Pictures of Sphynx Cats

I have been unwell and not up for writing much here, but today brought a patch of sun that Sphynx Cat Luna and Sphynx Kitten Pierre just could not resist sitting in. Enjoy the pictures of our  Sphynx Cats

Sphynx Cat Luna snoozing in the sun

Sphynx kitten Pierre soaking up the rays

Our Sphynx cats enjoying the afternoon sun

Adding To Our Sphynx Cat Family

Like an itch that can’t be scratched, I just knew I wanted to have a new Sphynx kitten around the place. After all, Pierre is really my daughter’s and Luna was bought for my partner, so it was time for me to start looking for one for me.

I don’t mind if it is a boy or a girl, nor have a drop dead preference on the markings. This one though I plan to show, and that is going to be a whole new set of things to learn which will be very exciting.

I have placed a deposit with a breeder in Queensland who is very show focused and has some sweetly marked Queens.

The count down now is to whether there are enough kittens to go round, and whether I will like what is left (she has a long list apparently). If not then it will be waiting till the next litter closer to Christmas (eeeek!).

I can’t wait till we start breeding ourselves, but that is quite a few years into the future.

30 Things You Let Your Sphynx Cat Do That You Wouldn’t Let Your Kids or Partner Do

We all love our Sphynx Cats to bits, and here is a tongue in cheek look at things we let our Sphynxes do. Feel free to add any you think of to the comments section!

1. Wake you at 4am to play
2. eat off your plate
3. crawl inside your sweater because it’s “cozy” in there
4. sleep on your face
5. fight in bed
6. drink out of the sink
7. play with the contents of your handbag/briefcase
8. jump up and down on the dining room table
9. sit on your lap while you are on the toilet
10. rearrange the vase of flowers…with their teeth
11. steal the plugs out of all the sinks
12. lick the concrete
13. run round crazily celebrating after a good BM
14. swallow your hair, while it’s still attached to your head
15. attack your sleeping arm when its hanging over the bed
16. cuddle you while doing an eye watering fart
17. attempt 300 times to sit on your mouse hand while you are writing an important report
18. shout noisily when you are on the phone , because they want to join in the conversation too
19. wake you up by staring into your closed eyes while standing on your chest
20. if that doesn’t work then attempting to lick through your eyelids
21. opening closed doors that you want closed
22. closing open doors you want open
23. hiding on top of the book case while watching you search/call for them
24. sit on your shoulder or head
25. scatter litter all over the floor during 13
26. play with the fruit in the fruit bowl. If it is round, it’s a ball!
27. Eat unattended Doritos.”What they weren’t for me?”
28. leave stolen items so well hidden you only find them when you move house
29. taste your food before you do
30. get away with everything

Solving the “What To Feed A Sphynx Cat” Puzzle

Despite Sphynx cats being hairless, they are still only one small step away from being wild animals.

Wild cats gather their nutritional requirements from meat and meat only. If you came here hoping to be able to feed your Sphynx a vegetarian diet, I am afraid you are going to be disappointed. Not only are Sphynxes pure (obligate) carnivores, they also react in an extra negative fashion to low quality pet food products which include vegetable materials.

Let’s look at what Sphynxes need from their meat. These figures are a minimum requirements

Adult Sphynx Cat Food

Protein… 26%
Fat …… 9%
Calcium…. 0.6%
Phosphorus… 0.5%
Potassium… 0.6%
Sodium….. 0.2%
Chloride…. 0.3%
Magnesium… 0.04%
Iron… 80 mg/kg
Copper… 5 mg/kg
Manganese…. 7.5 mg/kg
Zinc……. 75 mg/kg (maximum 2000 mg/kg)
Iodine….. 0.35 mg/kg
Selenium…. 0.1 mg/kg
Vitamin A… 5000 IU/kg (maximum 750,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin D… 500 IU/kg (maximum 10,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin E… 30 IU/kg
Thiamine… 5 mg/kg
Riboflavin… 4 mg/kg
Pantothenic Acid… 5 mg/kg
Niacin… 60 mg/kg
Pyridoxine… 4 mg/kg
Folic Acid….0.8 mg/kg
Vitamin B12…0.022 mg/kg
Choline….. 2400 mg/kg
Taurine… 0.1%

If you feed your cat a pure fish diet, then you need to ensure you supplement with vitamin K at 0.1%

For Sphynx kitten food,  Pregnant and Lactating  Sphynx Queens

Protein… 30%
Fat …… 9%
Calcium…. 1%
Phosphorus… 0.8%
Potassium… 0.6%
Sodium….. 0.2%
Chloride…. 0.3%
Magnesium… 0.08%
Iron… 80 mg/kg
Copper… 5-15 mg/kg
Manganese…. 7.5 mg/kg
Zinc……. 75 mg/kg (maximum 2000 mg/kg)
Iodine….. 0.35 mg/kg
Selenium…. 0.1 mg/kg
Vitamin A… 9000 IU/kg (maximum 750,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin D… 750 IU/kg (maximum 10,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin E… 30 IU/kg
Thiamine… 5 mg/kg
Riboflavin… 4 mg/kg
Pantothenic Acid… 5 mg/kg
Niacin… 60 mg/kg
Pyridoxine… 4 mg/kg
Folic Acid….0.8 mg/kg
Vitamin B12…0.022 mg/kg
Choline….. 2400 mg/kg
Taurine… 0.1%

(Figures are from the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profile, referred to by pet food bodies worldwide. This is an industry standard recommendation and not a scientific one)

It is not always possible to feed your cat raw food.  I am not going to push the “raw food only” line because there are reasons and conditions when it is difficult for Sphynx cat owners to do so. So saying that, feeding canned and manufactured dry foods means keeping a good eye on what the label says when it comes to what that food is made up of.

The biggest gut issues Sphynxes have can be linked to manufactured cat food that use “fillers” made from vegetable and cellulose matter. It might sound mighty tasty to us to see a bag proclaiming chicken and brown rice, but that brown rice is going to give your Sphynx Cat or kitten, gas, diarrhea and a bloated (painful) tummy.

How to read a pet food label

These rules may not apply in your country so check your local pet food standards

Pet food labels should follow standards held mostly worldwide that the ingredients are listed in order of predominance by weight including moisture, before cooking.

Use of the term “meat” can only be used for clean flesh, with or without the fat, skin, sinew, nerves, blood vessels. Meat byproducts include internal organs and parts of the animal, and ground meat meal will be parts of the animal like head, feed and other parts that would not be able to be consumed normally.

If you see corn,rice, wheat, or references to them up in that first couple of ingredients then thing very carefully as that food is using fillers for bulk weight and adding nothing to the nutrition or health of your Sphynx cat. Look for grain-free foods and ones that the majority of listed ingredients are meats.

Remember to  take with a grain of salt (terrible pun) everything that is said on or about pet food by the sales and marketing companies. There is a brand out there that has made a specialized “Sphynx Cat”  dry food that contains grain products and does not have any scientific basis on its development.

References

Your Cat’s Nutritional Needs

Check the Bag