Hi, i know there are a few cat owners and breeders on here. Looking for more information. Im in the very early stages of looking into sphynx cats. I would like to know what they are like as pets, do they generally like dogs and do they have any health problems. And How much would i be looking at? Like i say i am in very early stages so would appreciate any information you have. Thanks.

Any kitten can get used to dogs, it's more a case of whether adult dogs will get used to a kitten. :) I don't know an awful lot about them, would assume they are Oriental in temperament so quite outgoing and demanding, I do know they need regular baths as the body gets dirty without the fur. Have no idea about normal prices but in most breeds pet price is around £300 to £400 generally with show or breed a lot higher (with a few exceptions, some breed charge one price for all). There are 3 GCCF affiliated breed clubs:
http://www.sphynxbreedersassociation.co.uk/
http://www.sphynxcatassociation.co.uk/
http://www.sphynxcatclub.co.uk/

Yes you do have to wash them as their skin gets greasy and they are prone to acne (And IMO opinion, there's a lot nicer looking breeds out there!!!!).

Yeh, they are an acquired taste i guess. I like the oriental breeds though. I would like to look at the cream type siamese aswel. I have had ordinary moggies all my life house and feral in the stables but have always thought i liked the look of the oriental types.

Why don't you go and have a look at a cat show and then you can chat to owners/breeders and get an idea of what you like & whether they will suit your lifestyle?   I like the Brits as they are easy going, laid back cats.  My Selkirk Rex are similar but a bit more playful and I must admit the longhaired curly Selkirks are just wonderful in my eyes but do take some prep for showing.

I have two spynx, mother and son, whose skin doesn't get greasy, I just wipe mine with a hypoallergenic baby wipe every so often - that said they are quite fond of joining me in the shower, but that's their own choice!

I have only had them since easter and they are slowly getting used to the dogs, to the point where they now go nose to nose through the baby gate - I am sure it is only a matter of time before they are telling the dogs what to do!

They are outgoing, mischevious, very loud and demanding.  They like to be with people as much of the time as possible.  They enjoy playing games, particularly retrieving cat nip mice.  Mine will also steal anything that looks remotely interesting, oh and you have to get used to sharing your bed with them and their toys, on the plus side, you'll never need a hotwater bottle again!

I saw one recently in the waiting room at the vets. It seemed quite dog like to me because it was on a harness and lead rather than in a basket like the other cats. It also was happy to snuggle up on its owner's shoulder too. Strange looking creature but she was rather sweet.

> Strange looking creature but she was rather sweet.

The cat - not the owner! :-o

I have just bought a moggy kitten and we called him Dexter. My dogs have always been the ones to chase cats out of the garden so i was more than overprotective and cautious introducing them. Well we got him friday AM and im so proud to say that my Ruby thinks hes her baby and cleans and toilets him! She tried to carry him off for a clean earlier so im a very happy mummy. Ive never been a fan of cats as other peoples have just been 'ill interact with you when i want feeding' but hes more entertaining than the tv and with the terrible weather we dont have to let him out as he goes in his tray. I dont know why i havent got one sooner, hes a lazy persons dog, so my ideal pet!!! Its difficult getting used to the miniscule amounts of food he needs, i think my dogs lose more in their slobber than he actually eats. Ive been thinking about a bengal cat, but i couldnt resist the moggy in the petshop.

Ive been quoted 1000-1650 for a showgirl on the active register.

Sorry to hyejack the thread but never owning cats im unsure on a few things. My dexter will be neutered at 6 months is this ok? he will be a house cat and i dont want him roaming creating more unwanted moggies or spraying or getting run over. Looking at a few breeders websites what is the correct age for a queens first litter, ive tried searching but found very conflicting results. How many times a year do they ovulate/call and what kind of gap should be left inbetween litters. Are they ready to mate when they call, is it like standing in dogs?

Thankyou

but i couldnt resist the moggy in the petshop.


