill you. Painfully. Not now, not tomorrow, but one day. When you are not expecting it.”
http://www.mrericsir.com MrEricSir

“My precious…”
Vanwall

The last thing that naked mole rat saw.
nanuq

Sure, blame Canada for this…
http://twitter.com/RyeMAC3 Kevin

Gollum, Gollum!
sam1148

…..same thing we do every night, Pinky—try to take over the world!
http://thaliasmusingsnovels.wordpress.com/ Lore

“Good news, everyone!”
http://www.facebook.com/bazimmerman Brad Zimmerman

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

PS: Cat porn will NEVER catch on.
http://www.facebook.com/MadBuzz Mad Buzz

This kitty is a Sphynx, or Canadian Hairless. I wonder if Canadian is hairless lolxx..
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=810530150 Scott Thrower

Hmm .. . . looks a little undercooked.

LOVE Sphynx cats. I tried hard to get one before I got my kitten, but I couldn’t find a breeder who seemed reputable. They all had a sketchiness to them.
Erik Ordway

This Kitty is ANGRY!
PhosPhorious

Naked cat wants to know what you did with his pants, human.
Neill “Dire” Mitchell

I F-ing hate cats – This photo does not help change that.
http://andreajames.com Andrea James

Fun fact: Mr. Bigglesworth, the sphynx in the Austin Powers movies, is named Ted NudeGent.
millie fink

Daaaang.

If any creature has every right to be pissed off about the whims of fate, it’s that one.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=548818058 Ally McGurk

Why are we so cruel to animals? Why do we make things like that? (I wonder if they need protection from the sun?) Excellent piece of photography though.
- tblack
  
  The first sphynx was a natural mutation born to two furry cats in Toronto Canada. Things like that is someones baby. I have two and never had two more incredible kitties. I had so many people say bad things about them until they met them, won everyone over, to the point of having people offer to cats sit, and I mean non cat people too. Yes they need sun protection if they are outside.
- Chanel Willson
  
  We did not make this breed- the hairless gene is a natural mutation. If you ever met one, you would understand how incredible they are. You’ve never known love, until you’ve met a Sphynx. They may look grumpy with the wrinkles, but they are the sweetest beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of living with. Truly.
http://doran.pacifist.net/ Doran

Sidney is not impressed.
http://weblogwithnoname.blogspot.com/ Chris Tucker GOP Delenda Est!

“Join me Luke, together, we will rule the GALAXY!”
ROSSINDETROIT

I like cats and I’m sure this is a perfectly wonderful pet. But I have to wonder about the ethics of propagating a mutation that leaves the animal lacking a vital protection against the elements. It must be damn awkward for an animal adapted to having a thick natural covering over its skin to not have that.
antigenx

Aww what a grumpy kitty!
Stephen M

I like those cats, but can you tell how old they are? To me that one looks fairly senior (+10 years) but could be a young adult for all I can tell.
leoeris

The temptation to refer to hairless pussy is too great to overcome.
technogeekagain

In fact, the Sphynx is perfectly well adapted to the environment it lives in: human society, and in particular indoors. (How much do _you_ miss not having a better coat of fur?) If I remember correctly, Sphynx are a low-allergen breed too, which means they’re adapted for people who like cats but can’t keep most cats. And I’m told that, like Siamese, they’re very people-oriented cats.

Humans developed to rely upon tools. Sphynx developed to rely upon tool-using servants.

It could be much worse. There is, thanks be, no direct feline equivalent of chihuahuas.
technogeekagain

Many cats look grumpy from some angles, with or without fur. Hard to tell from a head-and-shoulders still when they use body posture and motion more than facial expression.
futnuh

Either place it on a plastic-wrapped styrofoam tray with the other chicken legs … or spray it with 3M adhesive and roll it in clothes-dryer lint. You can’t leave it looking like a transporter accident.
- MDwebguy
  
  Damn, that’s funny! Actually made me LOL.
Jacob Ewing

Angry pig-bat!
johnjohnson

The first thing I thought when I saw this was, “Man, I want to stare into those eyes every single time I boot up my PC!”

So I hopped over to the artist’s Flickr page. When I realized he’d disabled downloads, my first thought was, “Man, I hope the rest of this person’s life is plagued with minor inconveniences.”

Then I pressed Prt Sc and went on with my life.
papiermeister

Where are his whiskers?! I thought cats needed their whiskers as a sort of navigational aid, like to sense their position in space or some such. Especially in the dark.

Also, I first thought of Yoda, but then realized Yoda had tufts of hair. Gollum is more like it as noted upthread. Still, these are some pretty busu kawaii (so ugly they are cute) kitties, kind of like sharpei puppies. That’s just me, tho…
- technogeekagain
  
  Cats use their whiskers etcetera. “Need”, in captivity, is an overstatement. Might be better to keep them if one had a choice, but the mutation didn’t offer that choice… and the cat isn’t going to miss something it’s never had.
  
