Sassy Sisters Sphynx New Kitten Instructions
(excuse the male pronoun if your new kit is a girl!)

We feed the kittens Royal Canin kibble and canned food. I’ve read that cats don’t drink enough water for an only-kibble diet to be healthy although I find that ours drink a lot of water. Even so, please also add wet food to their diet. One thing to note for the canned food: we also mix in additional water with the paté for the kittens. I am not crazy about the ingredients in Royal Canin, feel free slowly quit using the Royal Canin and transition to whatever high-quality brand you prefer! Our adult girls eat Purina Sensitive Skin and Stomach mixed with kitten food to increase calories plus canned. Chicken and turkey is easy on the system. Whatever adult cat food you decide on, mix it in slowly. Never abruptly change food for a Sphynx if possible. It will likely save you diarrhea and vomiting issues. There are multiple raw diets on the market that can be purchased at pet stores. Canned pumpkin is great to keep on hand for loose stools. I put spoonfuls on a cookie sheet and freeze it and keep it in a ziplock bag in the freezer to use a spoonful at a time for meals when needed. It is also useful to keep a box of Feline FortiFlora in the house in case he is feeling poorly and loses his appetite - it's also helpful when transitioning food. It is kitty crack. I think they might eat sawdust with FortiFlora sprinkled on it. I buy it on Amazon. It's $20+ for a box of 30 packets. I don't use a whole packet at a time, just sprinkle a little on the top of their meal and fold the rest of the packet closed to use for next meal. I also routinely use Bene-bac probiotics (purchased from Amazon). I use the granules and just sprinkle it on every meal (I keep some in a little spice jar with a flip lid for sprinkling.) We use Dr. Elsey’s clumping litter, they have various kinds, with Swheat Scoop. I mix them due to the lightweight addition of the Swheat scoop and how fresh it keeps the box without additional perfumes. You have a bag of litter with you in your go home kit and use it to prime the box if you are planning on switching litter. You’ll find the one that’s right for you. I highly recommend the ModKat top entry litter box –( https://modkat.com) or you can save $$$ and get a plastic bin from Walmart and cut a salad plate size circle on the top. The kittens love climbing up and using moms and it keeps the litter IN the box. If you have multiple cats the recommendation is 1 litter box per cat plus 1. We have them all over the house. I scoop at least twice a day, usually more often, it’s typically quite noticeable when needed, Sphynx are known for their fragrant litter boxes. (Another reason for a raw diet, it tends to reduce the smelly elimination odors.) He'll need warmth. Some will wear clothes. One of mine used to shut down if you tried to dress him (which is sometimes a good thing if you need to calm a cat). You may want a covered cat bed of some kind and we use a heating pad inside left on low all the time. It's a little hard to find a heating pad without auto - shutoff, but I've purchased them on Amazon – read the descriptions carefully. An alternative to a covered cat bed is just leave blankets around for him to be able to worm under. He will find a warm place when he needs to. If you are panicked when you can find him look for a lump in the middle or end of your bed! Also, look in your closet if you are missing him. They just love the dark, quiet, and smell of your clothes. You'll need cat nail clippers, I like the guillotine type. I use Hylyt pet shampoo and Epi-otic for his ears - both purchased online. Human baby wash can also be used as a shampoo. I used to use ear cleansing pads for the outer part of their ears and to scrub their nail beds. Someone on Sphynxlair.com suggested rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab for their nails and it works so much better, especially right after their bath. For bathing I fill the kitchen sink up about 1/3 full. Keep the water on the warm side, remember cat body temp is 102F. Gently put the cat in the sink and use a washcloth to run water over him, running water from the tap typically scares them. Pre-warm the Epi-otic bottle in some warm water. Carefully squirt some Epi-otic in each ear and try to catch the ear flap before he shakes it out. Rub the base of the ear with the ear flap. Watch out, when you let go, he will shake his head! Then soap up your hands (or use an exfoliating glove, works great…gently) with the shampoo and rub him all over. Don’t forget the inner ear flaps, but