It’s mating time again!

Well, spring has sprung - which means our cat’s bodies have reawaken and for active queens those heat cycles start up as they enquire, often loudly, for a mate.

I’ve been fortunate that, her chosen stud, Oz was free to entertain her, so this morning we jumped in the car for a marathon road trip of about 4 hours of driving to drop her off at his ‘gaff’. With the plan being to  go back to collect her in a few days time…. 

Will she or won’t she? Is she or isn’t she? 

Hopefully being as this is their fourth meeting over the years, they’ll recognise each other and will ‘get it on’ right away.  If so, after several matings they’ll have over the next few days & nights she will come back to me beautifully pregnant with what will be their 3rd litter together.  

Timing wise, If she is successfully pregnant I should begin to witness her ‘pinking up’ around about 8th April, this being the breeder’s confirmation that the queen is most certainly expecting and around 21 days into her 63-65 day pregnancy. 

I find it endlessly fascinating that a litter can be grown in such a short space of time, from speed meeting egg to kittens being born. 

Dates then can be plotted out  with the birthing due to occur around about May 22nd. Those dates may of course vary by a day or two but this would mean, for new families wishing to take on any of her beautiful kittens they would be ready to be viewed in mid July & collected from mid August. Exciting times! 

What will the kittens be like? 

Both parents are HCM scanned by accredited veterinary cardiologists annually, & have been tested for fiv/felv. 

Whether male or female, Prune’s kittens will all be born solid in colour, either blue like their sire or black like the same. Their eye colour will be yellow green to green. 

Do let me know if you would like to be considered as a family for any of Prune’s expected kittens as soon as you can. Don’t delay as they are always sought after by fellow breeders (to add to their own cattery/breeding line) as well as by families looking for a Sphynx companion to join their family.  Just a click the email link below to begin our conversation. I can’t wait to meet you! 

nakedsphynxcathantsa@icloud.com

Visiting Grogu

Yesterday I had the most wonderful opportunity accepting what was a long-standing invitation which had had to be constantly held up by covid, to visit Grogu with his wonderful family. 

Danni had for a while expressed a wish to have some guidance on ear cleaning and claw clipping so this visit allowed me to give that help. 

I arrived fo a warm welcome & no sooner had I entered than from behind a TV cabinet came a beautiful, BIG handsome adult cat whom I’d last seen as a 12 week kitten. I’d seen photos of course but to see him with my own eyes was such a joy. He is solid and well built, much larger than his mum of course being a boy cat, but not quite yet the size of his dad Oz.. Sensational green eyes just like Oz but set in the angular face of his mum Prune. He came to me as I got onto the floor. Would he remember me?

He approached the bag & grooming equipment box I brought with me, and seemed very interested in sniffing at it. What was going on in his brain I wondered….Was there residual familiarity of scent, a recollection of his birthplace or even of me? 

We all chatted a while. I showed Danni photos of Vinnie, & Basil in their respective families with the “brothers” they met in their new homes, then after having had a lovely little cuddle with adult sized Grogu I demonstrated on one ear and one paw how I clean an ear and cut claws. Danni then did a Lille more to his ears and the other front paw using my clippers which she said felt better. Certainly seeing what I do gave more confidence in what to do to improve Grogu’s ear cleanliness and allow more robust trimming. 

These are skills new parents would previously have been able to practice with me on their kittens before their collections however covid robbed us of this kind of interaction in 2021

Since Grogu was due his grooming bath later that day we didn’t do more while I was there, but I was happy that after I’d gone these skills could be practiced. I have to say though that he was very calm & pretty laid back about it all. Very chilled indeed. 

I wondered, now I’d been there a while and he’d got more used to my scent, how much he might have remembered.  I called out “kittens, kittens” just as I do when calling a litter of weaned kittens to come to the kitchen for their food. On hearing this signal thry will charge eagerly, their tiny legs always getting them there before me, their tummies ready to be filled. Grogu & Humphrey we’re always “lords of the food bowls” so surely this would illicit a bit of recall???? I called again and we watched his eyes, his pupils narrow in the wonderfully light & bright room. His head to an angle he appeared to have a thoughtful expression. Fanciful maybe, but was he searching his memory banks, finding something back there that felt familiar to him? I’d really like to think he did!  

Watching him interact with & learning of his various antics with his family on a Sunday afternoon was a truly wonderful experience. I honestly cannot describe in words the feeling of joy & pleasure I came away with. I feel so very privileged as a breeder to provide families like Grogu’s with exceptional Sphynx kittens/cats & feel honoured that all of “my” families choose to keep in touch with occasional or regular photos & updates, but to have this “live” visit was something else again! I’m very grateful. 

As I drove away though, what an idiot I felt that not one of us thought to take photographic memento of Grogu and I reuniting. Doh! 

This town….

🎼 Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?

We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown 🎶 

Well it certainly feels a little like a ghost town at the Naked Sphynx Cat Hampshire Cattery with 3 boys having left within 24 hours of each other! Paperwork and formalities done, each set off for pastures new.

But how are they doing?

Well young Grogu left first, setting of for a new adventure with his new siblings Willow & Damian. He hit the ground running having discovered that these children make fabulous playmates to run & chase around with. He learned stairs in no time apparently and enjoyed the thrill of racing Damian up & down. So excited by his new fortunes was he that he forgot for a while that he needed to eat, but his mum says that she managed to coax him and after that first taste he soon remembered his appetite. During the night he wasn’t sure where he was but rather than make any “mistakes” he mewed to wake his new mum at silly o’clock to remind him where he needed to go and has been a little like Goldilocks trying out the different sleeping arrangements in various bedrooms, making himself welcome by purring like mad. I think that he has gone in and lit up that household in his own unique way. I can’t wait to see more photos & videos as he grows. 

Today bright & early (well early anyway, the weather is dreadful) Basil was collected & driven home where he will  meet Otis his furry feline sibling, plus 2 sibling dogs & his 5 new sibling hoomans who are all eager to meet him. He slept soundly all the way home & made himself at home. Being a more considered kind of character, I think perhaps he may take a little time absorb his surroundings before he gains confidence in his new habitat and  turns their lives upside down with his antics.

Because Basil was leaving so early, this left space for Vincent to be collected in the afternoon and so his new mum arrived full of excitement to collect him earlier than anticipated. He is currently on route to his new abode.

Prune has definitely noticed the losses. Having eased up on it a lot in the last 2 or 3 weeks, she is once more carrying mice around from room to room as she calls to her kittens to come. She will do this for a day or two wondering where they are hiding and worrying about their whereabouts before accepting that they are not here. 

Humpty “the last man standing” is going to be with us another fortnight, which is not ideal as Prune may have to go through this separation twice, but unfortunately he cannot be collected sooner. He will undoubtedly pair up with Floozy for play. But I wonder too if they might (belatedly), form a partnership somewhat similar to the one Prune did so long ago (in 2018) with Noodle’s last kitten, Nebula as they were inseparable from very early on, with Noodle hardly getting a look in with her kitten! If this does now happen, even though later in the day it might serve to draw an end to the mothering relationship with Prune before he leaves. Prune herself, once accepting that her kittens have gone may not allow him to suckle, and so sever the bond. 

Anyway… Thank you for collecting your amazing kittens Danni, Clair & Andrea. I’m looking forward to your stories now, so it’s over to you ❤️🐾🐾❤️🐾🐾❤️🐾🐾❤️