Stephanie: 🎶Hello, and welcome to a new season of Expecto Podtronum! The podcast dedicated to all things Patronuses. This is season two, episode one. 🎶 I’m your host Stephanie!

Amy: I’m Amy! 

Lucy: And I’m Lucy, and today we’ll be talking about the Sphynx Cat. Can’t say I’m a fan of this one. Is this the cat that Ross buys in Friends? 

Amy: I think yes. 

Stephanie: Yeah.

Amy: Yeah .As a cat person, I can say this is a cat I would never ever want.

Stephanie: I feel cats are supposed to be lovey, fuzzy, and soft and if I wanted to pet something that was like a human I would go pet a human.

Amy: Maybe you shouldn’t do that. [Laughter]

Stephanie: I meant my human. I wouldn’t go pet a stranger. 

Amy: Ok. [Laughter]

Stephanie: I would just pet the human that lives with me.

Lucy: Yeah, that’s now the no context. Just Steph going up and petting someone. 

[Laughter]

Amy: Anyway, the Sphynx Cat.

Stephanie: Alrighty,

Amy: So the Sphynx Cat, AKA the Hairless Cat, also known as the Canadian Sphynx. These are not to be confused with Russian hairless breeds, because there are some of those as well. Some characteristics besides the lack of fur, as noted by the Cat Fanciers Association, they have oversized ears, lemon-shaped eyes, a full abdomen, long toes, wrinkles, and an overall sturdy build. 

Stephanie: How do you have half an abdomen? 

Amy: [Laughter] It doesn’t mean, some cats have half an abdomen. It means full as in it’s got a belly. It’s not skinny. It’s got a little belly.

Stephanie: I feel that could have been better described.

Amy: They’re weird looking things. This breed is actually a result of natural mutation. In 1966, a cat gave birth to a hairless kitten in Toronto, Canada. Thus the Canadian Sphynx. 

Lucy: Ok. Just saying, for that to be born in Canada is a bit interesting. When you think of Canada you’re thinking of the cold, the winter, and you’d think they would want hair.

Stephanie: I think it wants hair, it just didn’t get any.

Amy: One would think. 

Lucy: To have a hairless cat with a natural mutation would be somewhere where it’s a bit warmer and it actually doesn’t need that all the time.

Stephanie: You would think.

Amy: You would think. It was discovered to be a natural recessive gene that caused this. In the mid 1970s, a Minnesotan couple, the Pearsons, had several hairless kittens appear in their litters. Two of them were sold to a breeder in Oregon and are a huge foundation for the start of the breed today.

Stephanie: They’ve only been around that long? 

Amy: Yes, it’s interesting. 

Lucy: Wow. 

Amy: I wonder if there were some before this, but it wasn’t ever documented?

Stephanie: Interesting.

Lucy:  Possibly. I wouldn’t be surprised because when you have a mutation like that, to go, “oh, we don’t want that, we’ll just exterminate.” I guess it’s the nicest word. 

Amy: Yeah…

Lucy: They probably weren’t around because anything that’s abnormal back then was thought to be bad luck and we don’t want that in our life and what’s wrong with it. 

Amy: Right. 

Stephanie: Yeah.

Lucy: Sort of like the runt of the litter.

Stephanie: Yeah, that makes sense.

Amy: Yeah. But for some reason in the 60s and 70s this became something that people tried to breed on purpose.

Lucy: Hey, the 60s and 70s are full of unique opportunities.

Stephanie: They were.

Amy: Exactly. 

Lucy: Why not add a unique animal into the mix and you’ll be rockin.

Amy: After about 30 years of selective breeding, the new breed was built. Their hairlessness is a result of a mutation of the KRT71, which causes the gene to lose its function of the keratinization of the hair follicle. It means the hair doesn’t have a solid root and makes the hair really fragile, which is why if a Sphynx does have hair, it’s very fine, short, and falls out easily. 

A little bit about their personalities. Sphynx cats are considered outgoing, curious, very intelligent, and they’re a bit needy and vocal about those needs. They keep up an endless chatter when they want attention or food. 

They are very social and do well living with other cats. It’s not recommended to have a Sphynx in a one cat household. They are snuggly because they like to absorb body heat since obviously they don’t have a fur coat. 

Lucy: Aren’t these cats good for people who are allergic to cats because it’s normally the hair they’re allergic to?

Amy: Yes, so usually people are allergic to dander. But if you get rid of the hair, you’re pretty much eliminating the dander as well. So they’re not totally hypoallergenic because I mean, they still have skin. [Laughter] But it’s not as bad.

Lucy: Yeah, no, personally no. I’d rather have a dog if I couldn’t have a cat. Or a goldfish.

