Answer –  It is not unusual for Sphynx cats to have fuzz on their feet, tails, nose and genitals. Depending on the colour of your Sphynx and how often, and with what, you wash them, you may end up with some discolouration.  If you are washing your Sphynx cat with a cat shampoo then staining will be coming from either the environment or there may be something wrong with the cat itself as some illnesses can affect the protein in the cat’s saliva, or over-grooming by the cat to areas because of illness. If you suspect a change in behaviour or health then a vet visit is advised.

If you know of an environmental reason (sleeping in a pot plant for example) a tip from the show ring may help. Make a slurry of cornflour and water and use like a shampoo on the areas. Rub vigorously into the hairy areas and then rinse off. When cat is dry dust cornflour into the fur and rub in.  The cornflour absorbs oils and helps remove anything that could be causing discolouration. Let the cat groom out naturally.

Note: My Sphynnx cat Luna is a pink Sphynx which means her fur is naturally white, but as she has grown older there has also been the appearance of some ginger fur as well. This comes and goes as the hair does. Make sure you aren’t mistaking natural ginger fur for discolouration.

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My Sphynx Cats Just Mated How Long Till Kittens Are Born ?

Sphynx cats, like all cats will be pregnant for somewhere between 60-70 days, with 63-65 the average. As the egg is fertilised 4-5 days after ovulation, exact dating is difficult. In cats ovulation is prompted by the male spiked penis “scratching” the vagina of the female cat. Because of this the first mating will not result in kittens, but subsequent matings will fertilise eggs released after that first mating.

Female cats are able to breed before their first birthday and so should be desexed at around 12 weeks unless she is going into a planned breeding program.

The first sign of pregnancy (apart from the heat cycle stopping) is at around 3 weeks when the nipples of the female will swell and become a rosier colour, often called “pinking”.  Your cat may have symptoms of morning sickness which is more noticeable in Sphynxes because of their indoor habitat, and so may vomit several times in the first week or so of pregnancy. Food intake will increase and a good quality balanced cat diet should be fed to her.

Your Sphynx Queen’s belly will swell and at rest you may see the kittens moving inside of her at the end of the pregnancy.

Close to birthing time make sure you watch your Sphynx to see where she is planning to “nest”. Expert breeders will have a breeding box/room/area set aside to ensure the Queen is not disturbed while giving birth and the important bonding days just after birth. Do not handle the kittens too much after birth (even though you may be tempted) as this can distress the Queen and cause her to kill and eat her offspring.

Good luck !

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Human skin and cat skin have different pH levels. Human skin is around 5.4 on the pH scale and human shampoos are around 6 on the pH  to ensure cleansing without irritation. Cat shampoos should be around 7.5 on the pH scale because cat skin is naturally more alkaline than humans. It is ALWAYS advisable to use a product specifically designed for cat use instead of a human product, but infrequent use of a human product can be acceptable as long as there is no irritation caused by the product.

Be aware that human products have perfumes and colourants that can cause your cat to develop allergies if you are using them over a long period of time. Again…infrequent use (when you have run out of your cat shampoo for instance) is advised rather than long term use.  Even baby wipes can cause allergies in your cat, so sourcing cat wipes specifically made for cats is always the way to go.

All shampoos are made of chemicals (as is everything on the planet) so asking for a chemical free shampoo is not a helpful question when buying a Sphynx cat shampoo. Man-made chemicals are not necessarily a bad thing either as they have been tailored to perform the exact task required, rather than having something “natural” that does the job in a less efficient manner. What you want to avoid when buying a Sphynx cat shampoo is a product that is overly perfumed or contains bleaches (sometimes in show cat shampoos to whiten fur). I prefer products that have a natural base with additives to help get the job done properly.

