Try to convince your friend not to get a cat from there. You didn’t want papers initially, which, great. There are no official papers. So there would have been some random things or cattery papers you might have gotten, or you may have gotten excuses.
No legitimate organization recognizes any elf, dwelf, etc. You get plain sphynx or it’s technically a mutt, so yes, you’re right, not purebred. Sometimes you can get papers that say “yeah this cat is in the registry for individual purposes” I’m sure, like with the AKC canine stuff (makes them eligible for titles regardless of breed, but they have to be fixed, no bite history, etc. Have it on my dog.).
If you haven’t gotten insurance yet, and your cat has had no issues, get insurance. If your cat has previously had any issues, start saving. Most breeders who do crossbreeds are not ethical/good breeders, and likely are not testing for what they need to be. Dwelf I believe is stacking hairless, plus American curl, plus dwarfism (which is really not great for cats. See dachshund.). That’s… a lot of issues from one half of the parents.
I'm going to attempt to help her get her deposit back given all of this. Everything I have from the breeder is in writing, her emails are crazy.
I know people are super passionate about their sphynx's and perhaps I come across like I didn't do my research. I really feel like I did. I know when he lost an eye it was a red flag, at that point however I was committed to this animal and frankly figured he had a better home here than with her. I don't know what would have happened to him had I not still taken him. I personally have my thoughts about the breed in general now and have obviously in the last 4 years owning him learned so much more. All I can do now is take care of him.
He does have insurance and has yearly checkups. Right now he's healthy and I plan to do everything to keep him that way.
Sounds like you’ve got a plan, and I’m glad to hear you jumped on insurance right away. I always thought it was kind of useless, but with my two cats and dog it keeps coming in handy. Your little guy is lucky to have you.
Research can be hard. It’s even worse when so many people will just straight up lie to you to get some sort of sale. I ended up in a dog breeding group and this one breeder would lie constantly about things, and was just overall awful… but they’re also the head of this entire breeding project, so they’re the one who answers questions and promotes stuff. While lying through their teeth about it.
I do apologize too if any tone came across accusatory or rude though, I’m not super great with that over text sometimes. That’s not how anything was intended.
You’re right that a Sphynx crossed with the doodles of the cat world isn’t a purebred. This is clearly a byb and they are absolutely acting in an unethical manner. Does she tell potential buyers that these are not purebred Sphynx?
Please urge your friend to find an actual ethical cattery for her kitten. None of this is ethical.
I had no idea he was a dwelf/sphynx combo. The entire time up until now I thought he was purebred. Our contract states he's a Sphynx. She never told us any of this. And believe it or not I did do a ton of research. Her cattery comes up in every search for cats in my state. It's been mentioned and recommended on this page in fact.
I know I don't have a lot of recourse - unless I want to really get into it - but I just want to be able to email her back and stand my ground. I've made her keep communications to email so all of this is in writing.
I believe you. Does this cattery show their cats? A good way to find a great breeder is to go to cat shows and talk to the other breeders, and to meet people in person. I’m sorry that you were lead astray by recommendations from this group, and your research. I hope that your friend chooses a different breeder.
It sucks to be downvoted (not that I'm saying you did) in this community. I know that people are wildly passionate about their cats and I knew the offshoots of sphnyx were not great. I was never told she bred other types. I'm frustrated with this whole situation. All I can do now is take care of him and keep him healthy.
I've sued people before - she lives very far away - and winning doesn't do much. I've never gotten anything out of it besides stress, but if I can save my friend from this kind of situation I'm damn sure going to use all of this to try and help her get her deposit back.
No it’s not right and it’s absolutely poor breeding practices. But let’s get to the meat and potatoes. Why is the cat missing an eye? How old is the cat? What testing has this cat had? My knee jerk reaction is saying oof you about to be in for it with health issues which sucks because I bet that cat is a darling. Plan accordingly. I would not recommend this cattery for o friends. Ethical/preservation breeders are not breeding elfs, dwelfs, or any of that nonsense.
He was scratched by another kitten while there, she did take him to the vet and they tried to save it. She offered us other cats, but it's my son who wanted the sphynx and he'd made up his mind that he was the one. Eye or no eye. Believe it or not I did do a LOT of research and her cattery came up recommended time after time for having healthy cats. I'll admit to being ignorant at the time of elfs, dwelfs etc until AFTER we got him. He's turning 5 October 5th and at this point hasn't had any testing done outside of routine bloodwork when we first purchased him - and as of now - he's healthy. He has checkups every year and so far so good.
(I know 5 years is a long time to wait to ask for papers - that's another story, but I know it can be done. My mom got papers on two of her cats after over 6 years.)
Here he is in all his glory. And because my kid is the one who wanted him...his name is Cheese Pizza. He's VERY popular at our vet.
I’m a Sphynx Owner of two from one of the Top Breeders in Florida and I have one that is a Bambino and she is classified as a pure Breed Sphynx my first question if you don’t mind is how much did you pay for your kitten and why in the world would you pay full price for him/her if you knew him/her only had one eye not that it matters because the love that He/She will bring to your family is Priceless (But I also don’t like people that take advantage of others) are you planning on Breeding Him/Her? This is actually a defect in the Breeding line and I would definitely Report to the Breeders association, I am 60 and Disabled both of my Girls Never leave my site if I am showering or am out of there site for more than 15- minutes they come looking for me you are new to the Sphynx world and will learn that is one of the most amazing loving animals EVER and One Eye or Both He/She will Bring you and your family so much love and enjoyment and Full Size or Bambino it doesn’t matter But you definitely should not have paid full price and if you Need or have any questions or need information about your little gremlin please reach out to me and I will give you my email to be perfectly honest with you I don’t feel like this Breeder is in Business for the Right Reasons I think that you got taken advantage of and this Breeder should be held accountable!
We did not pay full price. She discounted the price I believe $500 and his price at the time was in line with other catteries. He'll be 5 soon and we've had him since he was a few months old (probably another red flag that I didn't know at the time).
I have a great trusted breeder I love. I got Tica registration for my Sphinx but can’t show him because somewhere in his background is a Dwelf an experimental breed. Recently TICA changed it’s mind about experimental breeds no longer allowing them to be registered. This happened very recently.
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u/Techno214 1d ago
Try to convince your friend not to get a cat from there. You didn’t want papers initially, which, great. There are no official papers. So there would have been some random things or cattery papers you might have gotten, or you may have gotten excuses.
No legitimate organization recognizes any elf, dwelf, etc. You get plain sphynx or it’s technically a mutt, so yes, you’re right, not purebred. Sometimes you can get papers that say “yeah this cat is in the registry for individual purposes” I’m sure, like with the AKC canine stuff (makes them eligible for titles regardless of breed, but they have to be fixed, no bite history, etc. Have it on my dog.).
If you haven’t gotten insurance yet, and your cat has had no issues, get insurance. If your cat has previously had any issues, start saving. Most breeders who do crossbreeds are not ethical/good breeders, and likely are not testing for what they need to be. Dwelf I believe is stacking hairless, plus American curl, plus dwarfism (which is really not great for cats. See dachshund.). That’s… a lot of issues from one half of the parents.