Caring for an animal with such an unusual appearance for a cat raises many questions: what to feed the sphinx, what are the nutritional features of a suede pet, how to prolong the life of a pet.
To replenish the energy that a Sphynx cat spends in large quantities on heating, food must contain the necessary vitamins, minerals and calories. And also be light enough to keep the animal healthy.
Cats do not know when to eat and will eat as long as they see food. Owners should be careful about the diet and the amount of food they eat. Feed often, but in small portions.
Feeding rules
When choosing a diet, the first place to start is to assess the physiological state of the animal. Sterilized and neutered pets should be fed strictly according to the regimen; the amount of food per meal should be limited.
Sphynx cats of this category have an increased appetite and agree to eat everything that is offered and that is bad. But overeating will have the most detrimental effect on your pet's health.
For lactating and pregnant cats, manufacturers of finished products have provided a special line of food, specially designed for the needs of this important period of life. The diet can be filled with both prepared and natural products.
The basic rules of feeding are to provide fresh, good quality food at regular times and not randomly. It is important to consider age and health status. Cats should have constant access to water, especially in hot weather.
Breed Features
Hairless cats are different from other cats, which is important to consider when planning their diet. What makes sphinxes stand out? Breed Features:
- Lack of wool. This leads to the frequent appearance of acne or dermatitis. To prevent disorders, it is important to maintain a balance in nutrients and beneficial elements.
- The speed of metabolic processes due to increased energy expenditure on heating the body, supporting the immune system, and health. For this reason, it is recommended to feed sphinxes more often, maintaining a certain calorie and nutritional content of the diet.
- Indiscriminate eating. Sphynx cats eat whatever comes their way, so it is important to monitor the quality of food. Thus, additives to enhance the taste or aroma of food cause digestive disorders.
- Tendency to problems with hormonal levels. Overfeeding leads to a sharp gain of excess weight, which becomes a common cause of problems with the heart and blood vessels.
If a breed is prone to disorders and diseases, this can easily be avoided by creating a balanced diet. This will keep your pet active, improve health, and reduce susceptibility to pathologies.
Donskoy
The Don Sphynx is a subspecies whose skin is covered with thin short hairs. This creates a plush, velor effect when touching the cat. Sometimes the fluff may be absent, then the sphinx is considered naked. The animals are characterized by medium size and well-developed muscles.
Breeding was carried out in Russia. The subspecies is widespread, but appeared recently. Therefore, Don Sphynxes are distinguished by good health - they rarely suffer from acne, allergies, or digestive disorders. Unpretentiousness in food is also considered a plus. The main thing is not to spoil your pet, but to immediately accustom it to the diet and feeding regime.
Canadian
Canadian Sphynx cats are a subspecies whose kittens are never born with bare skin. Therefore, they are covered with light wool (fluff). With age, its volume increases. These cats are graceful, with moderately developed muscles, of medium size.
The history of the breed begins with kittens in Canada who were born hairless. More than 50 years have passed since that time, which has left its mark on the health of animals. Canadian Sphynx cats have sensitive digestion, which affects the choice of food for the pet. Owners often change food for elderly pets to hypoallergenic, preventive products.
Ready-made feed
Dry food for sphinxes can be present in the diet, but it is important to understand that it must be super premium.
Breeders, answering the owners’ question about what kind of food they will not harm the health of their pets, highlight:
- Royal Canin,
- Nutro Choice,
- Eagle Pack,
- Hills,
- Holistic Blend made in Canada.
The food must contain meat, offal, vegetables, and cereals. Cheap cat food contains only ground bones, low-quality by-products, starch and flavor enhancers. It should not be given to sphinxes due to increased sensitivity of the digestive tract.
An elite pet should be fed with dry food of the appropriate age category (for kittens, adults, elderly).
Is it possible to eat different types of food at the same time?
The choice of food for Sphynx cats should be clear - either dry food or natural food. Combining the two types is not allowed, as this can upset the cat’s digestive system. It is also impossible to mix dry food from different manufacturers due to specific standards and a balanced combination of ingredients in the granules.
A sudden transition from one type of food to another is unacceptable; this is done gradually, at least a month for purebred animals. Old granules are mixed with new food, since Sphynx cats are very sensitive to replacement. If the cat refuses the new food, you need to find another one, in which case you will need patience.
What to feed a Sphynx cat: natural food
Cooking food for the Sphynx yourself will take a lot of time, but the result is worth it.