The best way to get a Sphynx cat clean is to first loosen the dirty skin oils with an oil, then shampoo afterwards. If you live in an area with hard water, or very chlorinated water, then think about using bottled water or distilled water to minimise skin irritation. Sphynx cat skin is not any different to a normal cat’s skin in that it is trying to keep a coat glossy and protect itself so that infection cannot get in. Over washing (more than once a week) will cause more oil to be produced, leading to more washing…leading to a nasty cycle for your cat. Wipe down with wipes, or with oils to remove dirty spots just in the areas required during the week.

I recommend the following products for washing a Sphynx cat through my personal use and recommendations from breeders or other owners. Click the following to be taken to the product order pages

Sphynx cat shampoo

Sphynx cat oil

Sphynx cat wipes 

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One of the big problems with supposedly “Sphynx shampoos” out there is they are made with harsh chemicals (and in far off places like China where you can never be sure what they REALLY put in it). It’s scary to think what it is actually doing to your Sphynx’s skin. Using human shampoo is just as bad as that is designed for PH levels different to our Sphynx’s skin. This shampoo is made here in Australia where we have stringent consumer laws about ingredients and also the best Emu oil in the world.

Emu Oil Pet Shampoo has the wonderful property of being able to clean oily skin as well as soothing and moisturising dry skin. Luna is a new cat, with soft supple skin, and Lucy’s brown oiliness disappears in a flash in the bath and I swear she stays cleaner, longer.

The shampoo isn’t mixed with scents (which you and your animals can be allergic too, and they upset animal skin) so it doesn’t smell like human shampoo, but it has no lingering smell either. It is very natural, and soothing. Also the shampoo goes a looooong way, I am still on my first bottle from 3 months ago, you really only need a smidgen, so the value cannot be beat.

Both Luna and Lucy have given Emu Oil Pet Shampoo their stamp of approval. To buy some just click this link

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I have let the comments through even though I usually nuke troll-like comments with extreme prejudice because I can see why she is arguing this, but I do disagree.

Firstly the assumption that Sphynx cats are completely hairless* does seem to add to the confusion here. Canadian and Don Sphynx cats are not completely hairless**, in fact their closest analogue I think, are humans. Humans too were once heavily furred (see chimps and gorillas for examples of what we looked like a long time ago) and now have very short hair, the same as Sphynxes have very short hair. Both humans and Sphynxes have the same amount of hair follicles as their relatives…just much, much shorter hair where they have it. I am not saying the same evolutionary forces are involved that converted humans from shaggy pelts to smooth skin but should a Sphynx be born in a warm equitorial region there is no reason why it cannot survive outside. Just like humans did in the same sort of climate (who went for a million years naked*** before figuring out how to make clothing).

Then we have the fact that this “short haired” cat mutation pops up very regularly in nature. That is, they appear without any special breeding to ensure they are have short hair. While breeders do breed to makes sure the best chance for short-hairiness (it doesn’t always happen), if they stopped breeding today there would still be hairless cats popping up every now and then around the world from otherwise normal looking cats.  If hairlessness was great for survival of the feline species then all cats would be hairless, but nature keeps trying in case conditions make it so (think global warming…maybe all cats will be hairless one day!)

Lastly I do agree that breeding animals willy nilly so that physical issues appear is wrong. Unfortunately breeders that breed for MONEY and not the love of the breed do this. All of those people that want a $100 Sphynx are contributing to that issue. If no one wanted a cheap Sphynx, unscrupulous breeders would be breeding something else to make their dirty money. Caring breeders who breed to the standard are trying to avoid physical deformities through careful selection of the parents, and out-crossing with experimental licenses to strengthen the breed.

So in conclusion, thanks for the comments Janelle and I hope that this will somewhat change your opinion of the breed and of reputable breeders. Feel free to continue your crusade against any kitten-mill type Sphynx breeder you find. We need more angry people pointing them out so less knowledgeable buyers are saved from making a terrible mistake.