  “busu kawaii” — Nice phrase. I may have to learn that one.
http://www.facebook.com/thewilliamg William George

ಠ_ಠ
technogeekagain

Free association: The first verse of _The_Glow-In-The-Dark_Chernobyl_Blues_ by Mitchell Clapp. (musician, career USAF flight test pilot, founder of Pioneer Rocketplane):

“Our leaders are engaged in big discussion;
The arms negotiations are all stalled.
But this does not so much concern the average Russian,
Who wonders why his cat is going bald!
    Thank you for your candor, Comrade Gorbechiev
    (We were due for urban renewal, here in Kiev)
    If the wind was not in the West, in the West you never would have heard the news about those
    Glow-In-The-Dark Chernobyl Blues
http://newnumber6.livejournal.com Peter

The old man TOLD you not to feed them after midnight, but did you listen? Of course not.

Weird that it’s not green like most of them. Maybe this one was a mutation from water-replication.
peromyscus

I’m haunted by the thought that all cats might be this angry, but we can’t tell because of their fluffy, fluffy fur.
Dv Revolutionary

Baron Von Kittyface vill make you talk. Yes he haz vays to make you talk, allied scum.
nixiebunny

Grumpy Yoda is grumpy.

(was going to post first, but posting system malfunctioned, so I did useful work instead. )
jerwin

Reminds me of chicken that needs to be skinned and deboned. (And I appreciate the company of a live cat).
Flashman

Argh! Christine O’Donnell turned James Carville into a cat!
badmigraine

This cat is a ringer for Walter White from Breaking Bad.

http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/2011/07/season-4-premiere-next-sunday.php
- http://www.xeni.net/ Xeni Jardin
  
  My god, you’re right.
irksome

If it’s Caturday, why are you showing us Rupert Murdoch?
10xor01

This one sure looks vexed, but I’ve heard that sphinx are extra cuddly because they tend to get cold overnight. They like to sleep under the covers next to you in bed.
TooGoodToCheck

the Sphinx makes me think
what does a gorilla see
when he looks at me
Guest

I applaud this post from Boing Boing. The content is fresh. The caption is simple and informative rather than chiding. The readers are respected and given room to think for themselves. Mockery and weak humor are where they belong — in individual comments beyond the site’s control. There’s no preachy, outraged call to action in the political arena. We aren’t expected to believe in anything or pick sides as a result of this information. It’s just nice, down to earth, educational, and artistic. An excellent use of digital media.

Long live kitty cat photography!
PurpleWyrm

Hey, so what is this? Some kind of snake or something?
Ghost OfTyrone

Cats rule
Happler

I may be the only one, but I keep seeing an angry Leonard Nimoy when I look at that cat.
- http://www.facebook.com/SalvoSensu Diane Lipson
  
  Totally can see that.
communi_kate

Sphynx cats have lovely natures. So friendly! But they’re not good for people who are allergic:

We used to have a Sphynx breeder in the area who brought a Sphynx kitten called Asbo in for a check up after his new home didn’t work out. He was a lovely little guy whose favourite thing was to sit on your shoulder and rub his face on yours. Unfortunately he’d been bought by a guy who was allergic to cats who’d figured that a hairless kitty was the best breed to get. One anaphylactic reaction and trip to the hospital later he figured out that he was allergic to cat saliva…fortunately Asbo soon found a good home.

Andrew M: the cat looks pretty young to me. They just come pre-wrinkled.
- psychethos
  
  They are actually better for people with allergies than regular cats. It isn’t the cat hair that causes allergies, but the skin. Sphynxes have different skin than cats with hair, so they will cause less symptoms. If you’re allergic enough that cat saliva will cause anaphylactic shock, no kind of cat will work for you.
BarBarSeven

“I shall be back in one of your Earth days. Pray I am fed, human.”
http://www.ithompson.com ycleptShawn

I’m glad everyone’s response is as childish as the one I had wouldn’t have posted…yipes!!!

I spent some time with a hairless cat (same type or similar) at a local vet. The cat was lovely and friendly. I can’t say I got used to the overall effect.
http://twitter.com/MadelineAshby Madeline Ashby

Personally, I think Sydney is adorable. One thing I would worry about potential ownership is that Sphinxes require lots of extra grooming, apparently: http://www.ehow.com/how_5043621_properly-groom-sphynx-cat.html
- psychethos
  
  That list is really excessive. With our sphynx, we just use q-tips to clean her eyes and ears whenever they look dirty (once every few weeks), trim her nails whenever they start getting long enough to get caught on things, and give her a bath every few months. That’s it, and that’s according to our vet’s recommendations.
mjpw

“You remind me of someone… a cat I met in a half-remembered dream. He was possessed of some radical notions.” — Catception (2010)
http://www.facebook.com/adam.baron Adam Baron

What a pleasant surprise checking Boing Boing today! Thanks for using my pic and the link to my work.

