Welcome to Sphynxlair! Connect with Sphynx owners & enthusiasts around the world!

Ecce, Feles!

Zyra

Lairian
Joined
May 21, 2017
Messages
60
Points
44
Hi!

My name's Zyra, I'm 22 and hoping to become a teacher. I've always wanted a cat but my dander allergies have meant that wasn't possible - until I got Nietzsche! He is a gorgeous black tabby sphynx with black and grey fur covering his tail and ears, black and grey furry mittens, and brown fur on the bridge of his nose. He has amazing green eyes. He weighs 1.5kg.

I have had him a week now, he is fifteen weeks old. He traveled a long way to get to me and unfortunately contracted a respiratory infection on the way. After a week of eye drops and anti biotic he is looking a lot better and sneezing and wheezing less. The vet prescribed some anti inflammatory on his follow up visit - but he is eating, drinking and using his tray just fine, so I'm confident he'll be okay by the time we finish our courses of medicines.

He eats a bowl of kitten wet every morning, and nibbles at his dry food throughout the day which is left in a dispenser. For a treat I sometimes give him tuna or goats milk. He is in a good routine - we share a bed and he expects food and play at specific times. We have a weekly bath and ear clean using Jonsons no more tears and baby oil.
His litter gets scooped whenever he poops and changed once a week. (Can anyone recommend a good one for eliminating odors? The tray is in my room!)
Also, I am very nervous about cutting his nails, I don't feel they have grown to the point they should be cut yet, but it has been a week - can a more experienced sphynx parent shed some light on this too?

He is, on the whole, an incredibly good cat already. He is super energetic, but I assume that is normal for a kitten. My only real issue is that he does not seem to understand hands and limbs are not toys! On some occasions he will be very responsive - if I keep my hand still and firmly say no, he will stop. Other times I feel I am beating a dead horse. However, really, this is a tiny problem in comparison to all the love and good vibes I generally feel now thanks to my kitty.

Having never owned a cat before, let alone a sphynx, it was a great relief to me to find sphynxlair! I look forward to all your wisdom, and to sharing my amazing journey as a new sphynx owner with other newbies. I have included a lot of info about how I am raising my kitten because I am hoping someone can point out any obvious errors I am making! It's lovely to be here! xox

(Some of the pictures uploaded are from the cattery and feature his brother, Tucker, a gorgeous red tabby boy and his sister, Rocko, an all black sphynx.)
 

Attachments

  • 18519026_10209236230291935_964291973_o.jpg
    18519026_10209236230291935_964291973_o.jpg
    112 KB · Views: 51
  • 18519054_10209236230251934_965366907_o.jpg
    18519054_10209236230251934_965366907_o.jpg
    110.2 KB · Views: 51
  • 18597132_10155569589843072_2111304842_o.jpg
    18597132_10155569589843072_2111304842_o.jpg
    69.5 KB · Views: 51
  • 18452065_10154662420092198_1559238093_o.jpg
    18452065_10154662420092198_1559238093_o.jpg
    138.7 KB · Views: 51
  • 18516665_10154665699732198_117023533_o.jpg
    18516665_10154665699732198_117023533_o.jpg
    129.6 KB · Views: 49
  • 18516741_10155547554503072_1408585372_o.jpg
    18516741_10155547554503072_1408585372_o.jpg
    148.1 KB · Views: 47
Last edited:

Sheldon13

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Messages
9,901
Points
613
Oh he's beautiful! Welcome to the best and friendliest cat website there is. You'll love it. I keep coming back for more everyday!

The only error I noticed is the shampoo. You'll want to get a pet shampoo specifically because baby shampoo is not pH balanced to a kitty.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Zyra

Lairian
Joined
May 21, 2017
Messages
60
Points
44
Oh he's beautiful! Welcome to the best and friendliest cat website there is. You'll love it. I keep coming back for more everyday!

The only error I noticed is the shampoo. You'll want to get a pet shampoo specifically because baby shampoo is not pH balanced to a kitty.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for the heads up and warm welcome! Is there a particular brand you recommend? (that would ship to UK)

PS, your Ellie is just beautiful! What a beautiful coloration!
 

Sheldon13

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2014
Messages
9,901
Points
613
Thank you!

Mostly recommend on her is hy-lyte shampoo. I may be misspelling it but someone will be along shorty to get it right. What I have been using for years is Plum Silky. Great stuff and doesn't leave a residue. Here's a pic.
e07c77291ef94a6f1f993535c9e16cbf.png



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Lynn W

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
May 4, 2017
Messages
6,197
Points
363
Welcome to the Lair, Zyra. Your baby boy is beautiful. I have a baby boy that is the same age as Nietzsche. It sounds like you are describing my kitten Dash too. He has started to calm down a little bit, but he's still a live wire. :)
 

Toa and Ross

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 23, 2015
Messages
32,390
Points
643
Welcome to sphynxlair for you and Nietzsche. Nietzsche is such a handsome cutie. Sounds like he's bringing lots of love and fun in your life.

