Hairless Feline - March 2022

The Most Distinguished Gentleman

Denise Durban shares her love for her unique Feline Friend

Story and Photos by Felicia Frazar

Denise Durban has three cats. One is a stray found at a local manufacturing plant, the second wandered up to her home in the country, and the third, he’s a-whole-nother story.

Dabney Baldwin Durban is a Donskoy, a Russian hairless cat. He came to her by way of a friend, who originally purchased the feline from an Austin-based breeder.

“A friend actually got him from the breeder, but her dog wanted to eat him up,” Denise said. “She offered me the cat, and I jumped at it. I’ve always wanted one.”

At just four months old, 4-pound Dabney went home with Denise and she welcomed him into her family. Introducing him to his new furry cat brothers — Blaze and Noodle.

The Donskoy cat has a mutated gene that causes hairlessness, which is a dominant trait. Like his furry counterparts, Dabney does grow some hair, but it falls out just as fast.

“Some of the cat organizations don’t consider him a true sphynx because he can grow hair and lose it again,” Denise said. “His dam and sire are both Russian.”

She jokes that her cat looks like a creature from out of this world.

“He is my alien,” she said. “He is nicknamed ‘Naked Alien Chicken Rat Cat.’”

As a young cat, he is full of energy jumping to and from high surfaces, and is highly inquisitive.

“He is super active,” Denise said. “He is not a typical cat. He will come to you when he is called, the other two will just look at you.”

Caring for a hairless cat is constant work. Dabney gets bathed or wiped down at least once a week and his ears and eyes cleaned almost daily. He tends to get oily patches, and has skin problems.

He also needs help regulating his body temperature since he is missing his everyday attire.

To give him a hand and to help keep him from getting sunburned, Denise dresses the 1-year-old feline.

“He needs clothes, he has no fur,” she said. “He fights me a little bit when I go to put it on, but once I’ve got it on, it doesn’t bother him. He loves it. My other cats, I put a shirt on them and they fall over.”

Among the items in his wardrobe are t-shirts, pajamas, a Harry Potter hoodie and a red “Star Trek” uniform, similar to Capt. Jean Luc Pickard’s.

“I took a photo of Dabney in his Star Trek shirt and tagged Sir Patrick Stewart,” she said.

When she takes him on outings, he becomes the center of attention, Denise said. People will stop and talk to her and him. He even got his picture taken with Santa this year.

“He did really good with Santa,” she said, adding he is still learning to walk on a leash. Dabney enjoys the attention.

Denise documents Dabney’s adventures and the people he meets each Saturday in honor of Caterdays.