My Sphynx is.....self harming. or extremely clumsy?

[Sirens Sphynx]

My female sphynx, Lain,( fixed, 2 in june) has been getting hurt. She has ripped out two claws, right to the flesh in the last year. She also found out that the stove is hot. (we now either put her in the bedroom, or carrying her while its hot, bc she has no survival instincts). At Thanksgiving( october 10) she decided taking a nose dive off my 6ft2 brother in law was a good idea. She flew face first into a metal grated cabinet. We, of course, checked for injuries, but we never thought to check her teeth. We didnt notice she broken the tip off of one of her canine teeth until a few days later when i went to clean them. Now she is probably going to have to have it removed. It isnt bothering her, since she has been eating, drinking and playing like normal.

Some daily hygeine/home life info:

I wipe her down daily, clean her claws and check her nails. I clean her teeth every week. Its a new thing for her, so i have started slow. I want it to be a regular part, but dont want to push her. She has to have an actual bath every week because she is struggling with a skin yeast issue. We have been combating that for a few months. We will get it under control, then it will flare up( thats a whole other story). She has so so so many interactive, and basic toys, 2 litter boxes ( cleaned daily). She is fed very well and with approved food and amounts. If you read my other posts, she did have behaviour issues with me for awhile, but we have been besties for a few months now. She does have cranky days, but dont we all.

She has 6 different hiding places/beds. Two cat trees, and an older " brother", my male devon rex( Tas).They play together as much as the old man can handle.

After her first claw incident, we removed the offending material she got caught in. We figured it was just her not understanding how her claws worked yet. But the second one, she ripped it on on the scratching tree. So we removed that too. I already explained the stove protocol.


Does anyone have any kind of similar issue, or is my cat just extra special? How can we promote better, safer behaviour without being helicopter parents?

edit: i am a new " cat mom", but my partner had had many cats and is a really careful and responsible pet parent. Im the one who is home all day with them, so i need the pointers

 

[Catzzzmeow]

We always say these guys keep us on our toes, but your baby certainly is the poster child for the saying. Hoping members will give suggestions.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Sirens Sphynx ,awh Lain. sweet baby. I swear they are cat,dog, monkey baby all in one for life. you are not alone. I have to put mine up in my bedroom if I use the stove or oven (heat seekers try to jump in /on the hot oven door! yikes). I also have to double check washer dryers as they are notorious to hiding inside . even if I turn my attention for a second, I litterally reach in and feel double check no kitties inside. (we have seen sad stories about washer/dryer deaths).

I also have to open doors slowly. trained them as best I can for a cat to a meet n greet chair away from doors, a command and treat on the chair. they are super smart.

yes, near fall accident here many years ago. had a sweater on and was on a high place and got a nail caught on sweater and fell. lucky i was there to cat my nakid. soo no clothes on here except for photo ops.

I also took off any hanging balls from cat trees after reading a post of a sphynx's tail getting caught hanging in and needed tail amputation

scatching posts: I cant use the rope sisal scratchers as nails got caught on no matter if I do 2x a week nail trims/checks.
soo opted for double wide cardboard flat scratchers and trained them to it. I would scratch on it and praise treat on it when they stood on it and scratched at it. no more nails caught with the double wide cardboard scratchers . my mom uses for her cat too.

so happy you and her are besties!

hugs n head smooches to Lain and Tas! look forward to pics and tales!!

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

We did get the cardboard scratchers. we have an angled one and a concave circle. However, like kitties do, she loves my nice bar chairs. She has really come around to clothes, and she pouts if she isnt in something. we make sure all the clothes our cats wear, can be slipped off by them. It may be annoying for us to fix, but its safer for them. If they feel too hot or uncomfortable, they can wiggle out. We do live in Northern canada, so naked cats in winter arent really an option. also im always scared she will burn herself on the wall heaters. so i tend to cover her. They arent hot to touch for me, but if she were to fall asleep, i dread to think.

The washer and dryer are behind closed doors at all times due to the other equipment in the room, but i always make sure they didnt get in. The sphynx loves to sleep in the laundry hampers, so i have had to make sure each item is " cat free".

The reason i feel like a helicopter parent is because i grew up with many large dogs, and no cats. So im extra cautious, especially since im technically step-mom and i hate making the phone call to tell my partner one of them is sick or hurt.

