#ornatecreature

[araiceii]

[drferox]

I'm thinking of getting a sphynx cat and I've been doing some research, but what are some major mistakes I should avoid making and some misconceptions from a vet standpoint ?

Sphynx cats are rare, given their high maintenance requirements and the ethical concern about continuing to breed them. Despite their lack of fur, these cats are not actually hypoallergenic, as humans with cat allergies are typically reacting to protein in skin and saliva.

I don’t have an answer for you as to whether continuing to breed hairless cats is ethical or not, I’m honestly undecided. Regardless, you should be aware that these concerns exist.

Please note the disclaimer that theseposts are about the breed from a veterinary viewpoint as seenin clinical practice, i.e. the problems we are faced with. It’s notthe be-all and end-all of the breed and is not to make a judgementabout whether the breed is right for you. If you are asking for anopinion about these animals in a veterinary setting, that is what youwill get. It’s not going to be all sunshine and cupcakes, and isnot intended as a personal insult against your favorite breed. Thisis general advice for what is common, often with a scientificconsensus but sometimes based on personal experiences, and is not aguarantee of what an individual cat is going to encounter in their life.

Sphynx cats commonly have issues with their lack of fur. Yeast or bacterial skin infections, sunburn, hypothermia and ear infections are common. They need weekly or twice weekly maintenance to stay healthy,

Kittens seem to be more vulnerable to cat flu, but that may just be locally, or it may be due to husbandry rather than the breed. Either way, it seems more common than I otherwise would have expected in cats under 16 weeks of age.

There is Devon Rex Myopathy in the breed, which is an autosomal recessive genetic trait, and breeders should be screening their breeding stock for this disease.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is the most common heart condition of these cats, and it is possibly genetic too though I don’t think there is yet a genetic test available for this breed. This breed can develop other heart conditions too, but this is the most common. Approximately a third of sphynxes have a heart condition, and they can be detected quite young, from two years of age.

And this may just be a sample size bias, but I see liver disease of various types more commonly in these cats. These conditions don’t have the same cause, but they do have the same result. I can’t be sure whether this is truly a breed thing, or because all the sphynxes I know probably came from the same one or two breeders.

They are much more day to day maintenance than your average cat.