Peterbalds look very elegant and slim and have a distinctive head: narrow and long with a straight profile, almond-shaped eyes, and big set-apart ears. Peterbald cats look much like like hairless Oriental Shorthair cats.

Peterbalds usually have sweet temper and they are peaceful, curious, smart and energetic. Peterbalds love their family members and need to communicate with them; they do not belong to an independent kind of cats. Peterbalds live in harmony with another cats and pets and also with children. They are also not vindictive and all that makes peterbals an excellent companion cats.

The Peterbald breed was founded in the end of 1994 in St.-Petersburg, Russia as a result of experimental mating of Don hairless (Don Sphynx or Donskoy) male called Afinogen Myth and Oriental Shorthair female World Champion Radma von Jagerhov. The breed was created by a well known Russian felinologist Olga S. Mironova. First two litters gave four peterbald kittens: Mandarin iz Murino, Muscat iz Murino, Nezhenka iz Murino and Nocturne iz Murino. These four peterbalds are founders of the breed.

In 1996, the breed was adopted in Russian Selectional Feline Federation (SFF) with a standard and an abbreviation PBD. In 1997 it was adopted in The International Cat Association (TICA) with abbreviation PB, and in 2003 in World Cat Federation (WCF) with abbreviation PBD. Used handles of the breed are: PBD, PTB, PD and PSX.

These days the breed develops in the direction of modern Oriental and Siamese type, that is long muzzle, set apart big ears, flat cheek bones, elegant body on long legs. This is why all standards for this breed encourages mating with Oriental and Siamese cats and semi-longhair variations of those (balinese and javanese).