Where do SPHINX CATS come from?

Question

I know they're from Canada but did they exist throughout the history or they're just kinda laboratory product?

Answer 1

They're a natural genetic mutation that's been deliberately expanded into a new breed of cat.

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/sphynx.html

Answer 2

Like the Devon Rex, they're descendants of a cat or a few cats in a litter that were born with a genetic mutation for defective fur.

I'm not sure what country the Sphinx originated in. They're a relatively new breed. They're deliberately bred to perpetuate the mutation, unlike say the Manx or the Norwegian Forest Cat, which came about through natural selection in a small population of cats.

Answer 3

They were a spontaneous mutation that occurred in a modern day cat litter. Same as the mutation for the Devon and Cornish Rex, the mutation for the American Curl Ear, the mutation for the Munchkin, and several others.

Modern, originating in Canada probably less than 20 years ago.