For the record, Sidney is my neighbor’s cat who I had been dying to photograph. As you could probably guess from the photo, he was not thrilled to be modeling and was very fidgety. This was the best out of like twenty shots. In case you are wondering, if you are allergic to cats, you will still be allergic to a sphynx. I know because I was sneezing after just ten minutes of working with him.
- psychethos
  
  True, but most people experience less symptoms with a sphynx than with regular cats, to the point where people with minor symptoms will likely not have any with a sphynx.
- http://twitter.com/criminalcrafts Miss Demeanor
  
  Sphynxes are actually allergy free, the sneezing fit you had was actually the hate curse he put on you
willyboy

That looks like my grandfather. Weird
knoxblox

Damn kittens better get off his lawn.
BarBarSeven

“Ah, human, my old friend, do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space … when you have no fur … period … end of sentence.”
Teto85

Prof. Farnsworth looks grumpy.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1007811994 Large Mammal

does it hates bagginses?
http://artdonovan.typepad.com Art

Jeeeez! Such an angry, weird, horrific face. Yet I can’t look away :)
IamInnocent

Canadian!!!
Must be a Harper’s project.
http://twitter.com/devlindonnelly Devlin Donnelly

I didn’t know that house elf’s were real!
http://www.facebook.com/pansee.atta Pansee Atta

I’ve been staring at this thing for a couple minutes trying to figure out what was so viscerally freaky about it, then I figured it out: its FOREHEAD LOOKS LIKE A BRAIN.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1442479805 Jackie Kifer

I have a sphynx, her name is Scarlett NoHaira, they are the most loving, funny cats ever! Scarlett sits on my shoulder constantly, and follows me around like a dog would. They LOVE people, and many love water. Scarlett likes to play in the shower when I am in it. Sphynx’s are wayyyyyyyy above other cats, they are almost human in their actions! I’ll never be without one!
James LaFreniere

This reminds me of a quote from the Locke Lamora series of books:

“Mew,” the kitten retorted, locking gazes with him. It had the
expression common to all kittens, that of a tyrant in the becoming. I
was comfortable, and you dared to move, those jade eyes said. For that
you must die.
CountZero

Thank you so much for putting up that photo. And Adam, that’s a stunning pic, absolutely beautiful. I have an allergy to cats, but it’s the fur that has my eyes itching and nose running like I’ve got a heavy cold coming on. I’d love this cat, there’s so much character to his face, and the lack of fur would probably be ok for me. A lovely creature, and I envy his lucky owner.
Guest

Reading about the Canadian Hairless on Wiki:

‘Two hairless female kittens born in 1975 and 1976, Epidermis and Dermis, to barn cats in Minnesota became an important part of the Sphynx breeding programme and further hairless cats were found in Texas, Arkansas and Minnesota. Modern Sphynx therefore trace their origins to the second Canadian bloodline and to the Minnesota cats.’

Barn cats in Minnesota? Overall, this just strikes me as a cat breed founded in meanness.
jennybean42

I forwarded this link to my friend William, who does a sketch every day and he posts it on facebook. Here is a link to his version in the blog:
http://networkedblogs.com/lXnOi
blueelm

I have a soft spot for these ugly kitties. They look so fragile and so mean all at once!
snowmentality

Awww, who’s a grumpypuss? Is it you? Is it you?

I hear Sphynxes feel very warm and velvety soft when you pet them. If it gets cold, you can knit them little kitty sweaters. And mostly, they just look and act like all cats do.

What I worry about is their lack of whiskers. Doesn’t it throw off their balance and sense of space?
Elizabeth Doxtator-Morenberg

He looks so disapproving!
francoisroux

Oh dear, I like cats, but that’s just a bit yuk…
Ryan Lenethen

Angry Cat, is Angry.
Robert Cruickshank

I’ve always wondered why humans, as a hairless species, often find other hairless animals freaky or repulsive. Baby birds, naked mole rats, the tails of regular rats, all these things seem to make us go “eeww” instead of “that feels just like me! I like it!” . Why is that?
- Rich Keller
  
  I see it as sort of an “Unfuzzy Valley” effect. They’re missing something that members of their species usually have. Since they come up short in the hair department, that might throw some people off. That’s just a guess, though.
  - Robert Cruickshank
    
    Unfuzzy Valley is an excellent term for it!
http://twitter.com/Idle_Threat Eric Chapman

This is how we look to the other apes.
colinadams

I have two Sphynx cats, both are dwarves (a genetic possibility in all cats, thought Dwarves’ children have 50% chance of being dwarves, so it can be bred). Initially I didn’t want to like them, but I soon found how amazing they are. They are soft, hot and cuddly, and clean themselves as much as any cat. They have no whiskers, no ear hair, but fine fur on the backs of ears and the nose. They are as athletic, and catlike as any cat, neither the hairlessness nor the dwarfism keeps them down. They were wrinkly like a 100 year old woman when three months old.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=588181599 Jay Welle

This thing is just missing a beak and feathers ….