Individuals that want to have cats may be unable to keep them because of allergies. Depending on the exact nature of your allergy, hairless cats, or Sphinxes may or may not be of help to you. These amazing cats have no hair at all on their bodies. Despite this, their skin coloring often mimics what their fur would look like. As an example, you might see hairless cats with white paws or splashes on their noses.
If your allergy is specifically related to cat hair, you may want to consider purchasing a hairless cats. Even though a hairless cat does not have fur, it still secretes oils that would normally be used to keep fur healthy and shiny. If you are allergic to these oils, or dandruff, hairless cats may even make matters worse.
Considering how expensive hairless cats can be, you might want to have some special allergy tests. If it turns out that the oils are setting off your allergies, you may want to pursue a tolerance improvement program. Typically, your doctor will give you a series of inoculations that will help you overcome the allergic response.
Aside from cost, it would be very unfair to purchase a hairless cat that you cannot care for properly. Among other things, their skin is delicate and abrades easily. Other pets, and even household items can easily tear at the skin. Even though hairless cats are hearty, you will need to make sure that they are protected as much as possible. This includes making sure that the home is warm enough for them. You may also need to give hairless cats an occasional bath to make sure that their skin stays as healthy. As may be expected, it is best to acclimate them to washing while they are still kittens.
As with any other pet, it is also important to understand that a pair of hairless cats is not a license to start a cat breeding mill. Today, hairless cats are an established breed of cat. Unfortunately, there are likely to be irresponsible breeders that force the mother cats to have too many litters. Others may inbreed to the point where the resulting kittens have health problems. If you are considering purchasing hairless cats, do not hesitate to ask about the family lines and health conditions of the parent animals. Similar to dogs, there is nothing more heartbreaking than taking home a new pet, and then see it suffer in later years with genetic ailments.
Today, many people operate under the false assumption that hairless cats will solve their allergy problems. Depending on what part of the cat you are allergic to, hairless cats may be an option. Because hairless cats require a good bit of care, you may want to make sure that you will not develop an allergy to them. Irregardless of why you want to purchase hairless cats, you will also need to carefully investigate breeders. Similar to purchasing a pedigree dog, you will want to know the health history of the kitten's family, as well as the names of the cats in each parent's blood lines.
