$100 Sphynx Cats

I sometimes look at the search terms that bring people to the Sphynx Cat Blog. Someone very recently got here by searching for “$100 Sphynx Cats” and when i saw that my heart broke. They aren’t the only people that are looking for a cheap Sphynx cat either. I see “free hairless cat”, “cheap Sphynx kittens” and “Can I get a Sphynx Cat for under $200″ type searches all the time. It is is so sad that they end up on my blog because I talk about how much it costs to feed my 3 for a week or how expensive vets and medication bills are.

If you are reading this post because you want a cheap Sphynx kitten or cat then I have the following to say to you.

If you can’t afford the asking price of a reputable breeder then you aren’t going to be able to look after the Sphynx once you have it.

They eat more than normal cats = higher food bills

They require more heat that normal cats = higher power bills

They have grooming requirements = time and money

And although you can rescue a Sphynx cat (and I would love all the Sphynxes that need rescuing to always go to a loving and caring home) only experienced Sphynx owners should really take on the task of rescue. Many rescue Sphynxes come with pre-existing conditions (because they are often old) or have been living in less than ideal conditions that can cause mental and physical issues.

Buying from a reputable breeder at the full price should also mean you get a health guarantee included in your purchase contract. That protects you, the breeder and your cat.

I can’t think of anything more heart breaking than buying from a kitten mill only to see your little baby die because it was not bred properly.

Please, PLEASE, don’t buy a “cheap Sphynx cat” and let’s stamp out unscrupulous breeders.

Putting Your Sphynx On A Raw Food Diet

One of the biggest concerns Sphynx cat owners, or potential owners, have is what to feed their Sphynx cat.  I now know what the answer is for my Sphynxes after having them on a raw food diet for the last week.

Raw Food Value

One of the main reasons I was looking to move the cats to a raw food diet was the cost of the premium food I was feeding them. The three of them were going through on a daily basis around 10 cans of wet food (10 x 85grams) at $1.45 each. Add on top of that the dry food at around $2 a day ($42 a bag for 3.63 kg ) and we have a total of $16.35 a DAY.

Compare that to my first batch of raw food in which I made a bit of a logistical error on when I purchased chickens at $5.95 a kg (when I thought the sign said $5.95 each – oops!). All up I made around 6 days worth from 2 chickens + giblets + hearts + livers + turkey mince + butternut pumpkin (squash). Sum total $30 or $5 a day.

That’s a 66% saving.

Raw Food Bowel Benefits

If you are a Sphynx owner then you will know the pain and embarrassment of what can happen when your Sphynx eats something that doesn’t agree with it. Firstly there is the soft bowel movements (to be kind) or the out and out explosive diarrhea.The stench of the stool is so bad that sometimes it felt like we were living in an open sewer. Finally there is the rumbling belly that can end in gas so bad it can clear a room. A Sphynx’s gut is a sensitive thing.

On the manufactured food all three of my gang had stinky poos and the kitten had smelly farts. The consistency of their bowel movements were softish.

Introduce the raw diet and within one day they had firmer poos and ….none of that house clearing stench! It used to be easy to know when one had gone to the litter box. Now I have to check the boxes to see if there is poo there because the smell is not strong enough to alert anyone that they have gone.

I didn’t bother doing a slow introduction to the gang as they were having chicken wings a few times a week to supplement the manufactured food. There has been no negative response from their digestive tracts what-so-ever.

I don’t think I have been this happy about the state of poo since I had my human babies!

But Do The Sphynx Cats Like Their New Raw Diet?

From the moment I put the first bowl down all three have been massive fans of the new food. The three eat around 650-800 grams at a sitting which is around the same as what they were eating with the manufactured food. Sphynx cat Luna used to eat mostly dry food whereas Sphynx cat Pierre and Sphynx Kitten Lucy ate a combination.

Feed times are filled with smacking lips as they race each other to finish their bowls. They just LOVE it.

Raw Sphynx Cat Food Recipe

For 6 days – 3 cats

4 kilos whole chicken
.5 kilos chicken giblets
.5 kilos chicken hearts
.5 kilos chicken livers
.5 kilos turkey mince
.5 kilos butternut pumpkin
Lysine freeze dried powder
Pro-Biotic liquid

Meat cut up and run through a Northern Tool Grinder (highly recommended!) and the whole thing took less than half an hour.

