In 1966 a domestic cat gave birth to a hairless kitten in Toronto, Canada. It was discovered to be a natural mutation and the Sphynx cat, as we know it today, came into existence. This cat and a few other naturally hairless cats have been found worldwide. These have magically been produced by Mother Nature and are the foundation for this unusual breed.     The Sphynx is not totally hairless; they have a fine down on the body, which makes the cat feel like a warm peach. Some light hair is often present on the nose, tail and toes. The texture of the Sphynx skin has been compared to a suede covered hot water bottle or a heated chamois.

Sphynx love clowning around and will entertain you with their silly antics. They love to be around humans but will also enjoy the company of other cats and dogs. They just like company, a lonely Sphynx would be a very sad Sphynx. They definitely need company of some sort. They will follow you around and either help or hinder the housework, I often do my chores with a cat on my shoulder. They are often described as part monkey, part dog, part alien simply because they are as agile and cheeky as a monkey and as faithful as a dog and well they do resemble something from another planet. One thing I know for sure is they are AMAZING.

Sphynx are housecats and MUST NEVER be allowed outside. They would not survive out doors, there are too many dangers.        Some people who suffer from cat allergies can tolerate living with Sphynx cats. However, depending on the type and severity of the individual's allergic reactions, there are still people who cannot live with this breed.

Although Sphynx will not cause you untold time hoovering  up fur from your carpets they do need special grooming to keep them looking and feeling their best. Because of the lack of fur the natural oil secretion is not absorbed as it would be by fur of a furry cat  and yes they will groom themselves but will need bathing once a fortnight or so to stop the build up from being left as nice orange (fake tan like) marking on your cream settee or bed linen. Some Sphynx are greasier than others, a friend of mine tells me she knows when her boy has been sitting on the windowsill as he leaves his fake tan behind and he is kept spotlessly clean, he’s just abit greasier than most. I have been very lucky so far as none of my Sphynx are greasy and I only ever see a faint mark on the cream cushion on which they dose off on during the day but it washes off no problem, but then we do like to keep our babies clean, they will have a bath once a fortnight and have a flannel face wash once a day to keep their eyes free from gunk, don’t forget they have no eyelashes either.

Firstly make sure bathroom is nice and warm as you would for bathing a baby. For their baths we use Johnsons baby bath Camomile and lavender and we usually put a couple of drops of earwax softener into their ears before their bath to help soften the earwax up while they have their bath. Have a nice warm towel ready for wrapping them up when they come out and also a flannel is very useful to wipe over their faces while in the bath, before you have put any bath liquid in though so not to irritate their eyes. After their bath use a q-tip carefully to remove wax, be careful not to probe too deeply only clean where you can visibly see, eardrums can easily be perforated without caution. Claws of a Sphynx will also have a build up of waxy film,  this can be easily cleaned off with baby wipes, we use the sensitive ones. I would recommend only using baby wipes on the claws, I have seen these very "gentle wipes" cause nasty skin reactions on a Sphynx so for a general wipe over always use a nice soft flannel and warm water. Trim claws once a week to a fortnight, just the tips mind you, watch out for the red vein and don’t cut too close to it. Trimming claws regularly and always providing a scratching post will keep your furniture intact .

Sphynx will eat the same diet as a normal cat, they just may eat alittle more due to their metabolism being alittle faster due to their lack of fur and that energy/calories will be used more on regulating their body temperature than a normal furry cat. I feed my cats on Royal canine dry food which is available for them all the time and Whiskers Oh so fishy is their favourite wet dish at the moment, which we give them about three times a day. Fresh water is always there for them along side their dry food. When taking a new kitten home always check before hand with your breeder what baby is being fed on and go buy some before day of arrival. It’s a big day for a kitten going to its forever home for the first time the last thing it wants to feel is a belly ache. Wean slowly onto your preferred food if it differs from that of the breeder.       All my kittens new parents will be offered all the advice I can give and demonstrations on how best to care for their new addition before they leave should they need it and my promise of lifetime support.

I was fortunate to be asked to supply a picture for the HCM calendar  and you can find my beautiful blue eyed baby Kweeva as Miss June in her pin up debut. Thanks Kathy for allowing us to take part in such a fabulous calendar. It’s a gorgeous calendar for 2008 full of yummy Sphynx and all for a very important cause. Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is by far the most common heart disease in cats and  yearly screening is done by responsible breeders to determine if a cat is healthy to continue with in their breeding program.   Should you like to purchase a Sphynx calendar in the UK please contact me on 01384-237081 As I said before all proceeds from this calendar will be going to the Winn foundation.   Please follow link below for a very informative guide to this disease that affects many cat breeds not just Sphynx.   http://members.aol.com/jchinitz/hcm/definitn.htm   www.winnfelinehealth.org   http://www.fabcats.org/hcm/index.html     All our cats are blood typed Follow the link below to know why!!   http://www.dr-addie.com/Blood groups.htm

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