It is important that all my families adopting a kitten from Dare2bNaked are well educated on the care of a sphynx. I will go through all care in complete detail, including food, litter and litter box recommendations, but the following will provide you with some basics on the regular care needed for your hairless baby.

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Stress & Upper Respiratory problems:

 

It is not uncommon for a Cat/Kitten to undergo some degree of stress when there is a change in their environment, i.e., change in home, diet, or shipping. Occasionally they may start to sneeze, cough or have a runny nose or sore eyes. If this occurs the cat/kitten should be taken to veterinarian. It is critical that upper respiratory issues be addressed in a prompt manner.

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Providing HealthCare:

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Sphynx are a rare breed. It is always advised that the buyer choose a veterinarian that is familiar with the sphynx breed. Use of Ketamine should be avoided at all cost. Ketamine, a popular anesthetic, causes acute hypertension. For cats that have undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), this can mean sudden death. We do not recommend giving FIP or FELV vaccines to a sphynx cat/kitten. FIP vaccines are often fatal if your cat has been exposed to the corona virus, which 90% of cats in a multiple cat household have been exposed. They will break out with the fatal form of FIP if given the vaccine; there is no treatment. We also do not recommend the use of Convenia, an injectable antibiotic.

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Bathing:

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This really depends on the individual cat. Some sphynx produce more than others and would need to be bathed more frequently. Other sphynx produce little to no oil and can go several weeks or months without a bath. I would suggest a monthly bath as a starting point and you can alter the schedule to fit the needs of your sphynx. We use alcohol free baby wipes between bathing.

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Ears:

 

Sphynx have little to no hair in their ears to catch and protect the dirt and other impurities. As a result, the waxy buildup in the sphinx breed tends to be of darker color and thicker consistency. To clean the wax buildup, apply a use a small amount of ear cleaner to a cotton swab and gently swab the ears of your cat/kitten. If possible avoid using Q-tips, incorrect use of the Q-tips can push the wax further into the ear canal and cause an ear infection.

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Nails:

Sphynx should have their nails cleaned and clipped regularly. Sphynx nails tend to build up a dark waxy coat on the nail, which can easily be cleaned by pulling the skin (immediately over the nail) slightly back and cleaning it with a baby wipe. When clipping their nails avoid clipping into the pink fleshy area of the nail. Clipping into this area will cause bleeding and discomfort associating it with grooming and a bad experience.

 

Eyes:

Sphynx tend to have a frequent amount of buildup in the corners of their eyes, also known as eye buggers. This is a direct result of their lack of hair. Build up can easily be removed with a warm wash cloth or baby wipe. If you notice a yellow or red discharge along with swelling of the eyes, please contact your vet immediately.

 

Teeth:

Your kitten may have what looks like tarter stains on their teeth. This is not abnormal, in fact, is it caused by the oils on their mothers skin while nursing. Their permanent teeth with come out white and unstained.

 

 

Feeding Raw:

There is so much information out there about the benefits of feeding cats a RAW diet and lots of recipes as well. The following is some basic information of why I feed RAW,and the recipe I use. This is just what I do with my cats and what I recommend to my kitten parents. It is up to each individual to decide what is appropriate for their pet and to do their own research for a balanced diet. Ideally, whole prey model would be best, but cats tend to drag food off to eat it or even hide it. For sanitary reasons, we choose to feed ground up meat and bone.

 

Why Feed Raw?

First and foremost, it is a species appropriate diet for felines. Think logically about what they would eat naturally. Mice and birds! Cats are obligate carnivores so they need to eat meat. Unlike dogs or humans, they do not need vegetables of any sort. Once you feed raw, your cat will look better, be in good weight, be healthier and their stools will be less. The cost is so much less than any commercial diet as well. Commercial diets are riddled with problems, recalls and inappropriate content such as wheat gluten, corn and other unnecessary fillers that can cause health problems, allergies and stinky loose stools.

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I highly recommend feline-nutrition.org and catnutrition.org for research and information. We follow the cat nutrition recipe. I will be more than happy to help you with any further questions and provide you with other resources as well.