Shame on you Louise, there is NO difference between buying a puppy in a petshop or a kitten -it should never be done. :( I'd strongly advice you to have the kitten blood tested for Leukaemia and FIV as you will have no idea if he has been infected or not, not having come via  rescue or a proper breeder. Good on you for keeping him indoors, but test him anyway so that you know what you are dealing with.

My dexter will be neutered at 6 months is this ok? he will be a house cat and i dont want him roaming creating more unwanted moggies or spraying or getting run over. Looking at a few breeders websites what is the correct age for a queens first litter, ive tried searching but found very conflicting results. How many times a year do they ovulate/call and what kind of gap should be left inbetween litters. Are they ready to mate when they call, is it like standing in dogs?


6 months is fine. There is no overall right age for a queen's first litter as it varies between breeds (Siamese, Orientals etc maturing MUCH sooner than Persians & Exotics for instance) hence some are fine at already a year of age, but personally with mine I won't breed much under the age of 2, usually 2 and over. There is also no set number of calls per queen per year. Indoor cats can call all year round (outdoors cats only spring and summer) and that may start off as every 3-6 weeks or so, but if not mated or spayed she will usually eventually go into one long continuous call that lasts for many weeks or never really ends -i.e. you cannot keep queens entire without breeding or spaying. They are ready to mate as soon as they call but can only get pregnant from the second mating onwards as the first brings them into ovulation. You mate queens many times over 3 to 4 days.

I know, i know i am bad for it

i did walk away the first time and i said to myself im supporting a bad trade, but i nearly cried, so phoned up first thing in the morning to see if they still had him, he was 9 weeks and crying his little head off. I have him now and we will get him tested with his vaccs and chip thanks for that. they said hed been flead and wormed but i knew he wouldnt have been, so ive wormed him myself. Hes got fleas too

His poos are still abit sloppy with abit of fresh blood in and he does most of them out of the box but he wees in the box. We moved the box to where he liked to do it but he now does it next to the box??!! Hes eating and drinking very well and seems in good shape. Im sticking to what they fed him at the shop for now which was whiskas and JWB bikkys i dont want to feed him whiskas, as i see it as feeding my dogs pedigree chum which is carp. Dont mind JWB but im open to suggestions would prefer bikkys for oral health reasons.

I saw on a site a queen which was mated when her kittens were 8 weeks old, can this be good for her or even possible?

Pooing outside the box may be because is stomach is upset so it is unpleasant to use the litter tray, cats often make that kind of association. (Or he may dislike the type of litter. Many cats will have a preference for one.) Is it kitten food he is on? I rear all mine on Whiskas kitten pouches these days, it's fine. Oral heath -you'd be surprised. I've had two cats die because dry food caused their mouths such terrible trouble, but that's another story. It's one particular brand that seems to cause this in many cats -not the one you are using. Very BEST wet cat food is Natures Menu! I'd feed all mine on it if I didn't have so many, as it is it's only special cases that get it now. For one kitten you might want to use NM as it really is so good and won't break the bank for the one. Comes as a kitten version as well and is over 65 % meat.

Queens that have had small litters (plus a few others do too) can come into call whilst their kittens are still suckling. I have a single kitten at the moment aged 11 weeks, still suckling of course, yet his mum called a couple of weeks ago. As she just had the one kitten and has lost no condition at all I will mate her again WHEN the kitten is fully weaned, but not before. The trouble with queens is they can lose almost as much condition from frequent calls as they can from rearing litters. But apart from the rare case of a single kitten I prefer one litter a year.

ive read that cats can be fed barf? is there any reason you dont as you fed barf to your dogs?
is it not advised really?

Yes its kitten food. Do NM have a kitten variety? Fair enough if he doesnt want to poo in the box cause he is poorly, as soon as he is fit i dont mind i was nearly sick the first time though, dog poo i dont mind but it just caught a whiff of it and had to cover my mouth. Its beauticat i think, the one with kids scribble on it.

