The Kohona (hairless) cat ....

[kimlovescats]

I noticed on that website that there are supposedly only about 18 of these cats in the world. However, there were quite a few pictures ... so I am wondering if this breeder has all of them? I think it is a very sad situation as well .... and no telling how far it will go, and how many poor kitties will suffer. Basically they are calling birth defects "mutations"!

[2nakedcats]

I'm new to this forum, and was looking through old threads, and came across this one. I wanted to say some things about these Kohona cats, because from reading the replies to the original post, I can see they are badly misunderstood.

I am good friends with Michelle, the woman who owns these cats. i.e. the breeder/owner of Belfry cattery. She was given the first Kohonas to work with, who were found in a animal shelter in Hawaii. They aren't inbred either. She tried to develop the breed, because well, they are just so darn cute and don't they deserve a chance to be recognized like the other cat breeds??? Anyway, she tried to outcross them with the regular Sphynx and with the American Shorthair, but isn't having much luck with them. The mortality rate is astounding. The Kohona kittens are born with NO nursing instinct, and she has had to tube feed every last one. Her most recent litter (born last summer of 2005) all died one by one. Necropsies showed death of natural causes.

When I last spoke with her regarding the future of these kitties, their future looks mighty dim. There are only THREE entire cats (i.e. not altered) and they are getting too old to be bred. To date, there are only 19 Kohonas in existence, and they all came from Michelle.

Anyway, I had to defend these guys a little bit. Hope I didn't come off on a bad note, being the "newbie" on here, and hope I can get to know you all!