That means that Sphynx cats can catch all the things that cats with a normal covering of hair can get.  They will do the things that cats with hair will do. They can be naughty and bad tempered if they are mistreated or bought up with bad manners. They can decide to change where and with whom they sleep (usually when there is someone new in the house). They can decide they don’t want to eat something for a while. They will kill whatever they can chase down, and they will play with whatever it is before they kill it.

Sphynx cats are mini carnivores that in nature would be out making a life for themselves catching small birds,rodents and insects and just because they have very short fur doesn’t mean those instincts don’t come with them. If you are in the market for a hairless cat or kitten then keep that in mind, they still have all of those cats instincts just like any other breed of cat.

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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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So to all who have sent emails and not had a response I sincerely apologise.

To everyone else if you want to send an email then feel free to drop me a line at allison at SphynxCatBlog.com (use the @ symbol and remove spaces).

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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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As a reminder I include the following points

Use meats fit for human consumption

Cats in the wild kill and eat their prey within minutes of each other. They do not store food, nor do they scavenge from carcasses. Unlike dogs, cats do not have the gut design and flora to break down spoiled foods;  so eating anything that is not fresh will give your cat a nasty tummy or worse.

Buy your cats meat of the same quality and freshness that you would eat yourself.

Bacteria is your enemy

At all times when preparing food you should be avoiding introducing bacteria, or creating an environment where bacteria can grow. This means ensuring that you wash your hands and wear gloves (use powderless food preparation type) so no bacteria you have picked up enters the food. The same for ensuring cutting boards, knives and storage containers are thoroughly cleaned after each use. Also be aware that any used kitchen clothes or dish towels contain bacteria and should not be used on clean utensils.

Keep your cool

As bacteria grows in warm conditions you should be looking at keeping everything as cool as possible during the preparation of a raw diet.

• Make sure where you are preparing is cool
• Bring food out of the fridge only when it is is being cut or going into the grinder
• after cutting into suitable sized pieces put it into the fridge to cool before going into the grinder
• after grinding put the meat back into the fridge to cool before bagging up
• don’t handle the meat too much while bagging. Using a large spoon to ladle into bags will reduce the heat you transfer from your hands to the meat

Friction causes heat, and bacteria loves heat

In the last bullet point there was a lot of moving the meat back to the fridge, but why?

Your refrigerator should be set at a maximum of 3 degrees centigrade. Even at that temperature bacteria can still grow, but much more slowly that room temperature. Your freezer is cold enough to stop bacteria growing but it is impractical to put frozen food through your domestic grinder. If you did though you would notice that the meat would come out thawing quicker than if you left it on a kitchen bench. Why?

Grinding (or cutting) creates heat from the friction of the blade against the meat. I was watching world class chef Heston Blumenthal make sausages on a TV program and he showed that meat coming out of a grinder can increase in temperature to 10 degrees centigrade which is why there are food poisoning outbreaks affecting hamburger mince, sausages and pies made with minced meat.  We need to make sure that if we are using a grinder we get the meat back down to under 3 degrees as soon as possible or we are growing a whole garden of bacteria that can cause serious illness for your cat..or indeed you!

Freeze once and only once

As mentioned above, your fridge does not halt the growth of bacteria, so if you are re-freezing and thawing your meat then you are growing large loads of bacteria with each thawing. You are creating a sickness time bomb that can go off at any time. Always buy fresh and only freeze once.

If you follow these simple steps then you will have very little chance of causing any bacterial issues and have a happy and healthy Sphynx cat!

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