Soccer Balls

Hello, my name is Harry Spotter and I am a Sphynx cat. I fancy myself a British Mancat who loves to wear his bowler.  I am sure you have seen some of my brothers and sisters in the movies such as Mr. Bigglesworth in the “Austin Powers” movies, Grandma Wrinkle in the “Real Housewives of New Jersey”, multiple TV commercials, and in “Cats & Dogs, The Revenge of Kitty Galore”, which will be released this Friday. We are often used in entertainment because we look like aliens due to our lack of fur! But that is what makes a Sphynx a Sphynx and what makes me the perfect British Mancat.

I have no true eyebrows or whiskers caused by a recessive gene. This mutation changed not only my hair length but also my body type, so that I do not look like a domestic cat without hair, I look like an entirely different species. Cat with normal coats have hair to regulate body temperature, but my lack of hair causes me to sweat. However, I never get mats, have a bad hair day, or cough up hair balls. This enables me to always look dapper!

I have a long, fine and muscular body with a barrel-chest, long slim legs and small manly paws. My tail is long, thin and hard. My neck is long and supports my head and Bowler. My neck is slightly longer than it is wide. My ears appear disproportionately large, wide at the base and round-tipped – perfect for wearing hats. My eyes are deep-set and slanted giving me that manly look. My skin has the texture of chamois and some Sphynx cats may be covered with a very short down fur. But I am truly naked, with no down fur on my sleek body. Inside my ears and on my feet, I have short, tightly packed soft hair. My skin is very wrinkled and I retain as many wrinkles as possible, especially on my head. This gives me my rugged good looks and also provides me with much needed insulation. The lack of a thick insulating coat keeps me very warm to the touch. On cold days, I need a cardigan to keep me warm. Although I do not have hair that needs to be combed, I do need to be bathed frequently.

I am a champion purr-er, very people-orientated and affectionate, so much so I greet my mum and dad everyday when they come home. I am very talkative and love to speak in British slang. I am highly intelligent, playful, and cuddly. I am often described as being “part dog, part child, part monkey, and part cat.” I like to snuggle next to mum and dad when they sleep – under the covers of course. I love playing with cat toys and soccer balls, and enjoy a game of fetch.   You can see this all adds up to make me the ideal flatmate as well as the perfect British Mancat.

However we Sphynx cats do have our health issues. I have a heart murmur or HCM. It was discovered when I was six months old during a routine check-up. My doctor was very concerned and said I needed blood work, chest x-rays, and a heart ultra sound. There are only two veterinary centers in Illinois so we had to drive and hour and a half to get to the nearest center. They found the murmur and said that it could shorten my lifespan if serious. They said I might only live three years. That day, I started taking half of an Atenolol tablet every morning to help regulate my heart.

Today I am a healthy four year old cat. I make regular visits to my vet and heart specialist every year, where they take blood tests and chest x-rays to check the size of my heart and heart ultrasounds to check the murmur and blood flow.

HCM can spread through catteries very quickly. Before you buy a kitten from a cattery, make sure that the owner has it checked for HCM. This check should include chest x-ray and a heart ultra-sound. Sometimes HCM does not show up until a kitten is six months old or as late as two years old.   For more information about HCM, check out this article from the Cat Fanciers Association.

Guest Blogger: Harry Spotter of Spot and Fiona