page_title: Sphynx cat
section_title: Care
hierarchical_section_title: Sphynx cat / Care
caption_attribution_description: sphynxcatwear is a company that exclusively creates a line of practical and stylish clothing that keeps the Sphynx breed warm.
context_page_description: The Sphynx cat is a breed of cat known for its lack of coat. Hairlessness in cats is a naturally occurring genetic mutation; however, the Sphynx cat, as a breed, was developed through selective breeding, starting in the 1960s. The skin should have the texture of chamois leather, as it has fine hairs, or the cat may be completely hairless. Whiskers may be present, either whole or broken, or may be totally absent. The cats have a narrow, long head, and webbed feet. Their skin is the color that their fur would be, and all the usual cat markings may be found on the Sphynx cat's skin. Because they have no fur they lose more body heat than coated cats; this makes them warm to the touch, and prone to finding warm places.
context_section_description: Though Sphynx cats lack a coat to shed or groom, they are not maintenance-free. Body oils, which would normally be absorbed by the hair, tend to build up on the skin. As a result, regular bathing is usually necessary weekly or bi-weekly. Care should be taken to limit the Sphynx cat's exposure to outdoor sunlight at length, as they can develop sunburn and skin damage similar to that of humans. In general, Sphynx cats should never be allowed outdoors unattended, as they have limited means to conserve body heat when it is cold. In some climates, owners provide coats or other clothing in the winter to help them conserve body heat.
  While they lack much of the fur of other cat breeds, Sphynxes are not necessarily hypoallergenic. Allergies to cats are triggered by a protein called Fel d1, not cat hair itself. Fel d1 is a protein primarily found in cat saliva and sebaceous glands. Those with cat allergies may react worse to direct contact with Sphynx cats than other breeds; even though reports exist that some people with allergies successfully tolerate Sphynx cats, they are fewer than those who have allergic reactions, according to David Rosenstreich, MD, the director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York City, New York. These positive reports may be cases of desensitizing, wherein the "hairless" cat gave the owner optimism to try to own a cat, eventually leading to the positive situation of their own adaptation.
  Sphynx cats can also have more ear wax than most hairy domestic cats because they have little to no hair in their ears. Dirt, skin oils (sebum), and ear wax accumulates in the ears, and needs to be cleaned out on a weekly basis, usually before bath time.
  The Sphynx breed also tends to accumulate oils and debris under their nails as well as the skin fold above the nail due to the lack of fur, so, like the ears, the nails and surrounding skin folds need to be cleaned properly as well. Due to these factors the breed may require more grooming than a typical domestic cat with fur. Specialty products for this cat have been developed, though they still require more grooming than most breeds.
caption: A Sphynx cat wearing commercially available clothes
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