Sphynx Love

Visitors to this blog who haven't met our two little sphynx cats may wonder why we choose to own such strange little creatures.

Honestly, when Kevin brought it up many years ago, when we first started dating, I thought it was weird too. But once we had moved in together and gotten engaged, and started talking for real about getting a pet, I agreed to go to a local cattery to see what I thought about adopting a sphynx. And I pretty much immediately fell in love.

So, they totally freak you out a bit when you first see one or pet one- I mean, they look like they would feel like... skin, right? But they're actually covered in a fine peach fuzz (and occasionally, patches of hair- Bixby, the cat in these pictures, has quite the fluffy tail). So they feel very soft and warm, like a warm water bottle. And of course, the major benefit to their hairlessness: they don't leave cat dander all over your furniture, so people who have allergies (like Kevin) don't have to worry about allergens all over the house (they do still carry the allergens on their skin, so if you pet them, you have to wash your hands).

These cats have great personalities. They tend to be more sociable and friendly than the typical short-hair domestic cats (I grew up with 4 different short-hair cats myself). They run to greet you when you come home. When we have parties, they love to come up and see all the guests. They all seem to have a knack for fetching (well, they're really good at the "fetching" part- the "bringing back" part sometimes needs a little work). They love to snuggle and sit on your lap.

So that's the story about why we own sphynx cats. By the way, I'm loving my new camera- the DSLR has such a faster shutter speed than my point-and-shoot, I can actually get great photos of the cats!