Will he not need something for his teeth? he had a good go at a lamb bone the other day from the dogs barf diet he really liked it.

Do you let your kittens go at 13 weeks? i thought 9 was too early for him to be away from mum. So are not weaned at 6 weeks like dogs then?

as i have never had cats i thought id stick to whats recommended for now. But i have thought about it. I suppose i dont want to get it wrong as they are soo little. and can they handle bones like the dogs?

PS. my tripe from landywoods this week was totally defrosted and i think its gone bad.i did freeze it though and I gave it the dogs but they had the runs and the smell i know it stinks but this was badddd! Im the last delivery on the route, what can i do? if i gave that to a kitten it could kill him. Im not very happy plus my lamb mince was lamb and veg which isnt right as lamb is much more expensive on its own. GRRRR. The van isnt refrigerated so it just thaws. So i have 30 odd blocks of bad tripe to dispose of? how am i guna do that, my refuse came on monday and they dont come again for another 2 weeks, and i dont want maggots.

> PS. my tripe from landywoods this week was totally defrosted and i think its gone bad

i heard so many horror stories when i was looking into landywoods i now use durham animal feeds, the qaulity is great

I dont know why i havent gone with them already i think its about time now, dont you?

> I dont know why i havent gone with them already i think its about time now, dont you?

worth a try? why be loyal to a company that delivers inferior meat?

ive read that cats can be fed barf? is there any reason you dont as you fed barf to your dogs?

They can but it is more complicated than with dogs. You cannot feed only meat that has been frozen, at least once a week you MUST feed fresh meat and that would be very difficult for me for all sorts of reasons. (Plus when we tried the majority would not touch it!) Hence I compromise. :) I feed frozen mince once a day and canned food once a day,so they get the extra bits they need (vitamins etc) via the canned food. They're doing great on it and look better than ever before I have to say. Only trouble I've had when feeding it to kittens (my current litter of one actually won't touch it) was one kitten buyer who cancelled when she found out I'd fed the kittens partially raw -she was pregnant and was worried about the risk of toxoplasmosis and when I enquired with the frozen mince manufacturers they said they could NOT guarantee their meat was toxoplasmosis free.

BTW with my dogs I also do 50/50 as I'm a squeamish vegetarian .My husband feeds them raw once a day, I feed them complete once a day. (With the exception of the one dog who is only raw.)

ha ha im a vegie also but feeding the meat doesnt bother me so much as i know they enjoy it so much

DAF trays come in 20 lbs i remember something about having to order 6 trays is that still correct?

Will he not need something for his teeth? he had a good go at a lamb bone the other day from the dogs barf diet he really liked it.

Do you let your kittens go at 13 weeks? i thought 9 was too early for him to be away from mum. So are not weaned at 6 weeks like dogs then?

I'll admit SOME of my cats (perhaps 10 % of them at a quick guess -the ones with the flattest faces i.e. the show cats) got more tartar when we stopped dried complete, so my vet adviced feeding it a couple of times a week only as kind of a side dish.

Yes GCCF rules state kittens must not go before 13 weeks of age -first vacc at 9 weeks, second at 12 weeks, one week left before selling. Most kittens start on solids at around 6 weeks of age but I've had a few that didn't until 10 weeks. All kittens will suckle for at the very least 10-12 weeks, most will suckle for as long as the mum lets them. Mine suckle up to the moment they leave, and I kept a kitten in my last litter that now is 5 months old and she still has a suckle now and then.

Yes Natures Menu do come in a kitten version:http://naturesmenu.co.uk/products/Kitten_Pouches/Cat_Food_Pouches/Pouches_for_Cats/

not that i know of, yes the boxes are in 20llb bags, the minimum order is 40 but if you dont make that its a 2 charge. which on my first order i paid.