- Every day, the cat’s diet should include chicken and rabbit meat, beef, offal, frozen or boiled.
- Give liver and fermented milk products no more than 2 times a week.
- Boiled sea fish will become an indispensable source of vitamins. It is better to exclude raw fish.
- Sphynxes happily eat foods of plant origin: greens, cereals, vegetables and fruits.
- Give egg yolk and cheese no more than once a day.
- Natural food can be mixed with ready-made food, this will best support the health of cats.
Alternative nutrition
A good way to make your Sphynx's diet healthy without spending a lot of time on cooking every day is to freeze ready-made portions.
For example, you can feed the animal prepared cutlets. Chop chicken, turkey or beef into minced meat, add herbs, carrots, cabbage. Occasionally dilute the preparations with brewer's yeast and vitamin D drops.
Usually a cat eats oatmeal, rice, buckwheat, spinach, parsley mixed with minced meat with great appetite. You can add crackers or chicken neck to the prepared food for your pet’s dental health.
Care
Before discussing feeding a cat, let us recall the basic rules of care, because feeding and care are “links of the same chain”:
- For skin care, we use alcohol-free wipes or special shampoos and creams.
- A cat's eyes do not have eyelashes, so they are extremely vulnerable - we simply wipe them with boiled water, chamomile decoction, or tea leaves.
- To prevent the appearance of plaque, we use special food and brush our teeth with a special brush. You can give your cat chicken necks - they do the job perfectly.
- We clean the cat's ears weekly with a cotton swab. We use special powder.
- We regularly remove the transparent ends of the cat's claws.
- We remove the fat secreted by the tail glands - treat the cat's tail with degreasing agents.
- You should bathe your cat often - twice a month, using special shampoos.
- Particular attention is paid to the care of kittens. They are afraid of the cold, so the room temperature should be about 25 degrees. You can buy or sew clothes for a kitten - it will protect you from the cold and it will be “cool” for the kids.
- You need to play with your little ones so that they don't have fun on their own - you won't like spilled rubbish, torn curtains or overturned flower pots!
What not to feed the Sphynx
Feeding the Sphinx should not include sweets, smoked, fatty, or spicy foods. Such products are not only not healthy for cats, but can also lead to metabolic disorders, weakened immunity and multiple diseases.
You should not give chicken and fish bones so that the animal’s esophagus is not damaged. Potatoes and legumes are not digestible by cats and can interfere with digestion.
Sphynxes do not have to be given milk, provided that the products that make up their daily diet contain enough protein. Dairy products may not be digested and cause stomach upset.
Essential vitamins
The Sphynx cat should be fed food containing a set of all necessary vitamins.
- Meat products, especially liver, contain vitamin A.
- To maintain all body functions of cats, food must contain large amounts of B vitamins, which are found in cereals.
- Greens are the main source of vitamin C.
- Sphynx cats love to lie in the sun, producing vitamin D on their own. This vitamin is also found in fish, milk, butter and is responsible for strong bones. Calcium is also needed for the same.
- Chicken eggs, vegetable oil, and offal contain vitamin E, which promotes the proper functioning of reproductive function, the muscular system, the breakdown of fat and prevents the spread of infection.
Cats need vitamins to live a healthy, long, and happy life.
What food is best for Sphynx kittens?
Unlike other breeds, the Sphynx kitten expends more energy. It is important to ensure that cats eat 6-8 times a day. Initially, the portion should be from 25 grams per dose, increasing as you grow to the dose of an adult sphinx.
For a one-month-old kitten, the main food is mother's milk; it should be fed with caution; the portion should not be too large. The first complementary foods consist of products such as milk, semolina porridge, and yolk.
At 2 months you can feed the kitten cottage cheese, cheese, vegetables, and herbs. Also, boiled beef or chicken 3 times a week will make the baby strong and quench his growing appetite.
In six months, portions increase by 2 times, and the number of feedings decreases to 3-4 times. Kittens can also be fed store-bought food. It is very difficult to choose a specific brand of ready-made food, due to the wide variety of compositions.
Fortunately, manufacturers of ready-made food indicate on the packaging how to choose the right amount of dry food for a Sphynx kitten depending on its age category.
Mixed diet
This type of feeding may be the most appropriate. The basis of the diet should be natural feeding. Dry food can be used in exceptional cases:
- when traveling;
- in the country;
- in emergency cases when it is not possible to prepare food.
If your pet eats the food with pleasure and does not have skin problems, and fecal matter is typical for cats, then dry food can be used as a supplement in small quantities.
