My first Sphynx and I have soap issues. Why can't I get her clean?

[HARLOWSMOM]

Hi Everyone, I have Harlow 3 weeks now and it seems like she is always turning brown.It could be two days after her bath and she is dirty again. I tried Johnsons baby shampoo recommended by the breeder and when that did not help she told me to use Doves unscented mild body wash. It has been 2 days and she is turning brown again. Any suggestions. I also wanted to ask about feeding her, She eats raw in the morning and I leave free dry food(lifes abundance or Evo ) down all day but she does not eat much.How do I know she she is getting enough to eat and should I feed wet at night if she will not eat the dry. She is 6 months old on the 20th of August and weighs 5.5lbs. Thank you so much for all your help.

 

[Mews2much]

Welcome to Sphynx Lair.
Use baby wipes in between the baths.
Most sphynx are pigs and eat a lot.
I used baby shampoo before with Cleo but it did not help her.
I use Dove Surprime now.
The brown you see is the oil.
Her weight seems ok.
Good Luck
Is the cat on kitten food?

 

[Brooke]

Hi Everyone, I have Harlow 3 weeks now and it seems like she is always turning brown.It could be two days after her bath and she is dirty again. I tried Johnsons baby shampoo recommended by the breeder and when that did not help she told me to use Doves unscented mild body wash. It has been 2 days and she is turning brown again. Any suggestions. I also wanted to ask about feeding her, She eats raw in the morning and I leave free dry food(lifes abundance or Evo ) down all day but she does not eat much.How do I know she she is getting enough to eat and should I feed wet at night if she will not eat the dry. She is 6 months old on the 20th of August and weighs 5.5lbs. Thank you so much for all your help.

Hi Harlow's Mom, Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your new sphynx baby!

I agree with Mews2Much, by the sounds of it, her weight seems to be right on track for her age, but photos would help, or your vet would be able to determine if she is underweight.

To give you an idea, My female sphynx is full grown at 7 pounds and my 2 year old male sphynx is his perfect weight at 9 lbs. You are feeding high quality food and the better the food, the less amount they'll tend to need, so that may be why she seems to eat less - or she may just prefer the raw and not really like the dry food. I recently started giving my cats wet food at night, and now they've started turning their noses up at the dry food because it just doesn't taste as good! I'd say as long as she is maintaining a healthy weight, keep her diet as it is to avoid her putting on too much weight.

As far as her getting dirty, that all depends on the kitty and how much oil they produce. My first sphynx was white, and just like Harlow, his neck would be brown within 2 days of his bath. Unscented baby wipes worked great for that, or a warm, wet washcloth. I'm not sure that switching to a different shampoo would help much, you'll want to be careful not to use anything so harsh that it would dry her skin out too much.

My boy Walter is gray and can go weeks without looking dirty and my newest girl Helen has very, very dry skin. I imagine she could probably go without a bath for a month or more (lucky me!).

 

[admin]

Hi Harlowsmom and welcome to Sphynx Lair! Here is a link from the site you might find helpful. Thanks for joining! Enjoy!:Laugh: http://www.sphynxlair.com/showthread.php?t=479&highlight=bathing

 

[ilovemysphynx]

Hello Harlowsmom, welcome like the others said I think you are just fine her weight seems good for her age our female is like 7.5 and our male 9, they eat dry all day and it's always empty and wet 2-3 times aday and 6 greenies each at snack time! As far as being dirty welcome to the wonderful worl of owning A sphynx, Athena (female) stays pretty clean but Leo (male) is dirty about 15 min. after his bath, I use baby shampoo, but have tried others and like that the best. It all depends on their amount of oil, wipes do help, baby for the kitty and clorox for any place they lay! Best of luck, we can't wait to see pictures!

 

[PitRottMommy]

Hi Everyone, I have Harlow 3 weeks now and it seems like she is always turning brown.It could be two days after her bath and she is dirty again. I tried Johnsons baby shampoo recommended by the breeder and when that did not help she told me to use Doves unscented mild body wash. It has been 2 days and she is turning brown again. Any suggestions. I also wanted to ask about feeding her, She eats raw in the morning and I leave free dry food(lifes abundance or Evo ) down all day but she does not eat much.How do I know she she is getting enough to eat and should I feed wet at night if she will not eat the dry. She is 6 months old on the 20th of August and weighs 5.5lbs. Thank you so much for all your help.

I'm with the others, HarlowsMom, her weight is about right. Cats in general for the first 9 months of their life can be expected to weigh 1# per month of age. This is precisely how we predict age in abandoned or unknown-age kittens. She's a perfect weight, he happy she's this size. My 18 month old female, Buffy, is less than her size right now and I'm always concerned about how trim she is.

As far as soap, have you tried something a little more tough on dirt? J&J is a great shampoo for any pet that doesn't get dirty or isn't a color that shows dirt and has sensitive skin, but it sucks for those light colored felines. Out of my three cats, Buck (red and cream) is the one that looks like he needs a bath first. It's been 2 weeks and my darker cats (torti and a black) both look clean as a whistle (which is probably a falacy, they're probably dirtier than he is, lol, they just hold it off better). Try a degreasing soap like Dawn. This will cleanse the oil glands and wash all the pre-existing dirt off. See if she doesn't go longer between baths with this. Clean window sills, beds and other places she lays because, as others mentioned, it accumulates and can make her dirtier, faster.

Sidenote: Dawn is absolutely safe for these guys as long as you get the kind without bleach. You won't find a cat that has more sensitive skin than Buck (his eyes swell when he cleans himself just from rubbing his face normally). We have absolutely no problems with this and Dawn soap is used frequently in veterinary medicine to strip the coats of cats/dogs and other animals that have come in contact with something that shouldn't be on them. Give it a try, you'll prefer the results.

 

[kerrie78]

We actually put coconut oil on the really dirty spots right before we bathe him
& he turns sparkling clean with J & J shampoo.