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My hairless is loosing fur?!

BetsyPip

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Hi!
My beloved boy Pip Pirrip has started to loose his soft peach fuzz, and I have no idea why and can't seem to find anything like it online. I've included a photo and as you can see he is starting to go all speckly! Its very odd. He has been treated for mite and fleas and definitly has neither of these. Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat this? Our vet has never seen a sphynx before and not at all familiar with the breed (he was mean about his and his sister's neuter bellys!) Anyone been through something similar? He's so beautiful and this is making him look like a battered old thing bless him. I obviously love him regardless, but such a shame! ☹
 

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MelissaAlice

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That's is a strange one isn't it ...

I know that a lot of sphynx with get a "winter coat" and then shed it come the warmer weather agin. How old is Pip, is it possible that is all that's going on?
 

MollysMom

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Hi!
My beloved boy Pip Pirrip has started to loose his soft peach fuzz, and I have no idea why and can't seem to find anything like it online. I've included a photo and as you can see he is starting to go all speckly! Its very odd. He has been treated for mite and fleas and definitly has neither of these. Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat this? Our vet has never seen a sphynx before and not at all familiar with the breed (he was mean about his and his sister's neuter bellys!) Anyone been through something similar? He's so beautiful and this is making him look like a battered old thing bless him. I obviously love him regardless, but such a shame! ☹
Molly had the same thing a couple of weeks ago and it freaked me out. She shed out all the extra peachfuzz that she had grown and now is smooth and no longer patchy. Give it a couple of weeks and see how it goes.
 

Lickleone

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It simply be warmer weather that's the cause Tau gets fuzzy paws in winter and it decreases as the weather warms
 

SphynxKid

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It could be a few things. A s people said, many sphinx do get a "Winter coat" when it gets cold. They will shed this in the warmer weather. My fluffy gets much let peach fuzz in the summer and becomes pretty sticky and dark in the summer. Also, hormones - if you recently had her spayed, she may be having hormonal changes and losing her peach fuzz. And finally diet. Because the sphinx is a specialty breed, if you started to feed a more higher quality diet, she may be losing her peach fuzz and developing higher quality sphinx characteristics.

To get rid of the speckling, give her a good bath with exfoliating gloves. It won't hurt her. You will notice a fine fuzzy residue in the bathtub after her rinse, but that the little bit of peach fuzz will come out in a more more consistent fashion. Again, it wont hurt her especially if it is already coming out on its own. Just scrub her down and it will help her look better and she'll feel nice and smooth!

Jen
 

Yoda mom

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@BetsyPip , welcome to you and Pip pirrip! So adorable and I love his name!
Can't wait to share your journey with us!

Great advice given.. I would also ask of he sits in a sunny window spot all the time? Just a thought
I would add some kitties get pigmentation coloring- my adoptee was a sun worshipper and came tome with very dark splotch pigmentation on his whole side-

The darker Sphynx seem to get more pigmentation IMHO
http://sphynxlair.com/community/threads/what-are-these-marks-on-my-sphynxs-skin.25099/#post-319811

There are several other threads on skin stuff we often visit
*It doesn't replace a vet visit to be sure, but worth exploring the things we share here to ask your vet about with Sphynx specific stuff

I kept him out of the of the sun,against his will of course . I put his cat tree in front of a shady window and it went away on its own after several months.. I did not have to put any lotions him and definitely no sunscreen because I would not want him to lick it

I still watch him like a hawk and train him with treats hidden on his tall cat tree perch in the shady window

Please keep us updated and we love to see more pics of your handsome Pip Pirrip! :)
 
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BetsyPip

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Hi everyone, wow this forum is great. I'm sad its taken me three years of lonely paranoia to find it! My nakeds cause all kinds of mischief as I'm sure all of your babies do, so its nice to be reassured From the above I feel a little more relaxed. We actually just emigrated from the UK to Australia, so it is warmer here then it was there. So could be the loosing of winter coat. Also the sitting in the sun thing may have hit the nail on the head, at home he doesn't but I think the quarantine facility had an outdoor enclosure and he loves the sun when he can get it so I'm sure he will have sat in that too! Thanks so much guys!
 

BetsyPip

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Ha
I have 4 and they all get a little fuzz in the winter that they lose in the spring. My bathtub looks like 20 hairy legged women had a shaving party. If he's got no other symptoms I'd just let him be.
Haha when he has a bath after missing a couple he does get this. Luckily his sister doesn't really have fuzz so can avoid the Gillette!
 

BetsyPip

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WP_20150512_024.jpg
Hi everyone, just to keep you updated.

Pip's fuzz has gone completely now leaving him well and truly hairless. He is now a beautiful bluey grey colour under his dark grey fuzz. I bathed him once a week with an exfoliating mitt and I'm sure his sister helped to remove some during thier play time too. Thanks for all the tips and helpful suggestions! :)
 

Caloci

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3 months in quaranteen? That is awful. I hope you are close by. Is it terribly expensive to have him there? My ex and I were considering moving to Aus, but it would have killed me to leave my Mr Vito.
 

BetsyPip

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3 months in quaranteen? That is awful. I hope you are close by. Is it terribly expensive to have him there? My ex and I were considering moving to Aus, but it would have killed me to leave my Mr Vito.

The quarantine process wasn't actually too bad. It is a six-month process but most of it is just vet check-ups and jabs required. Only ten days is actually spent in a quarantine facility at the end. I was a nervous wreck when we started the process so I used an animal export company so everything was done perfectly. Yes, it wasn't a cheap process and we had two to fork out for which made it pricier, but they were real animal lovers and made me feel better about the whole thing - totally worth every penny spent.
I was terrible during their flights over from the UK, but was given regular updates and a tracking number to see where they were en-route. The thought of them both down there during take-off/landing still bothers me, but we were moving and I couldn't have left them behind. They arrived the other end, and true to the incredible sphynx's nature took it all on the chin and settled in within an hour after we picked them up! Someone else told me her cat took 2-months to get back to normal. They may be high-maintenance but got to love the personalities of our special breed! :)
 

BetsyPip

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Thanks everyone he is a total beut there's no doubt about it, but then again show me a sphynx who isn't simply gorgeous... we all have beautiful babies! :)
 
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