Canadian Sphynx is not just a hairless cat. Surely his appearance of hairlessness is the most distinctive feature of the breed by which it can be recognized at shows. But the nudity of a cat does not mean it is a Sphynx… it would be too easy… As any pedigreed cat, the sphynx must fulfill certain morphological criteria gathered in a standard. First of all, this is a cat with a well-muscled body, that must seem powerful, without being heavy however. Muscled, powerful, but not «thick», barrel-shaped and full rounded abdomen. The ears are large, broad at the base with rounded ends and are neither low-set (i.e. Devon Rex) or high-set (i.e. Cornish Rex). The eyes are lemon-shaped and the look is very expressive. The legs are sturdy and well muscled with rear legs being slightly longer than the front. The tail is long and whippy. Sphynx skin is thick and wrinkled, especially on the forehead, on the neck, around the shoulders and on the front legs.
The skin is covered with a very fine down that resembles the texture of chamois so Sphynx feel like warm suede to the touch. A short fine down is accepted on the nose, around the ears and is most likely to appear at the tip of the tail, on the feet and the scrotum. Some females grow more hair during shedding, when pregnant or nursing, because of wrong feeding and when being kept in low temperature conditions.
As is easy to see, the recognition of Canadian Sphynx as a breed was not so easy and only the second wave of Sphynx breeding, which started with 2 kittens found in Minnesota, allowed the breeders to create the most unique of all cat breeds.