It can take a while for Nietzsche to understand hands are no toys. Just keep saying no and offer him a toy when he wants to play/bite in your hand. He will learn after a while.
I remember I had only had to cut the nails of my boys for the first time when they were already a month with me. Now I have to do them every week. Some cats are easy with it, others not so.
You could start with touching his paws and touching his nails, cleaning them a bit so he (and you) is getting used to it.

Natasja
 

Marerickson

Lairian
Joined
Apr 22, 2017
Messages
152
Points
51
Oh my gosh he is adorable!! I have had my little girl for a few weeks now and after I bathe and do her ears I have clipped her nails each time too! There isn't much to cut but that's okay I just snip off the very end where it is sharp and it helps to get her used to it! She did really good the last time I did it, the other times before not so much..the first time I was only able to do a few nails at a time, this time she let me get all of them! Just be patient & take your time! Try to be confident because I feel they sense if you are nervous and that causes them to panic! You will get used to it as will he! Good luck with your little cutie!
 

Catzzzmeow

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
35,017
Points
673
Welcome to the community! We do see many kittens get a respiratory infection after going to their new home. Many of us use L-Lysline to help boost the respiratory system on a regular basis. I use the powder form sprinkled over their wet food morning and night.
Sphynx with Feline Herpes and L-Lysine

26eb7cbfed2ba9b3b75ee2b53cf187b2.jpg



Here is also a very helpful video @admin made to help about nail clipping. Clipping your Sphynx cat nails.

BTW your baby is adorable @Zyra


Patti
 

Xandria

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
10,022
Points
643
Hello and welcome to you and Nietzsche. He is absolutely adorable. I love his colouring. He sounds like a handful of fun.

Nails can be clipped about once a week, but some nails will grow faster than others. Sometimes I just file down the points rather than trimming.

Again, welcome. Great to have you.
 

Hairless Blessing

Gold Lairian
Notable Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2010
Messages
25,205
Points
673
Welcome to sphynxlair, good to have you.
Handsome little Gentleman, you have.
You probably can't get HyLyt Shampoo, since your not
In the States. Try to find a good hypoallergenic shampoo
for animals.
 

nudieluvr

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
1,122
Points
238
Hello,

Nietzsche is adorable. I think that's what Kat VonD just named her new spyhnx. Did you get the name from that? Are you using a clumping litter or just emptying it every week? If your using clumping definitely cleaning out the urine clumps atleast daily will help with the smell. I recommend clumping because you can regularly keep up on cleaning and end up using less litter. It's certainly up to your kittens preference though!
 

admin

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 13, 2009
Messages
23,725
Points
643
Hello @Zyra and welcome to Sphynxlair! Great advice thus far. What a cutie you have there! Please enjoy the community! :)
 

Zyra

Lairian
Joined
May 21, 2017
Messages
60
Points
44
Hello,

Nietzsche is adorable. I think that's what Kat VonD just named her new spyhnx. Did you get the name from that? Are you using a clumping litter or just emptying it every week? If your using clumping definitely cleaning out the urine clumps atleast daily will help with the smell. I recommend clumping because you can regularly keep up on cleaning and end up using less litter. It's certainly up to your kittens preference though!

I got the name because Nietzsche is my favourite philosopher, I just had to look up the name of Kat's sphinxes after you told me this, though! They are called Piaf and Poe :) xox
 

nudieluvr

V.I.P Lairian
V.I.P Lairian
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
1,122
Points
238
I got the name because Nietzsche is my favourite philosopher, I just had to look up the name of Kat's sphinxes after you told me this, though! They are called Piaf and Poe :) xox

Yeah. They are adorable. Nietzsche is her newest. A rescue too!
Screenshot_20170523-143914.png
 

Roki

Lairian
Joined
Apr 28, 2015
Messages
168
Points
51
I'd also advise, with clumping litter, if you put a lot of litter in it (not necessarily a huge pan, just deep litter level) then when there's a pee lump it doesn't reach the bottom of the pan. This also makes it easier to remove & keeps your box cleaner & a bit less smelly.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Zyra

Lairian
Joined
May 21, 2017
Messages
60
Points
44
Welcome to sphynxlair for you and Nietzsche. Nietzsche is such a handsome cutie. Sounds like he's bringing lots of love and fun in your life.

It can take a while for Nietzsche to understand hands are no toys. Just keep saying no and offer him a toy when he wants to play/bite in your hand. He will learn after a while.
I remember I had only had to cut the nails of my boys for the first time when they were already a month with me. Now I have to do them every week. Some cats are easy with it, others not so.
You could start with touching his paws and touching his nails, cleaning them a bit so he (and you) is getting used to it.

Natasja

A belated thank you for the warm welcome! Just an update - we had our first nail clip yesterday. He didn't like it at first but as soon as he realized he would get treats for behaving, he practically handed me his paws! I have decided to use when his nails, extended, begin to reach the darker, cushioned areas of his paw pads as the indicator that he is due a clip. Do you think this is an okay benchmark?
 

Attachments

  • 18745040_10209341563325195_560739305_o.jpg
    18745040_10209341563325195_560739305_o.jpg
    115.2 KB · Views: 34
Back
Top