Amy: I’ll keep popping my allergy pills so that I can live with my cat that has hair.

[Laughter]

Stephanie: Yeah.

Lucy: I feel we need a little series on our Instagram of all the cats in the podcast family.

Amy: Mmhmm. [Laughter]

Lucy: I’ve tried so hard to get them all down to Orlando next year but they can’t come.

[Laughter]

Amy: She just walked in. Oh, there she is.

Lucy: Okay, on to symbolism. Our lovely host, Carolyn, has provided us with all this, so let’s dig straight in. The color of the Sphynx you encounter adds to the symbolism. Black stands for mystery or magic. Cream stands for happiness and trust. Gold stands for health and prosperity. While white stands for purity and spirituality.

Amy: Hmm. Oh, they do come in all different colors, even patterns! Weird.

Lucy: Yeah, I think I’ve only really seen the cream cats because I never knew that there were different colors like black or gold and white. 

Amy: Striped.

Lucy: I feel even when you see a normal black cat you think, ‘ooh mysterious, what’s it going to cause?’ Because they have that stigma around them.

Stephanie: Yeah.

Amy: Weird. They can even be tabby cats. That’s so weird. They’re scary. They look like little aliens.

Stephanie: They do.

Lucy: I don’t know what I make of that. They do look like aliens.

Amy: Yeah, they’re kind of scary.

Stephanie: So is the gold one just the normal colored one? 

Lucy: Wait! Question: We probably need Liz for this. So the Sphynx cat can be any breed of cat as long as there’s no hair?

Amy: The Sphynx is the breed but…

Lucy: But, originally. 

Amy: They can have coloring. The color of a cat isn’t necessarily its breed. There’s breeds of cats and within the breeds there’s different colors.

Stephanie: Not quite like horses. 

Amy: An american short hair could be a tabby or it could be a calico. It just depends.

Lucy:  We need science with Liz. [Laughter]

Amy: [Laughter] We do.

Lucy: We could just pop her in right now. There you go.

Stephanie: Do-do-do-doo! Science with Liz. 

[Laughter]

Lucy: Moving on, their behaviour plays into their symbology. They are very ritualistic animals who don’t take to change very well. 

Stephanie: Same. 

Lucy: They usually imprint on one human and will at best be tolerant with others in the home. Their faithfulness and dedication further fuels this. Well that makes sense that they’re very loyal to their human.

Stephanie: So they like one human, but multiple cats? 

Amy: Apparently, yes. 

Stephanie: Got it. 

[Laughter]

Stephanie: Making sure.

Amy:  They’re very picky.  It’s very specific. 

Stephanie: That’s just cats in general. 

Lucy: Isn’t that all cats? 

Amy: Yeah, that’s just cats in general.

Lucy: They either love you or hate you. There is nothing in between. 

Amy: They pick and choose.

Lucy: Water and cleanliness feed into the symbolism as well. The cat tends to have oily skin that attracts all manner of particles. The cat likes things clean and tidy and it ties into the symbolism because it promotes self-care. I feel that’s also the same with most cats, they love to clean themselves. . 

Have you ever seen that TikTok when they’ve just finished cleaning their paws and you put your hand on them, they’re death-staring you?

[Laughter]

Amy: Yes. The look you get from a cat when you touch them after they’ve cleaned, it’s like ‘you filthy human. Take your hands off me.’ [Laughter]  “What did you just do?’

[Laughter]

Lucy: With no fur, they are open to the world. To be open can leave you vulnerable, putting on too many layers can leave you closed off. They encourage regular meditation and inward focus to find the best path before you. 

They also can be signs of uprooting rituals and routines. They can be symbols of things being off balance and needing to be realigned in your life. Actually…I’m sorry, I have to go back to that Ross thing. It fits perfectly when that cat enters his life. 

[Laughter]

Stephanie: It really does. 

Lucy: If that’s what it means.

Amy: [Laughter] Yes. 

Lucy: They can symbolise the relationship in your life. Interesting! They can support the need for close interaction and understanding or the importance of taking care of yourself and not taking on more than you have to give. In Russian folklore they were believed to have been a sign of good luck and abundance.

Amy: Interesting. 

Stephanie: Yeah.

Lucy: Yeah. Always love a good folklore section because you just never know where it will take you and how far spread it goes.

Stephanie: Yeah. It’s interesting that they are in Russian folklore when they originated in Canada.

Amy: So they must have been around before the 60s. Maybe that’s just where they trace back the modern day Sphynx to.

Stephanie: Yeah. 

.Amy: That is where the breed kind of started out. 