I am a non squeamish veggie, but the dogs are on 50/50 barf as they get too fat on barf alone.

The cats are barf opportunists - they appear when the dogs are getting raw food and yowl at me in hope - i did resist for a while but now they enjoying chicken wings, mince and smaller lamb bones as extras, in the main though mine have dry down all the time (burgess supacat duck and chicken at present) and have either whiskas or felix as good as it gets pouches as well. Interestingly they won't touch tripe at all.

All above prices are 6 boxes+ Cash & Carry and V.A.T. free unless* for delivered, trade/wholesale prices please contact Lee Hornsby
is that just for the pricing then?

I think im converted now, especially after the last delivery. My sister shouted from upstairs '' i think the dogs have pood, i can smell something bad'' ive found a local butcher that supplie me with the chicken carcuss and lamb bones free of charge so im chuffed to bits with that.

sent you a pm

I have to say, that I feed the complete that Marianne won't and I have had absolutely no problems at all and the majority of people with the 2 breeds I own, that I know through showing, feed the same product too.  So it's very much horses for courses.

> Ive been quoted 1000-1650 for a showgirl on the active register.
>

What breed?

bengals. is this about right?

I'm not sure but I would've thought with the breeds popularity now, the price would be cheaper than that.  You can buy a good BSH or Selkirk female for £500-£700 on the active.   

i had a look at your website for the selkirk rex's and some on your gallery dont look real, i could swear it was a teddy!

Im not too sure on the breed i want yet, but the price was steep i know but its from a top show cattery/kennel. OH has a say in this though rolleyes and he doesnt like the siamese or ragdolls grrr. I like the wild look on the bengals i think thats what attracts me, and their markings. I dont think he likes the long hair either and with slobbery dogs i dont think its such a good idea. theyd look like they had been chewed.

Maybe visiting a cat show would give you an idea of what appeals to you & you could speak to Bengal breeders/exhibitors that are there.  The link I put up on an earlier post will let you know of what shows are on & when.

I have to say, that I feed the complete that Marianne won't and I have had absolutely no problems at all and the majority of people with the 2 breeds I own, that I know through showing, feed the same product too.  So it's very much horses for courses.

Took about 5 years though before the cats died. I've heard far too many people had it happen for me to ever want to try it again. 6 and 9 is no lifespan. :(

Well as I say, it's what suits one may not suit another.  Sue, who I got Zelli from, has had tipped for many years and feeds all her's on 'this complete' and her current oldie is 17+!

Royal Canin it isnt then lol.

his poos are firming up this morning. I quite like the look of birmans very pretty.

Just like dogs I would recommend showing first before thinking about breeding. This can be a bit more difficult with female cats.    Cats can also be a lot harder to sell especially if you have no known reputation within the breed.

What food are we talking about. I lost my old moggie 2 years ago but he was nearly 15 fed a mixture of RC and raw no problem at all to be honest.      I generally think a lot of deaths are caused by other things or a combination of other things.

I'd much rather buy a nice male kitten & show & then buy in another than breed cats, I'd have the choice of far more as a buyer than a breeder ! Actually i would much prefer just to be owned by my cats period, they are sooooo much fun.

As for feeding mine love the pouches & Reg loves a bit of raw wild rabbit the same as the dogs have, his sister prefers to catch her own !

That is what I did bought in a big beautiful show neuter firstly as a pet , I can do the odd show should I choose.

> That is what I did bought in a big beautiful show neuter firstly as a pet , I can do the odd show should I choose.

Thats one of the plus points of cat showing is that you can make your cat up to a Premier (Neuter equivalent of a Champion) without any bias from the judge about being neutered, then go on to Grand Premier & Imperial Grand Premier!

> What food are we talking about. I lost my old moggie 2 years ago but he was nearly 15 fed a mixture of RC and raw no problem at all to be honest.      I generally think a lot of deaths are caused by other things or a combination of other things.

You've named it!