* Hairlessness in this post actually mean’s “extremely short haired”…but that’s too much to type over and over so it will be intermingled with mentions of short haired

**The exception here is the REAL hairless cat the Kohana that has no hair follicles at all and does have other genetic issues because of this

***  Dr. Mark Stoneking of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany

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We had been moved in 5 or so days and Lucy and Luna had settled in well. Luna has been coming her for a year longer than Lucy and loves being here. Lucy has only been here a couple of times in her 1 year of life and also has enjoyed her visits, running around doing kittenish things like attacking the lounge and “hunting” wallabies. In the first 5 days Lucy was happy to do all of those things again. Even so, what could not be seen was the change in stress levels from being out of her normal environment.

Firstly her herpes flared up and her eyes became very red and sore (conjunctivitis) but as her appetite was good and there was no coughing or sneezing we kept an eye on it (no pun intended) and planned to get some drops should it continue into the new week. The weather was very hot for a week and it was hard to tell if she had a temperature , but again eating and drinking were fine so we just monitored.

Then came Thursday afternoon when I was on my computer and Lucy was asleep on her sheepskin (very important to bring things familiar to your Sphynx to the new home) which I had put on the printer beside me on the desk. Also on the printer was my laptop which had a USB stick in the side with a lanyard attached so I don’t lose it (see picture)

I noticed that Lucy was cramped next to the laptop so I slid it towards me with the intention of putting it under the desk. At that moment Lucy, hearing the sliding sound that went something like “ssssssssssssss” woke up. She saw the lanyard moving along the sheepskin and all of her ancient instincts kicked in. She jumped at least a metre in the air and fled the room.

Naturally I followed her and gave her big cuddles telling her not to be so silly that it was nothing to worry about. I tried to carry her back into the room and she resisted going, something she never does apart from going near a running shower or vacuum cleaner that’s turned on. I put her on the ground and let her go off for a sleep elsewhere. It was after that she started to really act in a bizarre manner.

Firstly she wouldn’t cross any doorway without leaping in the air. Then any cable she spotted, electrical cable computer cable and the like was to be approached like it was alive and dangerous. She would reach out a paw from the furthest she could reach and tentatively pat it to make sure it was not dangerous. Lastly any sound that was vaguely “ssssssss” like would have her bolting from the room.  Instead of getting over her fright, she actually got worse, and everything seemed to frighten her. I was concerned she was losing her eyesight because of her increasing anxiety. The vet wasn’t open till Monday and I made an appointment, I rang the nearest emergency vet (2 hours drive away) and talked to them about it. Being “country” vets they didn’t seem overly concerned and said to monitor..which I did, obsessively.

Most of the next 3 days had her sitting in the middle of the floor in a small unhappy ball, being super vigilant for anything that was threatening. Nothing we could do would seem to alleviate her fears.

Come Saturday afternoon she threw up, a long snake of a vomit that looked to be all the food she had ingested that day. It’s the first time that she has even vomited and this added to my worry that she was very sick. The weather was still very hot and I chose to give her a cooling (not cool or hot water, but tepid) bath to see if her symptoms were because she had an elevated temperature. Amazingly, after the bath she became more responsive and less fearful.

I took her outside to play in the cooler night air (when I say cool it was still about 30c) and she became more curious and looked for flying insects to try to catch.  She has continued to improve and the vet appointment I booked for Monday afternoon was cancelled as she was almost back to normal.

I suspect she was feeling unwell from the stress of the move and combined with her natural anxiety for a new place ended up with her freaking out. Make sure you are super vigilant when you move house for any kind of weird behaviour from your Sphynx that could signal something similar.Similar Posts:

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I have to say I was completely taken by this site that sells amazing cat furniture. I nearly bought a colorful cat tree  called the Amazon, looks just like a cute tree house (like Tarzan type tree house), but changed my mind at the last moment and went for the Havana (who names these things? lol)

My goodness what self respecting kitty could go past without sharpening at least one claw on this gorgeous cat climbing tree. OK maybe I am projecting my thoughts onto the cats, but I do hope they like it!

Got it for a bit of a discount too with about $60 off full price.  The place is called Kitty Mansions and they have an HUGE selection of cat furniture.

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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.
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