Stephanie: Yeah. It’s probably been a mutation that’s always been there, but instead of viewing it as something negative or something wrong with the cat, the Russians might have taken it the other way saying, oh this is special. This is a gift. Good things are coming.

Lucy: I don’t know where they got their name from, but when you think Sphynx, you think of the Sphynx in Egypt. So now I’m thinking, do you reckon they might have been around then? Because also it’s very hot over there, so it makes sense that the cats don’t have fur. 

Stephanie: Well, I originally thought it was an Egyptian Sphynx. I did not realize it was Canadian. Are those two different breeds or am I just confused?

Lucy: Yeah. I’m confused.

Amy: I’m gonna look it up. I’m pretty sure I think that they named it the Sphynx cat because it looked like drawings of cats the Egyptians did.

Lucy: Now it’s time for a research break. [Laughter]

Amy: No, Sphynx cats were not native to Egypt. The Sphynx cat breed, which is known for its hairlessness, originated in Canada in 1966. While the breed is named after the mythical Egyptian Sphynx creature, this is purely coincidental and the cats are not related to Ancient Egyptian cat history. The Sphynx cat’s popularity and appearance may be associated with the iconic depictions of cats in ancient Egypt, but the breed itself has a different origin.

Stephanie: Ok.

Lucy: I do like the idea though that there may have been some form of the cat in Egypt because for them to draw a cat that looks very similar it’s like, hmm. And for the Russians to also have it in their mythology, I reckon it would have been around. 

Amy: I bet there were hairless cats around, but if we’re looking at all the other characteristics of the cat, that’s probably what is specifically the Sphynx cat that was from Canada. Like the ears, the big belly, the long toes. That’s probably what that breed eventually was bred to turn into. 

Lucy: Yup.

Amy: Whereas if you had this mutation, and it was just a hairless cat without those other features, it’s not necessarily the same breed, but it is still a hairless cat. So I wonder if that’s what we’re dealing with in the folklore of those just other hairless cats.

Stephanie: Yeah, and I feel way back when the Egyptians were drawing these cats, it’s not like it was easy for them to draw texture. They didn’t really have the materials or anything like that, I feel, to draw like we do today, which is why it’s a very distinct style. So I feel they could just be drawing a normal cat. It’s just hard to convey the fluffiness of said cat on the stone wall. 

Amy: I mean look at how they drew people. [Laughter]

Stephanie: Yeah.

Amy: People don’t really look like that. [Laughter] I think the exaggerated ears and stuff is probably just a coincidence or how this cat got its name since there’s a reference back there. Oh speaking of cats…okay.

Stephanie: Luna!

Amy: You’re gonna get tangled up in all of my cords here. You can sit here. 

Lucy: Awww. 

Stephanie: Hi, Luna. 

Amy: You’re just getting into everything. [Laughter]

Stephanie: I demand attention now, Mom. 

Amy: She has to be part of it. 

Stephanie: Always.

Lucy: She’s so cute. What type of cat is Luna? 

Amy: She is…a cat that was born under a porch. [Laughter] 

Lucy: I love that. 

Amy: I’m pretty sure she’s just your regular American shorthair tabby cat. 

Lucy:  I love her grey. It’s beautiful. 

Amy: She was once on the mean streets. [Laughter] She’d never survive there now.

[Laughter]

Stephanie: She’s got too good a mom to survive out on the streets now.

Amy: You can sit here, but you need to not chew the cords, okay? Yeah, I know.

Stephanie: I think it’s about time for us to jump into Is This the Cat?

[🎶 Could this Patronus belong to Dolores Umbridge or Professor McGonagall? Find out on Is This the Cat?🎶]

Stephanie: I think we’re going to start with Umbridge first this time. I think there’s a good case for this being Umbridge’s cat, seeing as how they are ritualistic, they don’t like change, they have faithfulness and dedication. Umbridge comes across like this in a lot of ways. 

Think about the scenes in her office or her mannerism, where she’s evaluating the teachers. They’re also known for imprinting on one human. You could make the argument that she imprinted on the prime minister and would do anything for him. So while it’s not a literal… [Transcriber’s Note: Host meant Minister of Magic]

Lucy: She went above and beyond.

[Laughter]

Stephanie: Yeah, no, definitely. They’re also said to be open to the world. So for Umbridge, this could tie in only in the sense that she is not a layered person. She’s really skin deep, there’s not too many more layers to her personality or what her motivations are. On the other hand, there are some of the symbols of a Sphynx cat that negate the possibility of it being Umbridge’s.

How some of the symbolism talks about inward reflection, which we all know is not something Umbridge does. It kind of takes away from that caring part of it, whether it be for herself or for others. I think it’s more likely that this is her cat compared to the other ones we’ve covered so far, but I don’t know if it is the cat.

