Peterbald — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
Hairlessness-related skin sensitivity (sunburn, seborrhoea)
Without a coat, skin oil that would normally be absorbed by fur instead builds up on the skin surface, and unprotected skin sunburns easily; both can lead to greasy build-up, irritation or secondary skin infections without regular bathing and sun avoidance. This follows directly from coat loss itself rather than a separate disease, so it applies to any hairless cat and is documented in detail in the genetically distinct but phenotypically similar Sphynx.
Ask to see: No DNA test applies — this follows directly from the visible coat-loss trait, not a hidden mutation. Ask the breeder about their skin-care routine (bathing frequency, sun-exposure precautions) rather than a lab document.
Genovese et al. 2014, "Histological and dermatoscopic description of sphynx cat skin", Veterinary Dermatology (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/vde.12162)
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA-rdAc / CEP290)can shorten life or cause chronic pain
This inherited retinal disease causes slow, progressive vision loss and eventual blindness. It is usually marketed as an Abyssinian condition, but a large-scale genetic survey of over 11,000 cats found the same mutation at meaningful frequency in Peterbald, consistent with its Oriental Shorthair and Siamese ancestry.
Ask to see: PRA-rdAc (CEP290) DNA test result for both parents (UC Davis VGL or an equivalent laboratory)
UC Davis VGL — Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA rdAc) (https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/test/pra-rdac) · Anderson et al. 2022, "Genetic epidemiology of blood type, disease and trait variants, and genome-wide genetic diversity in over 11,000 domestic cats", PLOS Genetics (https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1009804) · Menotti-Raymond et al. 2010, The Veterinary Journal (Table 1, Peterbald row) (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.08.010) · OMIA — Retinal degeneration II (cat) (https://omia.org/OMIA001244/9685/)