tokipoke

I have two Sphynx cats who need just as much attention as my poodle! Their big brother is a standard. I love the Sphynx breed because they act like dogs. My husband calls the cats and dog my "entourage" because they follow me everywhere around the house. I can make a grand entrance coming down the stairs followed by my standard and my two hairless babies lol. Many people are surprised when I tell them that my hairless cats are high maintenance in the grooming department. They must be bathed weekly or biweekly. The cats sweat through their skin and also lick themselves like other cats, so they get grimy pretty quick. They love sleeping in fluffy blankets. My boy cat gets super excited when I have my poodle on the grooming table. He stands next to the dog on the table looking at me for treats! My two boys are always goofy together.

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truelovepoodles

I love the look of Sphynx cats. Before we got Norbert (my siamese) I really wanted a Sphynx but we couldn't find a breeder near me. I think it is the Real Housewives of New Jersey where one of the ladies owns a Sphynx..called Grandma...I loved watching it get a bath in the kitchen sink.

Now here is my question to you. Did you have the Poodle or the Cats first? Because I would love it if my Poodles would allow Norbert to cuddle with them like Leroy does.
How did you socialise the two?

I think your pictures of Leroy and the Sphnyx all nestled together is terrific!

DonnaM

How interesting, I had no idea that sphynx cats sweat through their bodies and require bathing. I can't imagine bathing my full haired cat.... That's also so amazing that your cats tolerate getting dressed up. They certainly are dog-like.

Fluffyspoos

I adore sphnyx cats <3 what are their temperaments like?

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tokipoke

My cats were with me first. My girl Toki is 4 years old, and my boy Thermo is 3 years old (will be 4 at the end of this year). I chose the Sphynx breed for their hairlessness because I do not like shedding (also why I chose the poodle). My husband is allergic to dogs and cats! But he does not have horrible symptoms with any of our animals. If I haven't bathed the cats in a while, my husband's eyes may get red, but that's about it. He has zero symptoms with our dog. When we visit friends' houses with dogs he gets itchy, watery, red eyes, and his skin where he's touched the dog or the dog has licked gets itchy.

When it came down to choosing a dog, I looked at many dog breeds but some of the ones I liked were highly prey-driven! The poodle was my choice for their versatility and low dander. I think it helped that I got my poodle at 12 weeks. My cats took to him very well. I was worried because I had fostered huskies before (very high prey drive) and Thermo had terrible diarrhea (and bloody stools) for the whole time I had them and Toki was on alert all the time. It was stressful for them. Turns out my cats dislike any dog that has pointy ears. They are okay with our friend's border collie-Aussie mix, but NOT okay with our friend's corgi mix. So they loved Leroy's floppy ears. And because he was a puppy, Toki taught him real quick to show respect to the cats! He knows not to mess with her, but he is always trying to play with Thermo. At first Leroy would roughhouse and chase Thermo nonstop and I was afraid he'd hurt the cat, but realize Thermo would never run away, he'd keep coming back and egg Leroy on. So they play with each other in a demented way. Leroy likes to lick Thermo while Thermo cries and tries to bite the poodle ears. He usually just gets a mouthful of hair. Every now and then, Thermo will get needy and wanting to be petted and will come up to Leroy and rub his head all over Leroy's head. It's really cute. To have dogs coexist with cats it really depends on the respective personalities. My cats are very social and extremely needy. They greet us at the door when we come home, Toki cries in my face and doesn't leave me alone when it's feeding time. Thermo is a cuddle bug and sleeps with us in the bed. Toki is super smart and knows how to sit and wave on command. Both our cats love car rides and before we had our dog, we would take them on trips with us. Toki is a really unique cat in that she loves going to new places. She is a certified therapy cat and has visited some nursing homes. Some of the staff at the nursing homes are scared of her, others really love her (old people looooove cats). A woman specifically asked me to take her to visit her husband who was a recovering cancer patient. She told him "This cat looks just like you! Bald!," another blind woman petted Toki and just kept calling her "baby" over and over again. Toki loves the attention! Leroy is bell trained to ring the bell when he has to go potty, and Toki caught onto this real quick in the beginning and she rings the bell nonstop to go outside. Both my cats are strictly indoor cats, so it's a real treat to sit out on the patio. One time I forgot Toki outside for 20 minutes and she was so pink! She got slightly sunburned, I felt so bad!

Although Leroy's siblings are cats and he's calm around them, he goes NUTS when he sees outside cats. He wants to play with them so bad but the cats don't know that.

tokipoke

Forgot to mention - when socializing the cats and dog, lots of treats help! Especially if you feed the cats and the dog the same treats. I treat my animals a lot, the cats always get treats first just for being cute. While I'm giving them treats and they are eating it, I tell Leroy to sit and stay until the cats are finished. THEN he gets a treat. He's rewarded for being calm and not hovering around the cats.

truelovepoodles

Toki and Thermo sound like really wonderful pets...so much personality! I can just imagine what a stir they cause at the nursing homes.

I never had a problem with my cats and dogs living together before Misstarry came into the picture. She is just so fixated on Norbert...and when she started to get excited the others (who generally show no interest) want in on the action. Thermo was smart to stand up to Leroy...if Norbert would just stand up to Misstarry instead of running away we could all live in peaceful harmony.

Leooonie

I adore Sphynx cats! I met a couple at a cat show a few years back..and they are SO handleable!!! I also love siamese!

Id like to get a cat in a few years, however my mum is highly allergic to animal hair, (not the poodles though!) so didnt know if a sphynx would be okay? do they do much scratching of furniture?

Laceypoo

These pictures are so cool, especially those of the your poodle and cat together! All three are adorable!

spoowhisperer

You obviously know your animals very well, I loved hearing all about your cats, seriously! More photos please!!!!