A Thousand and One Problems Named Sphinx: My Honest Experience with a Hairless Cat

I'm dead serious – as long as sphinx cats exist, vets will never have a dull moment! If I had to pick the most high-maintenance cat breed, it's gotta be sphynxes. If you're considering bringing one home, you'd better be prepared for the long haul. And trust me, you'll want to read on to find out why.

This is Chepusik, and he's a two-year-old mischievous little scamp. I rescued him from a pretty rough start in life – I took him in when he was just eight weeks old, and let me tell you, he was a mess. His ears were clogged with gunk, his eyes were all teary, and his poor nose was black as coal. But he wasn't sick, just... being a sphinx.

The day we first met. It took two weeks and a whole lot of shampoo to get him looking like the beautiful, healthy cat he was meant to be. Sphynx skin is super delicate, so you need to wash them with a soft baby washcloth – and even then, it's a slow process. I had to break it down into stages, just to get the dirt out.

Washing a sphynx cat is a regular thing, or you'll be dealing with more than just dirty furniture and bedding. You'll also be dealing with skin problems. Trust me, you don't want that.

I clean the battery every morning and every evening. I've tried out plenty of shampoos for hairless breeds, and after some trial and error, I found one that works for us. Now, we bathe our cat every other day, and in the winter, it's even less often. Twenty happy minutes a day when my cat is clean. We've also managed to get rid of our cat's ear problems, but we still need to clean them at least once a week. For my cat, I use regular veterinary hygiene sprays, and they do a decent job. Tears from her eyes are still a problem to this day, and unfortunately, without surgery, there's nothing that can be done – it's just the way her eyes are built. I wipe her eyes with a damp cotton pad and some eye lotion or a saline solution every morning and evening.

Helping my mom replant flowers. You can really see the discharge from her eyes here. Another common problem in hairless breeds is the black spots on the chin, tail, and back. Luckily, my little guy doesn't have many, and they only show up if I don't bathe him regularly enough.

It seems like I've covered all the dermatological issues that come with owning a sphinx, but my little guy has one more. When summer arrived, he started getting acne. One day, I took off his shirt, and I was horrified – my cat looked like a teenager going through puberty. The cherry on top was that he started scratching himself a lot. Since it's so hot, Chepusik gets sweaty and becomes greasy and oily just a couple of hours after his baths. But he loves basking in the sun and taking long naps during the summer – it's one of his favorite activities.

Acne that appears in hot weather.Honestly, after consulting with my doctor, I bought Apokvel, and I think many cat owners with allergy-prone breeds will understand what I'm talking about. Then, the packaging was like a plane wing - it's a cool effect, but I wasn't ready to commit to it for life. So, I turned to Prednisolone. It's a good product, but it's super harsh, and I'm really worried about my cat's health. I had to get creative and come up with something else. That's how we ended up using baby powder. It was a random idea, but it actually worked! Every time I bathe my cat, I dry him off with a towel, apply a small amount of powder to my hands, and then apply it to his skin. And I do this until the apartment cools down. Also, it's a good idea to keep your cat out of direct sunlight, especially since they're more prone to skin cancer due to their lack of fur. But, of course, you can't exactly explain this to your cat, so you're left with no choice but to dress them up like a clown and send them out to soak up the sun on the balcony. I just want to clarify that I'm not discouraging anyone from getting a Sphynx - I adore my cat, and they're the most loving, affectionate, and adorable creature on the planet. Whatever problems they might have, they know they're loved and will figure it out. If you're ready to be constantly surprised, delighted, frustrated, and exhausted chasing your cat around the apartment, then a Sphynx is the perfect choice for you! As for my little guy, he's been getting into trouble since he was a kitten - he once chewed through an electrical cord from the Christmas lights, and now we have a nice scar on his lip. And that's exactly it - I'm just grateful he's alive. Scars are just a part of being a man, right?