Why are Sphynx so Expensive?
Think you want to breed Kittens?
Are you secretly thinking, "WOW, are these guys making a mint or what?!"
Well here is the real scoop, it isn't glamorous, and it isn't easy and most breeders would just love to break even...Here is why and why I do it!
Darn the backyard breeders for giving us all a bad name!
Be very careful and wary if you see bargain prices; these kittens usually cost hundreds more in vet bills, kittens come with no contracts or health guarantee/or the breeder falls off the face of the earth once the kitten is in your possession. As you read above there is a lot involved in producing healthy/quality sphynx kittens. All good breeders provide contracts which protect you and the cats welfare both and are happy to discuss with you the progress of the cat for years to come.
We stand behind our kittens 100%
While backyard breeders and pet shops may make money selling kittens, most legitimate breeders do not even cover their own costs. It’s a very expensive hobby. Most of us WISH we could just break even, but can’t. It may look like a gold mine to you, but let’s go through the expenses involved and you’ll see that turning a profit would be a rare event for a breeder. We do this for love of sphynx, not money. We sacrifice time and honestly our families sacrifice too. We lose vacations, dates, parties, time all at the drop if a hat for illness or pregnancy with spouses, kids, families, and friends!. Responsible breeders are looking to improve the breed and sells PET kittens from litters to hope to offset the cost. All of this with hopes to helping with the betterment of the breed, improving their cattery and showing their cats!
As an example, buying a top show quality male or female, with breeding rights may cost $3200 to $6000. My breeder cats have excellent bloodlines, temperament, type and HEALTH. To produce beautiful and healthy babies it starts from their parents and grandparents and so on.
Maintenance, supplies, HCM Heart Scans $400-700 a piece, Blood Tests $40-160 a piece a minimum of 2 per breeder or more and Veterinary Care, generally several hundred per cat, Ultrasound $140, laundry, cleaning supplies, litter, raw food and premium grain free kibble kibble, increased utilities cost, ... sphynx breeders several thousand dollars in maintenance PER cat the 1st year. By the time a cat is first bred, at about a year old or 1.5 yrs old, the breeder will have invested several thousand dollars.Top Quality Food/Vitamins $1000 mo and kitty litter per month=$ 160 mo (just for adults)Food and milk replacement per litter ($400) (a month) Kitten shots cost breeders about $63 per kitten – and that’s if there are NO problems to be treated. The slightest illness can cost $180-$1000 (per kitten).Kittens stay with me for 3-4 months or so, and have to be fed top quality food, cuddled, and cleaned-up-after for all that time. I am also available 24/7 to anyone who has questions or concerns about their cat/kitten.
Separate, special areas of the house are customized for the cats to use as a playroom, stud room and nursery – cattery set-ups cost thousands to build ($15000-$27000). Heaters run in every room to keep our nurseries/playroom warm.. Electric bills have well exceeded $1000 a MONTH!! And we haven even talked about the poop, there is alotta' scoopin' going on! and oh yeah I have a litter robot or two but baby kittys don"t use the bots, ya all! (They are wonderful btw., best Christmas gift ever!) However if all goes perfectly well, fat healthy kittens are born – but there are always the disasters, such as C-sections that run $2500 and up. Emergency vets. start at $2000 with this exotic breed after hrs, just to walk through the door. And sometimes, after all the investment is made, a cat is found to be infertile or a kitten is stillborn or just has a reaction to a vaccine or just gets really sick and even if you stay up for 3 days straight and see the vet. multiple times and he to ties everything, no one can save them.....
Good breeders make a huge investment into “doing it right”, by having the right breeding cats and facilities. Both pet shops and backyard breeders cutting corners (not having quality cats as parents, not showing, not keeping kittens until the proper age or providing proper prenatal and kitten veterinary care) – and then they charge the same price as the reputable breeders. They make money and the animal and the families pay the price. And those caring, professional breeders make huge sacrifices in their personal lives, and shed lots of tears, in trying to create succesful breeding programs.
The costs associated with proper nutrition, vet care, health testing, and showing all are reflected in the price. Don’t be fooled into a ‘bargain’ because really you end up with what you pay for. There are numerous ethical and wonderful Sphynx breeders available, but sadly there have also popped up some that care more about their own pocket-book than the welfare of the kittens/cats and their potential owners.
We are a closed cattery for the safety of our kittens and yours. We take a ton of pics and videos of our babies though just ask! We also have photos of our cattery on the website under “cattery”. The kittens have very sensitive immune systems before they are vaccinated and viruses can easily be brought in the home on hands, shoes, clothing etc. Health is out top priority so we now wait until their little immune systems are completely developed before we allow them to be handled even by us, other than for daily weights the first week and a half or so.
All that said, The greatest reward we ever get here at Adora Sphynx is seeing a wonderful kitten, that is a credit to the breed and a wonderful pet, adopted and living a long and happy life with someone that also loves and respects the breed! Thank you for choosing an Adora baby!