Male Sphinx mixed with tabby has disproportionate body parts

[banditolucas]

So my two cats were given to us by a friend who breeds sphinx and tabbies. One of them, the boy, has grown to seem a bit clumsy in his hips and feet. He took two years to be able to jump and even then he sometimes misses and is apprehensive. He walks normal, more like a panther with muscular shoulder blades and a swaying booty, but when he sits down his spine is very curved and just looks...wrong somehow. Our female has the long bunny feet but seems to be very proportionate, however the male's bunny feet are very long, to the point he almost walks on his tip toes. He also seems to have trouble getting comfortable. While our girl curls up like a tabby, like a little caterpillar, the boy sleels either like the letter C, or like a dog would lay. Sometimes he just can't settle, like his body is uncomfortable. Do you think this is some kind of deformity? I should mention his coat is pure white and he has two different colored eyes which I read can put them at a higher risk of certsin issues. Just wondering if anyone has any insight since the vet seems clueless.

 

[GenCat]

All I know is he is beautiful! My boy is a mix of some sort, maybe even part Maine Coon or Weige, he has similar issues in that he acts like he is uncomfortable jumping despite being absolutely massive and more than able to do so. He just hit a year old and finally decided to follow his older sister into the favorite cat window in the house.

 

[Norachan]

I'm confused. Were these kittens given to you supposed to be sphynx cats, or did your friend say they were a mix between sphynx and tabbies?

Tabby isn't a breed, it's a coat colour. You get lots of tabby cats among feral cat and domestic long and short hair cats, as well among certain breeds.

Sphynx cats can be any colour, including white, but they generally don't have any fur. Pure white odd eyed cats have a tendency to be deaf in one or both ears.

Has your cat been checked over by a vet to see if he has any problems with his spine? He may have some deformities, but these kind of things can occur within all breeds of cats, as well as the kind that aren't any particular breed at all.

 

[banditolucas]

I'm confused. Were these kittens given to you supposed to be sphynx cats, or did your friend say they were a mix between sphynx and tabbies?

Tabby isn't a breed, it's a coat colour. You get lots of tabby cats among feral cat and domestic long and short hair cats, as well among certain breeds.

Sphynx cats can be any colour, including white, but they generally don't have any fur. Pure white odd eyed cats have a tendency to be deaf in one or both ears.

Has your cat been checked over by a vet to see if he has any problems with his spine? He may have some deformities, but these kind of things can occur within all breeds of cats, as well as the kind that aren't any particular breed at all.

From what we were told, him and his sister's dad is a hairless sphynx and they have separate moms that are tabbies. I think I must have not realized tabby wasn't a breed. I've never had animals before them. So I guess maybe their moms were various short haired and long haired domestics. My girl looks like a gray tabby and is short haired and sleek however this guy is longer haired than he looks, has coarser fur, and sheds a lot. All I know is that my friend called them "coated sphynx" because they have many physical and mental attributes of sphynx but they have fur. That's why she breeds them that way.

He has been looked over by a vet for a wellness exam but the vet didn't seem too fazed when I mentioned these things about his legs and hips. He hasn't had any scans done or anything. I do know he was abused at the home he was first adopted to before we got him. But I don't know exact details of what that entails. He's such a strong, cuddly, brave boy and he's the king of the house now.

But he still only jumps to the window/table once in a while and still is very clumsy when he does.

I feel foolish for just now wondering this, but when I search Google for "coated sphynx" I dont find much. And if I look up "sphynx with fur" there's only a handful of questionable reddit posts and Google images.

And I'm also aware this doesn't just happen with Sphynxes, I think something I'm quietly afraid of is if there was some kind of breeding problem or something. I never doubted this friend before. But I think I've got a little doubt in the back of my mind and am wondering if anyone else has heard of breeding sphynx and domestics.

I'm worrying too much or if the vets aren't worrying enough. Maybe this is just his "quirk" but I just always wondered. I no longer talk to the person who gave them to us, so I can't ask them more questions.

 

[banditolucas]

All I know is he is beautiful! My boy is a mix of some sort, maybe even part Maine Coon or Weige, he has similar issues in that he acts like he is uncomfortable jumping despite being absolutely massive and more than able to do so. He just hit a year old and finally decided to follow his older sister into the favorite cat window in the house.

He is absolutely gorgeous And I love him so much. He did the same thing with his sister except he seems to need a jumping off point or some way he can climb closer to the window - rather than from the floor. His sister is very graceful. Here's what he looked like when we adopted him:

 

[Norachan]

And I'm also aware this doesn't just happen with Sphynxes, I think something I'm quietly afraid of is if there was some kind of breeding problem or something. I never doubted this friend before. But I think I've got a little doubt in the back of my mind and am wondering if anyone else has heard of breeding sphynx and domestics.

I think the most important thing to remember is that he is a gorgeous boy. You love him and he has got a very nice home with his sister. That's really all that matters.

Did you ever see the mother and father? Sphinx cats from reputable breeders are very expensive, and if your friend bought an intact male pedigree cat with the breeding rights she would have paid a lot more than she would have for a pedigree cat that had been neutered. Reputable breeders are very careful with their kittens. They want to protect their bloodlines, so wouldn't have sold a male cat that was considered good enough to breed to anyone who was planning to let him mate with regular DSH or DLH cats. After all, any pedigree cat, no matter how special, will only produce domestic kittens with a domestic cat. So I think your friend may have been a little "creative" with her explanation of why she was breeding " coated sphynx "

But never mind! You have a beautiful, unique looking cat and he's very lucky to have ended up in such a good home.

If your vet isn't concerned about his spine then try not to let it worry you. It would be a good idea to try and get some video of him walking, running and jumping now and then you will have something to compare it to in the future. That way you can make sure that his mobility doesn't deteriorate. All cats get less agile as they age and some develop arthritis. But if he seems to be losing mobility rapidly, or develops nay acute problems ask your vet to do some x-rays to find out what is going on.