you don’t want the bubbles in the inner ear. After he is all soapy go over him again with the wet washcloth. Wring it out and wash off his face. As the sink is draining run warm water and rinse his body well. Again, they typically don’t like the running water, so I fill a large container beforehand to use as rinse water. Rinse out the washcloth and rinse his face again with fresh water. Swaddle him up in a towel. Use Q-tips and carefully clean out his ear crevices. Do not go deeply in the ear canal. If you want, after the Q-tips use an ear cleansing pad on the inner ear to get the last of the goop. Still swaddled, pull out one leg/arm at a time and clean each nail (like I said, I use rubbing alcohol on a cosmetic pad). I typically clean all 4/5 nails on one paw then clip them then go on to the next paw. Keep a tube of styptic powder with your bathing supplies in case you get too close to the quick. He’ll probably be mad at you for about a half hour after bath ☺ then he’ll love you again!! You’ll find his bedding and sweater needs washed at least weekly too so you might want doubles. If you find you happen to get an extra dirty baby let me know and I’ll fill you in on the extra steps and supplies I have found to work. Don’t bathe them more often than once a month. Some can go for several months between baths, they’re all different. Remember weekly ears and nails though. Non-perfume baby wipes work great for “sponge baths.” Your baby will come home with threeaZ sets of vaccines and two sets of wormings. I have the vet vaccinate in their right front leg. (There are rare instances of sarcomas forming at vaccine sites. If they are vaccinated in their legs rather than their shoulder if a sarcoma forms they can amputate the leg and save the cat.) They need another core vaccine booster and rabies at 16 weeks and then routine vaccines will be needed again in a year. I do not vaccinate for FeLV or FIV (the babies are too young for rabies when they go to their new homes). There were issues with the earlier FeLV & FIV vaccines but they sound much safer now although still not recommended on a routine basis. Rabies is needed, even for indoor cats. There are instances of bats getting indoors and biting people or pets. That would be tragic. I highly recommend the Purevax Rabies vaccine. Olivia had a severe reaction to her routine Rabies vaccine, swollen leg and hives. Try not to use plastic bowls for food and water. Use ceramic or stainless. Plastic can cause blackheads and carbuncles on their chins. They are definitely climbers so if you see a good deal on a cat tree and have the room, go for it. Beware, they will climb YOU any chance they get (good reason to keep their nails trimmed!) If purchased as a pet they must be neutered by 8 months. I will send their TICA registration papers to you when you send me a copy of their spay/neuter certificate. When you take them to be spayed or neutered and/or for any surgery procedure please let the vet know that Sphynx often have an adverse reaction to the anesthetic ketamine so it should NOT be used. Also ask if they use a warming bed during surgery & recovery, it's important to keep them warm during surgery. If your vet is not used to Sphynx they will likely try to tell you that your baby has ear mites when they look in there. It is just the normal Sphynx ear goop. A friend who is a breeder told her vet, go ahead and look under the microscope if you want, but don’t charge me for it, it is not mites. He did and it wasn’t. Since Sphynx have no eyelashes they tend to generate quite a bit of eye goo. This is normal, a daily eye wipe can be necessary. The normal goo is typically a funny brown-red color. I always keep a tube of Terramycin ophthalmic ointment on hand. It can be purchased without a prescription at farm supply places and online. If the eyes start to squint or get swollen and/or the eye goop turns yellowish/white it can save you a trip to the vet. Teeth cleaning is important for Sphynx. Brush their teeth!! I got Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Dog & Cat Poultry Flavor Toothpaste and they all love it. Try to keep at it. The quote for cleaning can be $500+ to $1000+ more with extractions, (they have to put them out, so it adds up.) Worth some preventative brushing if you don’t have to get their teeth cleaned at the vet. Call around if you need cleaning, the prices vary. Wag.com and Chewy.com have very good prices and free shipping over $49. Petco stores will match online pricing if you show them the cheaper price on your smartphone or printed out. Then there’s Amazon.