Amy: Yeah. 

Lucy: I’m not sure either. I can see it being the cat but I’m not entirely sure if it is the cat. 

Amy: Yeah. I mean, the stuff like faithfulness and dedication. I mean, I could see that maybe applying, but I also feel like Umbridge doesn’t necessarily do what she does because she’s faithful to another person. She does what she does to climb the ladder herself for selfish reasons.

Stephanie: She is very self-serving.

Amy: Yeah, if they’re saying Sphynx cats are very open and what you see is what you get, I feel that’s kind of the opposite of her. She presents in one way but then carries out in another way.

Lucy: Not just that, just by the symbolism of the colours of the cat, they’re all very much happiness, health, purity, magic. There’s nothing bad, they’re all very positive.

Amy: I feel she’d be more of a cat with a bad temperament. Or one that’s, I don’t know.

Lucy: Or is Umbridge not a cat? 

Amy: Maybe. [Laughter] Yeah, it’s hard. Cause it could be.

Lucy: But I also feel the reason why she ended up having a cat is because her personality is around cats and she loves cats in general. That’s not the only reason why you’ll have that Patronus. I feel it does help, but on the inside it’s your personality, that’s it. And what you stand for. So maybe she isn’t a cat and she’s just disguising it as a cat.

Amy: Maybe? 

Stephanie:  Could be.

Amy: Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not fully convinced either way. [Laughter] 

Stephanie:  Yeah, no, I definitely agree. 

Lucy: I just looked up, ‘what cat does Umbridge have?’ And it says in the Harry Potter films they based her cat off a Parisian cat. So when we get to that episode maybe that is the cat.

Amy: We’ll have to see. 

[Laughter] 

Stephanie:  Yeah. At least it confirmed it is a cat and isn’t cat shaped something else because we’ve got enough of that going on in this podcast. We don’t need more.

[Laughter] 

Lucy: Yeah. And that’s the cat that the filmmakers used. Maybe they did do a bit of research into which one would fit her personality more. Or they just went, ‘that’ll look cool on screen.’ 

Stephanie:  Yeah.

Amy: Yeah.

Lucy:  We’ll find out.

Stephanie: And so for McGonagall, I’m also kind of in alignment where this is not McGonagall’s cat. Due to the tendency to only imprint on one person, she cares for all of those Hogwarts kids. We know Harry’s her favorite. Harry’s everybody’s favorite. Everyone takes special care of Harry. But she doesn’t do it in a way that completely neglects the other students and people in her lives.

While she may care for Harry in a more intense, different way, it’s not like she doesn’t care for the rest of her students. When the Sphynx cat really only bonds with one person and they tolerate everyone else, and that just doesn’t seem to fit McGonagall, in my opinion.

 Amy: It’s interesting because my initial thought was ‘it can’t be this because of the markings around the eyes’. Then we find out these cats can have those types of markings. So it could be but I like your reasoning it’s not like she’s a one person kind of person. 

Stephanie: Yeah, she’ll defend Harry, but she will also defend every other student in that building with the exact same ferocity.

Amy: Regardless of what house they’re in.

Stephanie: Exactly. She’s one of the true professors that really has no outward additional bias other than she’s the head of Gryffindor. She has a special connection there.

Amy: Other than cheering for the Quidditch team. [Laughter] 

Stephanie: That’s sports. Sports is a completely different thing. Everything goes out the window with sports. 

Lucy:  Well on that note I think it brings us to the end of our episode. I hope you enjoyed it and it and put some thoughts in your mind as well as what cat McGonagall and Umbridge have. 

So you can join us next week for episode 2 where we talk about the Piebald Horse. But in the meantime you can contact us on all our social media platforms. We have Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. Probably forgetting one, but we’re just under ExpectoPodronum or ExpectoPod. 

And you can also support us on our Patreon where we have a bonus episode each month. And again, you can find us there just at ExpectoPod. And we’ll of course love to hear from you on your theories if you want to expand on any of our conversation, you can also contact us on our email. 

Don’t forget to leave us a review and we’ll see you next time. That’s goodbye from me.

Amy: Bye for now.

Stephanie:  Remember, a piece of chocolate a day will keep the dementors away.

“Food Show” by Music_For_Videos, Anastasia Kir — “Movie Score A” by DHy-Nez, Denita Smith — “Excuse me Cat” by geoffharvey, Geoff Harvey — “The Classical” by Music_For_Videos, Anastasia Kir — “Uplifting Celebration” by makesoundmusic, Mike Kripak — “Mysterious Music: Light Mystical Background Music for Short Video/Vlog” by White Records, Maksym Dudchyk — “Telling the Story” by goeffharvey, Geoff Harvey