# My hairless cats



## 2719

I love the look of Sphynx cats. Before we got Norbert (my siamese) I really wanted a Sphynx but we couldn't find a breeder near me. I think it is the Real Housewives of New Jersey where one of the ladies owns a Sphynx..called Grandma...I loved watching it get a bath in the kitchen sink.

Now here is my question to you. Did you have the Poodle or the Cats first? Because I would love it if my Poodles would allow Norbert to cuddle with them like Leroy does.
How did you socialise the two? 

I think your pictures of Leroy and the Sphnyx all nestled together is terrific!


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## DonnaM

How interesting, I had no idea that sphynx cats sweat through their bodies and require bathing. I can't imagine bathing my full haired cat...:afraid:. That's also so amazing that your cats tolerate getting dressed up. They certainly are dog-like.


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## Fluffyspoos

I adore sphnyx cats <3 what are their temperaments like?


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## tokipoke

My cats were with me first. My girl Toki is 4 years old, and my boy Thermo is 3 years old (will be 4 at the end of this year). I chose the Sphynx breed for their hairlessness because I do not like shedding (also why I chose the poodle). My husband is allergic to dogs and cats! But he does not have horrible symptoms with any of our animals. If I haven't bathed the cats in a while, my husband's eyes may get red, but that's about it. He has zero symptoms with our dog. When we visit friends' houses with dogs he gets itchy, watery, red eyes, and his skin where he's touched the dog or the dog has licked gets itchy.

When it came down to choosing a dog, I looked at many dog breeds but some of the ones I liked were highly prey-driven! The poodle was my choice for their versatility and low dander. I think it helped that I got my poodle at 12 weeks. My cats took to him very well. I was worried because I had fostered huskies before (very high prey drive) and Thermo had terrible diarrhea (and bloody stools) for the whole time I had them and Toki was on alert all the time. It was stressful for them. Turns out my cats dislike any dog that has pointy ears. They are okay with our friend's border collie-Aussie mix, but NOT okay with our friend's corgi mix. So they loved Leroy's floppy ears. And because he was a puppy, Toki taught him real quick to show respect to the cats! He knows not to mess with her, but he is always trying to play with Thermo. At first Leroy would roughhouse and chase Thermo nonstop and I was afraid he'd hurt the cat, but realize Thermo would never run away, he'd keep coming back and egg Leroy on. So they play with each other in a demented way. Leroy likes to lick Thermo while Thermo cries and tries to bite the poodle ears. He usually just gets a mouthful of hair. Every now and then, Thermo will get needy and wanting to be petted and will come up to Leroy and rub his head all over Leroy's head. It's really cute. To have dogs coexist with cats it really depends on the respective personalities. My cats are very social and extremely needy. They greet us at the door when we come home, Toki cries in my face and doesn't leave me alone when it's feeding time. Thermo is a cuddle bug and sleeps with us in the bed. Toki is super smart and knows how to sit and wave on command. Both our cats love car rides and before we had our dog, we would take them on trips with us. Toki is a really unique cat in that she loves going to new places. She is a certified therapy cat and has visited some nursing homes. Some of the staff at the nursing homes are scared of her, others really love her (old people looooove cats). A woman specifically asked me to take her to visit her husband who was a recovering cancer patient. She told him "This cat looks just like you! Bald!," another blind woman petted Toki and just kept calling her "baby" over and over again. Toki loves the attention! Leroy is bell trained to ring the bell when he has to go potty, and Toki caught onto this real quick in the beginning and she rings the bell nonstop to go outside. Both my cats are strictly indoor cats, so it's a real treat to sit out on the patio. One time I forgot Toki outside for 20 minutes and she was so pink! She got slightly sunburned, I felt so bad!

Although Leroy's siblings are cats and he's calm around them, he goes NUTS when he sees outside cats. He wants to play with them so bad but the cats don't know that.


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## tokipoke

*Treats!*

Forgot to mention - when socializing the cats and dog, lots of treats help! Especially if you feed the cats and the dog the same treats. I treat my animals a lot, the cats always get treats first just for being cute. While I'm giving them treats and they are eating it, I tell Leroy to sit and stay until the cats are finished. THEN he gets a treat. He's rewarded for being calm and not hovering around the cats.


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## 2719

Toki and Thermo sound like really wonderful pets...so much personality! I can just imagine what a stir they cause at the nursing homes.

I never had a problem with my cats and dogs living together before Misstarry came into the picture. She is just so fixated on Norbert...and when she started to get excited the others (who generally show no interest) want in on the action. Thermo was smart to stand up to Leroy...if Norbert would just stand up to Misstarry instead of running away we could all live in peaceful harmony.


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## Leooonie

I adore Sphynx cats! I met a couple at a cat show a few years back..and they are SO handleable!!! I also love siamese!

Id like to get a cat in a few years, however my mum is highly allergic to animal hair, (not the poodles though!) so didnt know if a sphynx would be okay? do they do much scratching of furniture?


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## Laceypoo

These pictures are so cool, especially those of the your poodle and cat together! All three are adorable!


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## spoowhisperer

You obviously know your animals very well, I loved hearing all about your cats, seriously! More photos please!!!!


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## tokipoke

Thank you for all the comments! Allergy to hairless cats depends on the person. My friend's husband is highly allergic and couldn't even be in a house that has cats or previously had cats, but he has no symptoms with them. However, another friend is also highly allergic but will get symptoms that just need allergy medicine. Some cats are more oily than others, and this will effect how a person reacts. It also depends on how regularly the cat is bathed. Thermo can go 2 weeks without a bath, but Toki needs it more frequently. Many times I would have just bathed her and within 3 hours she seems dirty and grimy again! Here are some more pics of them:

(the second to last photo reminds me of a scene from the Neverending Story [last photo], where one of the characters has to pass through a "Sphinx" gate without getting obliterated by their gaze! Only the ones with confidence and true worth could pass without getting killed by lasers shooting out of the statues' eyes - the photo is Leroy re-enacting this scene)


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## tokipoke

Some more pics! Some pictures when Thermo was a kitten too!


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## tokipoke

*woops here are the pics:*

Enjoy!


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## tokipoke

I've been so busy with work and going out of town that I forgot to bathe my cats! Leroy gets most of the grooming attention now and sometimes I get too focused on hair. I typically bathe the kitties every week, at the most every 2 weeks, but THREE is pushing it. What's funny is that Toki knows it too. I heard her chewing something and I thought she was chewing on plastic, but she was chewing on her NAILS! The nail on her "thumb" was sooooo long and pointy. She was frantically chewing and pulling at it. They are so used to having their nails clipped weekly that even they can't stand any nail growth! I immediately gave both cats a bath, and afterwards Toki was rubbing and loving on me, as if to say "Thank you so much for bathing me! and clipping these darn nails!"


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## Lilah+Jasper

LOL - those have to be some of the cutest cats (& pics) ever!!! Thanks for sharing


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