Sphynx Cat Raw Diet

I have decided to move my three Sphynx cats to a full raw diet. There are a couple of reasons for this -

1. It’s winter here in Australia and all 3 are eating 10 x 85gram cans of food each between them a day. At $1.45 a can thats OVER $100 a WEEK
2. While cat food in Australia is good (much better than I believe it is in the USA) I have always leaned towards doing what is natural, rather than artificial
3. My Italian Greyhound is getting on in years and losing teeth, he can also benefit from eating the same diet
4. The more I read about the pet food industry, the more I despise supporting them

There are some excellent posts on the topic over at the Sphynx Forum and I have certainly learned a great deal in the last weeks of research.

Up until now my guys have been on a mix of raw and artificial foods. They enjoy eating both and I don’t think they will be much of an issue crossing over straight into raw. I have had an issue in another area though.

Getting my hands on a meat grinder that is powerful enough to munch up chicken bones, but not a full deer/cow carcass has been quite difficult. I am not going to spend a gazillion dollars on an industrial/commercial model, nor do I want to by a plastic “mincer” that won’t do the job. In the end I purchased from good old Amazon a model I saw recommended on another blog – Northern Electric Meat Grinder – at $99 it is much cheaper than anything the same quality here in Australia.

Once I have it in my hot little hand I am going to put videos up of making that raw diet for people that are looking for instructions on how-to.

The make up of the diet will be 1/2 whole chicken meat and bone, 1/4 chicken and turkey gizzards including kidney/hearts, 3/16turkey/beef mince, 1/16th cooked pumpkin, pro-biotic mix, l-lysine, and vitamin mix

My next step is to find if there are any organic chicken outlets with reasonable priced birds. Breast enlarging hormones can’t be good for cats.

Sphynx Cat Popularity

This week has shown another burst in people showing interest in Sphynx Cats. Being “discovered” as a breed is a double edged sword. There are those people that genuinely want to care and love their Sphynx Cat and will be sensible by gathering all the information they can about the breed BEFORE buying one (such as buying my Sphynx Cat Book ). Then there are people that want one for Christmas, but come Easter are looking to dump or sell their kitten because it isn’t as fun or cute as it used to be.

Headlines like the one below also attract the unscrupulous kitten mill breeder who will exploit a breeding Queen and the people they sell to, all in the name of a quick dollar.

If you are here to get more information about the breed than I congratulate you on putting in the time to research the breed. They do have a set of needs that are distinct from other cat breeds and more resemble that of a toddler child.  The pair used as models for the article above are in desperate need of a face wash, and that is not unusual of the breed. Wiping mucky eyes, ears, and staining on the nose is going to be part of your daily routine. Can you put up with that as an owner?

If you have any doubt at all whether you will be able to dedicate yourself to a Sphynx then I implore you to wait, or choose something else that requires less care. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad person, but not everyone has the lifestyle that can fit in with the needs of a Sphynx Kitten or Sphynx Cat.

Sphynx Cat Illness

When Luna was delivered to us from her breeder, she came with a nasty surprise. Within two days she was in an animal emergency clinic being treated for cat flu after a massive temperature spike caused her to fit. As you can imagine this was terribly frightening and we feared the worst at the time. The vet diagnosed her as having cat flu (probably the herpes based one but did not take a swab). The breeder swore there was no cat flu in her cattery, yet it was clear that Luna had incubated the flu somewhere before she even reached us.

Luna recovered after treatment and antibiotics and we kept an eye on her since because she will always carry it and could again have a flare up.

Fast forward to when Pierre was mauled by the dog next door and it became apparent during his recovery that the stress of the attack and recovery had caused him to have health issues too. With red runny eyes and occasional sneezing the vet advised this was possibly chlamydia, another contagious illness, and started him on antibiotics. That seemed to work and he was back to his crazy self after a couple of weeks.

Then came Lucy into the house and illness has raised its head again. This time both Pierre and Luna have serious respiratory issues (bronchial pneumonia) and are on some strong antibiotics and expectorants. Pierre and Luna are exhibiting completely different symptoms which doesn’t help with a firm diagnosis. Pierre has an “impressive” cough, the vet’s description not mine, and is listless with a slight temperature. Luna is sneezing, spraying mucous from her nose, listless and has developed small pinprick sores on her face.

What is most worrisome is that Lucy today started sneezing and has one runny eye and the vet has put her on antibiotics too.

The plan is to monitor carefully and if any deterioration then it will be time to sample the lung expectorate. I’ll keep you informed.

[update - I did post more about Pierre's illness which turned out not to be Chlamydia but Mycoplasma felis . Click on the link to read about it]