If Looks Could Kill - Graphic Art & Design

Updates on adventures with my Sphynx cat (who looks more like her Cornish Rex predecessors, since she’s sprouted fur), as it is ongoing. Behold, the ironically nicknamed, “Big Sweetie,” aka Aeon.

• She has her very own bedroom complete with window (shown in photos) because she plays so poorly with others
• A recurrence of butt-streamers, she ate a bookmark tassel, no intestinal blockage, just a stinky brown kite-tail that followed her everywhere she went. ;)
• I can now administer glucose tests to cats and dogs, having first-hand experience, since “voluptuous” Buddha-shaped cats are prone to diabetes.
• Lil’ Queen B hissed and growled at everyone in the vet’s office, including 2 small children. ‘Atta girl!
• Aforementioned behavior is actually good for her, as she’s no longer lunging, attacking and boxing, viciously & at random, since she started anti-anxiety treatment through Buspar.

Note: On animals swallowing objects like cassette tape innards, string, etc. - ’tis not wise to tug on their “streamers”, as linear objects can cause injury or slice through internal organs if still winding its way through the digestive tract.

Further, I don’t understand why she allows me to prick her ear to check her glucose. You would think that something glorious was ensuing, as she purrs and delivers muchas smooches to me all the while. Meanwhile, if anyone else so much as looks at her wrong, she’s ready to kill - growling, hissing and pissing.

Should have known, on seeing the exclamation mark (starts on her head and is completed by the dot on her neck) that she would be fucking fierce. It is so expressive of what goes on in her mind. I just wish I could see what it is, the invisible things that scare her so.

Weird stories about body piercings lately.

Not the norm, but something to be aware of: The first is a rare case of “necrotizing fasciitis” or gas gangrene, a “flesh-destroying infection”. An 18 year-old woman had her nipples pierced, but reportedly was not forewarned that her diabetic condition would make her more prone to infection. It became infected and spread from her breast to her lymph nodes necessitating the removal of one of her breasts. (Source)

In other news, a teen’s tongue piercing causes ’suicide disease.’ Basically, tongue barbell irritates nerve, triggering excruciating pain, like being electrocuted - in your face. Again, not typical, but good to know. (Source)

I’m not opposed to piercings, personally. I just don’t have any, beyond the rows in my ears that I wear nothing in. I did some of those piercings myself with safety pins. This was ignorant, I realized, once my ears began greening around their new holes. :B

Aeon’s wigging again. It would be one thing if this were something manageable. Most cats run and hide and sulk in a secluded corner when faced with a perceived threat. Not this freak, she just keeps trying to barrel forth and dominate. When I was researching this breed online, there wasn’t as much info as there is today. For this reason, and recent events, I feel obligated to share our story with anyone contemplating this breed of cat, the Sphynx.

To start with, this breed is extremely affectionate, unlike any other cat, they are more like alien-monkey-dog-creatures. They enjoy snuggling, being held, kisses and constant attention. They are overly-alert and intelligent (read: into everything) and doing acrobatics to get your attention.

However, our Queen, Aeon, has had issues ever since the stud was introduced to the household for breeding. The hissing, pissing and diarrhea-ing in fear has been sporadic ever since. She is mentally ill, and our veterinarian said that this is not uncommon with this breed. We literally have to keep her medicated on Buspar, but she recently started rejecting the portion of the food with the medication in it.

Additionally, they are extremely prone to heart murmurs. The baby boy we’d kept from her litter died suddenly before ever reaching his 2nd birthday, without warning. Also not uncommon with this breed, I’ve read of other instances online - and when you get a good Sphynx, like he was, it’s gut-wrenching. He never had episodes, unlike his fruitcake calico mother.

Not to mention, Aeon, whom we paid an exorbitant amount for, sprouted a full undercoating of curly Dilute Calico hair, so that only her voluptuous belly is hairless at this point. She’s soft like a bunny and very, very loving when not going batshit.

So, in brief, that’s our story. Personally, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, but would have chosen differently going into this had I only known. I recommend adoption of strays, salvation from animal shelters over buying a purebred any day. The gene pool was meant to be broader than this. The Himalayan I had growing up died early as well.

The moral of the story is:

1. Regular cats that are not bred by design are healthier and live longer.
2. If you are going to a breeder, check them our thoroughly - trust your gut-instinct if you sense anything is awry.
• Ask to speak to other people who’ve bought cats from them, or repeat customers.
• Pay close attention to how they treat their cats - is it with love or with cold calculation of the hard cash to come?
• Do they take their cats to the vet or do it themselves at home? Ask for their vet’s name and number as another reference.
• Don’t just take the breeder’s word on things, do your own research in books or online. They don’t always know or - if they’re shady - they will do and say anything to make the sale !
• Extensively search for first-hand accounts or online groups of owners of the breed you are interested in. You could discover illnesses and maladies the breed is prone to, extra care required
• Google the breeders as well in case there are horror stories to be found.

Excessive? Perhaps, but we’ve been burned and “Oh… the suffering!” The shit I’ve been through with this effing cat who is now banished to the Bathroom of Solitude once again. Heed my warning!

Beware… Take care… Beware… *Ed Wood reference*