How Reserving a Sphynx Kitten Works: Enquiry, First Look, a Call and a Contract

Families often expect buying a pedigree kitten to work like buying anything else: find one you like, pay, and pick it up. With a small, health-focused cattery it works differently, and for good reason. This guide explains exactly how a Wrinklebottom kitten goes from a first email to a signed contract and a going-home day — what each step is for, what it costs, and what it does not commit you to.

Why there is a process at all

A Sphynx is a fifteen-year commitment to an indoor, heat-loving, people-dependent cat that needs regular bathing and ear care. The point of a reservation process is not to make buying harder. It is to make sure the kitten, the household and the expectations all fit before anyone is emotionally or financially invested. A breeder who will sell you a kitten without speaking to you is a breeder who will not be there when you have a question a year later.

It also protects you. Scams in the Sphynx world are common, and they almost always share one feature: pressure to pay quickly, before you have seen the cats or spoken to a person. A process with a conversation and a written contract in the middle of it is the opposite of that. Our guide to choosing a breeder and spotting a scam has the full checklist — use it on us too.

Step one: choose a list

There are two ways to start, and both are on our Available Kittens page.

The enquiry list (free)

If the timing is still loose, or you want to talk before any money changes hands, the enquiry list is the right place. You tell us roughly what you are looking for, when, and a little about your household. Every genuine enquiry gets a reply from a person. When a kitten has not already found a First Look home, this is the list we come to.

First Look ($100)

First Look is for households that are already sure a Sphynx is coming to live with them. It is a once-off, non-refundable payment of US$100, and it entitles you to a once-off US$100 discount on any kitten purchase. First Look families hear about planned pairings and expected kittens while those plans are still private, and when a litter arrives they choose first.

What First Look is not: it is not a deposit on a specific kitten, it does not guarantee a particular colour or sex, and it does not skip the conversation. It is simply how some families stay close to the cattery until the right litter arrives.

Step two: a conversation

Before any kitten is reserved, we talk — usually on a video call. You see the cats, the house they are raised in and, if a litter is on the ground, the kittens themselves. We will ask about your home: who lives there, whether there are other pets, how warm the house is, how much of the day someone is around. You should ask us anything you like, including the awkward questions:

• What health testing do the parents have, and can I see the paperwork?
• What happens if the kitten develops a health problem?
• What happens if my circumstances change and I cannot keep the cat?
• What will the kitten have had — vaccinations, worming, desexing — by the time it comes home?

Health is our number one priority, so we expect those questions. Our cats are FeLV and FIV negative, HCM scanned, and DNA tested for 40+ genetic predispositions, and we show you the documentation rather than asking you to take our word for it. Our article on DNA testing in Sphynx cats explains what those results mean.

Step three: matching

When a litter is born, we do not hand kittens out in queue order like numbered tickets. Kittens develop distinct personalities over their first weeks — the bold explorer, the lap-dweller, the one that supervises everything from the top of the fridge. We match temperament to household. A quieter kitten might suit a calm adult home; a confident, busy one might suit a family that is home all day with another cat to play with.

First Look families see the litter first and tell us their preferences. We then talk through which kitten we think fits best, and why. Most of the time the family and the breeder arrive at the same answer.

Step four: reservation and contract

A kitten is reserved only after you have spoken to us, seen the litter, and read the contract. The reservation is separate from First Look. Our written contract covers:

• The kitten’s health at the time of sale and the health guarantees that apply.
• Desexing for pet homes.
• What happens if life changes and the cat needs to come back to us. It always can.
• The kitten’s vaccination, worming and desexing status at collection, confirmed in writing for that individual kitten.

Read it properly, ask questions about anything that is unclear, and only sign when you are comfortable. If any breeder rushes you through this step, slow down.

Step five: waiting, and getting ready

Kittens stay with their mother and littermates until they are ready, and never leave before twelve weeks. Those weeks matter: kittens learn bite inhibition, litter habits and social confidence from their mother and siblings, and their immune systems and vaccinations need time. You will get updates and photos along the way.

Use the time to get the house ready. Our new Sphynx kitten checklist lists what to buy, and bringing home a Sphynx kitten covers vet registration and routines.

Step six: going home

On going-home day you receive a care handover: what the kitten eats, how it is bathed, what its skin is like and what has been done at the vet. You also keep a phone number that still works in a year — the relationship does not end at collection. Questions about blackheads, warmth, food or behaviour in the months that follow are part of the deal.

How long does it take?

Honestly, it varies. We are a small household cattery, and litters are planned around the queens’ health rather than around demand. Some families wait a few months; some wait longer for a particular pairing. If you want to be in the conversation early, First Look is the quieter way in. If you would rather write first and see how you feel, the enquiry list costs nothing.

Before you write

It helps to have read our Sphynx cost guide and should you get a Sphynx cat? first — both are honest about the downsides as well as the joys. Then, when you are ready, see who is available.

Meet the cats behind the advice

Everything here comes out of running a household of Sphynx and Donskoy cats — meet the queens, studs and kittens, or send us an enquiry if you have a question we have not answered.

Frequently asked questions

Does First Look reserve a specific kitten?

No. First Look is a once-off, non-refundable US$100 payment that puts you first in line to hear about pairings and to choose from a litter, and it is credited as a US$100 discount on any kitten purchase. A specific kitten is reserved separately, after a conversation and a signed contract.

Can I reserve a Sphynx kitten without talking to the breeder?

Not with us. We do not send a kitten to someone we have never spoken to. A responsible breeder should want a conversation, and a seller who only wants fast payment is a common sign of a scam.

How are kittens matched to families?

We match temperament to household rather than handing out kittens in queue order. First Look families see the litter first, tell us their preferences, and we talk through which kitten suits their home and why.