Sphynx cats producing nightmarish amounts of smelly slushy poop

Grumpy Sphynx Cat
Grumpy Sphynx Cat. Photo on Instagram and by Sara and Brent.

On my travels through the Internet today I have bumped into what appears to be a huge problem with Sphynx cats: smelly, loose stools in nightmarish quantities.

There really are some horror stories on the Internet. One Sphynx owner says that she changes the entire litter tray every time her cat goes to the loo. And when she does it, she gags! WTH 😢😒. EARLY NOTE: Please share if you recognise this problem and have to deal with it in the interest of helping others.

There are Sphynx cat owners begging for help in online forums. They have become desperate. I don’t know where to start to describe this problem because it’s too big. Or there’s too much of it and its smelly, liquefied and very hard to get rid of!

And it is leading many Sphynx owners to develop the habit of carrying around wet wipes to wipe their Sphynx cats’ backsides at any opportunity.

It appears that some Sphynx cats are walking around with poo on their bums which of course is unacceptable. Clearly, these individual cats are unable to keep themselves clean through self-grooming because there is too much of this horror faeces.

Another owner says that her cat’s “poo is just slush – it’s awful and I actually throw up when I have to change the litter.” Other forum members try and resolve the problem, but they are scrambling around for a solution which ranges from the food that these cats eat to IBD to Giardia.

Giardia as a tiny parasite which causes the diarrhoeal disease giardia. Alternatively, some Sphynx owners recommend a raw diet. This means a home-made diet which requires particular skills and knowledge. It is a food that can be tainted with bacteria which in turn would make matters far worse.

I don’t like to see unqualified people trying to resolve these serious issues on internet forums. It’s going to need a trip to a veterinarian to resolve the matter.

One website on Sphynx cats say that this breed has a delicate stomach. They appear to be predisposed to producing stinky, loose stools and excessive flatulence!

Another says that they hear that it is almost impossible to help with their stinky poops. One Sphynx cat owner on the Reddit.com social media website desperately requests help. She said: “My Sphynx gets poop everywhere. I’ve tried changing her diet twice. I am at a loss. My boyfriend is making me give her up if I can’t find a solution. ANY advice would be greatly appreciated”. Another desperate hairless cat owner.

One commenter to the above request for help said that she should give up her boyfriend and keep the cat! But this is a serious problem because it indicates there is something wrong with the health of this popular breed.

And in my honest opinion, you could probably trace this problem back to the breeders, the people who create this cat breed. I would suggest that this problem is caused by an inherited genetic condition due to inbreeding over decades.

That’s almost certainly the case as almost all purebred cats inherit genetic diseases to varying extents due to selective breeding which is another way of describing inbreeding.

One so-called expert suggest that Sphynx cats require a special diet. They have ‘sensitive digestive system’ and common food brands, the type of food that you buy at any supermarket, even high-quality wet cat food, can cause Sphynx cats to have runny or very putrid smelly poop.

That is a massive disadvantage to being a caregiver to this cat. This expert recommends a raw diet to help minimise food intolerance issues.

RELATED: What’s the best food for a cat with diarrhoea?

“Neenee used to have lots of pooey gooey but issues- we would clean her at least once a day. We switched to raw food and within 3 days her poos were firm and there was way, way, WAY less butt cleaning! – Sphynx cat owner on a forum

One forum member and an expert Sphynx owner says that “A solution for us has been one tablet Delta Cortef daily” plus what I understand to be hypoallergenic dry cat food and, in America, Vension Ziwi wet cat food. Delta Cortef is a low-strength corticosteroid. It is the last desperate step to fix a health issue. It decreases an immune response. It seems that the Sphynx’s immune system is messed up causing food intolerance. That is about poor cat breeding in my view.

Vension Ziwi wet cat food is a brand of wet cat food which clearly her Sphynx cat approves of. She must have tried various brands until one works.

What is the point of this article? Clearly it is not to find a solution to this problem. I’m not in a position to do that because it’s a complicated health problem with many possible solutions. And the solution probably varies from cat to cat although I’m convinced that the underlying cause is the one that I mention above.

The point of this article is to raise awareness of a problem to people who are thinking about adopting a Sphynx cat.

This is an intelligent purebred cat gaining in popularity but in addition to the above problem, they need washing regularly because they become smelly for another reason namely that the oils produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin has nowhere to go. It is deposited on the skin where it attracts grime.

Normally these oils would go on to the coat to keep it shiny and waterproof. And because there are no hairs in the ear canals, dirt gets down the canal whereas otherwise it would be trapped on the hairs.

Bathing a Sphynx
Bathing a Sphynx. Screenshot.

You will find a lot of owners on the internet describing how they clean the ears of their Sphynx cat. When you do don’t stuff a cotton bud into the ear because that is liable to make things much worse.

On a different topic, some people think that because Sphynx cats are hairless, they are hypoallergenic i.e., they don’t elicit an allergic reaction in their owner. This is not true because they produce the allergen in their saliva and sebaceous glands which causes the allergic reaction. It is called Fel D1.

However, as this hairless cat needs to be bathed regularly to remove the grime I mention above, it may be possible to minimise the effect of the allergen deposited on the skin by wiping down your Sphynx cat daily with a damp cloth. That would remove the allergen and any possibility of an allergic reaction particularly if you wore surgical gloves while doing it and a Covid mask!! 😢💓

This is a thought which came to me while writing this. I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned before but there would seem to be a distinct possibility that it may help reduce the allergic reaction.

Bathing a Sphynx
Bathing a Sphynx. Screenshot.

Below: some more on this cat breed.

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