Health and HCM
There can sometimes be a perception that a coatless cat must be quite delicate and sickly but this is not actually true. Sphynx are as robust and healthy as any other pedigree cat. They of course, should not be permitted to roam freely outside but as very few pedigree cat breeders will allow any kittens to go to homes where they can roam freely this is not an issue. Any Sphynx wandering at will outdoors would be stolen long before it's survival skills came into question!
The Sphynx breed is affected by HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) like several other cat breeds. HCM also occurs in mixed breed moggy cats. The disease cause the walls of the heart to thicken and usually means a reduced life span for an affected cat. Sphynx breeders have been quick to acknowledge the issue of HCM and most are doing their best to eradicate the disease. Ethical breeders will regularly scan their breeding cats for HCM and it is important to check if a breeder you are interested in adopting from scans their breeding cats. A scan does not say that the cat will never get HCM but that if on that day the heart appeared normal. Until a genetic test is discovered, this is the best that can be done and will reduce the prevelance of HCM amongst Sphynx.
We regularly scan all our Sphynx and thankfully, this showed us that Johnny had HCM before he was bred from. The inheritance of HCM is unpredictable. Some HCM causing genes have been identified for some breeds but not for Sphynx. Research is ongoing. Good sources of HCM information are
HCM For Breeders Although called HCM for Breeders, this summarises all the information in simple and accessible terms.
HCM is a critical concern for us as breeders. In an attempt to reduce the likelihood of breeding from a HCM positive cat we have decided to scan before every planned mating rather than annually. This means you may see a gap of over a year between HCM scans for some cats on our website depending on whether that cat is focusing on parenthood or showing but rest assured these scans will be carried out as soon as we decide to have a new litter of kittens. In practice, this will mean the most up to date information on our breeding cats hearts that we can get and will also mean our stud boy is scanned more often than once a year if he is siring more than one litter a year. In the unlikely event that any of our girls has more than one litter within a year, she will also be scanned again to ensure heart health.
We show our HCM scan results to all our kitten adopters, welcome questions about our HCM experiences and are happy to give permission for any adopter to talk to our vets and heart scanning specialists.
PLEASE PLEASE ASK YOUR SPHYNX BREEDER TO SHOW YOU PROOF OF RECENT HEART SCANNING BY ECHOCARDIOGRAM (NOT BY BLOOD OR DNA TEST) FOR BOTH PARENTS BEFORE YOU AGREE TO PURCHASE A KITTEN FROM THEM. THERE IS SIMPLY NO VALID REASON FOR A BREEDER NOT TO CARRY OUT THESE ESSENTIAL HEART SCANS. DON'T TAKE ANY PROMISES ON FAITH - ASK FOR PROOF FOR THE SAKE OF YOURSELF, YOUR KITTEN AND THE FUTURE OF THIS WONDERFUL BREED.