As for her tooth, its not an emergency extraction, but will have to be dealt with. Its also a $2000 bill if they have to remove the whole root, so we are monitoring her and saving up. We spent our emergency kitty fund on our devon rex a couple months ago. He is his own story thread. He almost wasnt immortal for a while. Old man problems and such.

Thank you for the advice on changes. We did remove a lot of potential "stuck" points. We even remove our wall back scratcher thing bc it was causing cuts on her back. Im just, in a weird way, happy its not just my cat. I was worried i wasnt doing a good job or i was doing something wrong.

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

My female sphynx, Lain,( fixed, 2 in june) has been getting hurt. She has ripped out two claws, right to the flesh in the last year. She also found out that the stove is hot. (we now either put her in the bedroom, or carrying her while its hot, bc she has no survival instincts). At Thanksgiving( october 10) she decided taking a nose dive off my 6ft2 brother in law was a good idea. She flew face first into a metal grated cabinet. We, of course, checked for injuries, but we never thought to check her teeth. We didnt notice she broken the tip off of one of her canine teeth until a few days later when i went to clean them. Now she is probably going to have to have it removed. It isnt bothering her, since she has been eating, drinking and playing like normal.

Some daily hygeine/home life info:

I wipe her down daily, clean her claws and check her nails. I clean her teeth every week. Its a new thing for her, so i have started slow. I want it to be a regular part, but dont want to push her. She has to have an actual bath every week because she is struggling with a skin yeast issue. We have been combating that for a few months. We will get it under control, then it will flare up( thats a whole other story). She has so so so many interactive, and basic toys, 2 litter boxes ( cleaned daily). She is fed very well and with approved food and amounts. If you read my other posts, she did have behaviour issues with me for awhile, but we have been besties for a few months now. She does have cranky days, but dont we all.

She has 6 different hiding places/beds. Two cat trees, and an older " brother", my male devon rex( Tas).They play together as much as the old man can handle.

After her first claw incident, we removed the offending material she got caught in. We figured it was just her not understanding how her claws worked yet. But the second one, she ripped it on on the scratching tree. So we removed that too. I already explained the stove protocol.


Does anyone have any kind of similar issue, or is my cat just extra special? How can we promote better, safer behaviour without being helicopter parents?

edit: i am a new " cat mom", but my partner had had many cats and is a really careful and responsible pet parent. Im the one who is home all day with them, so i need the pointer

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

I also forgot to mention. If you have read the other posts, sorry for repeating some things. Lain has always been very independent, not a velcro cat. But in the last month or so she has starting really following us around and demanding cuddles. Not asking for, taking cuddles. Her brother and her have a turf war over our laps and the space between us on the bed. Lain has two purrs. one sounds like a normal cat purr, that is her " im not comfortable/im self soothing" purr. the second one sounds like an aquarium bubbler, its very loud. that is her happy purr. She will come into the room at random times during the night, wake me up with her wet cold nose and bubble purs, and then demand snuggles. this from a cat who, just a few months ago, would hiss and run away from me. Last night she refused to share the bed space with her brother, and slept there all night. First time ever. Tas pouted in his cat bed all night and is still salty about it, like 16 hours later.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Sirens Sphynx , awh love love the pics of Taz and Lain. I know you mentioned Taz being 12? how old is Lain? hugs n head smooches.

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

@Sirens Sphynx , awh love love the pics of Taz and Lain. I know you mentioned Taz being 12? how old is Lain? hugs n head smooches.

lain will be 2 in june. we just had her 1 year adoption at the end of September. tas will be 13 in march.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Sirens Sphynx , awh, belated 1 yr gotcha anniversary of sweet Lain. she struck gold in your hearts and home. Tas looks great! love our seniors. such sweet babies. btw you take great photos of them! melt my heart

 

[Sirens Sphynx]

@Sirens Sphynx , awh, belated 1 yr gotcha anniversary of sweet Lain. she struck gold in your hearts and home. Tas looks great! love our seniors. such sweet babies. btw you take great photos of them! melt my heart

thank you. lain will pose and hold still for pictures, but tas......he doesnt like to cooperate. Most of his pictures are treat inspired.

 

[Yoda mom]

@Sirens Sphynx , I will have to try that, I get awful pics and they always move lol