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The Donskoy is a hairless cat breed of Russian origin. This breed started in 1987 with the discovery of a hairless cat in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don by cat breeder Elena Kovaleva. It is not related to the better known hairless breed of cat the Sphynx and its characteristic hairlessness is caused by a recessive gene, whereas the hairlessness of the Don Sphynx is caused by a dominant gene.
The Donskoy was first officially recognised by WCF in 1997, TICA in 2005. The standard of points describes the cat as being medium sized and muscular, with large ears, almond shaped eyes and distinctive long, webbed toes. They require frequent grooming, in spite of their lack of coat. Over-bathing can cause the skin to become very oily.
The Peterbald breed was originally created by crossing Donskoy with Siamese and Oriental cats to create a hairless cat of Oriental type. Matings between Donskoy and Peterbald are no longer permitted.
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