Elf Cats: Breed Overview, Characteristics and Care Look, Sensitivity, History, Upkeep, and Useful Tips for the Owner
It is a unique breed-the American curl and sphynx hybrid characterizes its reflection with the hairless body and curled ears. These cats are strong and muscular, with blue eyes, curious, social, and they love to jump around and play. Does not require brushing. Because of their hairlessness, certain techniques of breeding management require hard maintenance. Although it has been recently invented, many problems related to elf cats are still unknown, but you’re sure that they will turn out to be quite lovely pets and faithful friends for many years.
Elf cats: characteristics
They get along very well with pets kept indoors. Elf cats are attention-seekers and extremely playful and curious. Such cats thrive when their owners can give them enough love and care. People who seek elf cats must prepare for how their pets like to climb on top of high objects, thus play zones and resting places often elevated could be quite comical.
Elf cats are pretty laid-back, but they always must train to maintain their physique and a trimmed body. Elf cats reach sexual maturity at age one. Elf cats are very intelligent and as they are receptive to any form of training, new tricks and commands can be learned at any time. Elf cats are vocal pets and can convey their needs pretty well. They appeal to those who enjoy a clean home since they do not shed much, therefore leaving one with a highly clean living space.
Origin of the Elf Cat
Being that elf cats are so new and extremely rare, this breed’s history is very short. Breeders: Karen Nelson and Kristen Leedom joined together to create an elf cat with curled ears retaining all their favorite sphynx cats personality and appearance in 2004.
The fusion of the American curl and sphynx breeds produced the hairless, ear-curled elf cat variety, now so popular. Elves are not an ancient breed and have been bred less than 20 years; however, they are very popular in TICA (The International Cat Association) cat shows. Still, though, the elf cat is not recognized by most breeders as a breed in its own right but as a hybrid rather than a mutation of the sphynx breed.
Care of Elf Cats
If you know how to take care of your cat, then it will lead a better life. Elf cats do not require much exercise, but they are quite more cared for than their counterparts bearing coats.
Exercise
Both house cats and elf cats need about the same degree of physical exercise. Of course, because your house cat is a hairless breed, make its play space interesting. While the suggestion is that cats must exercise vocally for fifteen minutes a day, at other times merely fitting rooms and areas in which your cat can scale and leap wherever it pleases serves to burn off some of this pent-up energy.
Shedding
Since an elf cat does not have hair, it means there would not be any shedding. You do not have to worry about shedding hair. Even though a cat is hairless, it still has dander. A hairless cat is almost hypoallergic, but an owner who reacts to everything can still face some challenges.
Grooming
Even though they do not have body hair, they have to be bathed and cleaned regularly. They need to be groomed often to remove secretions from their skin. Unless groomed constantly, an elf cat may develop skin issues or become sticky in some areas. Hairless cats groom themselves, but with many folds, they cannot reach all the crevices. You’ll want to lotion up your elf cat with a chemical-free SPF cream because hairless cats burn easily in the sun.
Medical Conditions
Elf cats are generally quite healthy compared to many of their owners, but not much is known about this breed in terms of its genetic makeup. The main health problems with elf cats revolve around their hairless coats.
Since hairless cats don’t have hair, they tend to be vulnerable to a number of skin conditions. Oil could accumulate around the pores and induce rashes and infections, and they may get damaged by the skin easily. An elf cat is very susceptible to getting sunburns and post-proliferative skin cancer more than their sphynx fore parent.
Ear infections
The hairless cats are more prone to ear infections, and the ears also require constant cleaning.
Problems in maintaining body temperature
Hairless cats cannot maintain the body temperature as the fur of such animals does not provide any insulation. Make your elf cat warm up in its sweater. The medium-to-large elf cat is similar to the sphynx, and wears cheekbones, athletic muscular build, and eyes of blue to gold. It is a hairless animal. Nose, ears, and shoulders have wrinkly skin.
It has tiny, sparse eyebrows and whiskers. Ears curled back because of a genetic flaw. The mutation results in the loss of some ear decorations. All the elf cat physical features are genetically the same with that of their sphynx parent except for ears. This cat is still young, so there couldn’t be any breed standard. Thus, the possible variations of the elf cat have colors and patterns said to be characteristic.
Diet and Nutrition
Elf cats fast continuously to maintain the heat in their bodies, thus having to consume huge heaps of calories to keep themselves warm. American curl and sphynx are big eaters; hence you should inform the elf cat owners that feeding your cat with healthy, balanced nutrition is essential. Discuss this with your veterinarian and set up the right amount of food for your cat.
Where to Look for an Elf Cat or How to Adopt One
You will hardly find this breed in rescue because the elf cat is a relatively rare breed. If you can pay more than $2,000 on a cat, then go look for an elf cat breeder.
Elf Cat :Summary
This is an excellent companion but with outgoing elf cats, it exclusivity may make it a little difficult to find one. Elf cat hairlessness will be a great choice for the owner of cats who often tend to have allergies but gets upkeep more often. Carefully weigh all the information before deciding if an elf cat is the right pet for you.
Elf cat FAQs
1-What is an elf cat?
This breed has a body hairless but has curled ears, which is quite new and not that common. Breed Elf Cat It is a crossbreed cat, which brings forth special personalities and physical characteristics of both Sphynx and American Curl cat breeds.
2-How would you attend to the grooming needs of the Elf Cat?
Elf cats do not have hair but still require frequent grooming so that the skin may look good. This therefore means that you may need to take your cat frequently for bathing in order to cleanse the dirt and grime, as well as cleaning ears of your cat to prevent infections. Because elf cats do not have fur, they are quite sensitive to burns from the sun. So, you can end up putting sunscreen on your cat; but this should be specifically made for animals.
3-What diseases is an elf cat prone to?
Elf cat is almost naked, which involves a whole bunch of health problems for it, including sets of diseases: rash and infection. The elf cats often suffer from otitis – infections of the ears – as it owes to the shape of their ears. Elfs are unable to regulate the body temperature themselves, so therefore all of conditions are to be preserved in the environment which will ensure the proper breeding of an Elf cat. The breeder should have the skin checked of the Elf cat and should give it the best environment possible.
4- Are the Elf kitties low-allergen level?
Elf cats can also be considered hypoallergenic since they do not possess the usual fur which gathers allergens. They still manage to produce dander and cause allergic reactions, especially to sensitive people. To reduce the allergy exposure on the cat, one should clean it and its surroundings regularly.
5-How do you get hold of an Elf cat for sale or adoption?
Few elf cats exist, and the kittens can never be located in shelters nor rescues. With their specific breeding demands and scarce breeding, elf cats might be more expensive than $2000. Interested buyers will therefore need to reach bred-alert, knowledgeable breeders in most cases before buying. They should therefore look for responsible breeders who care about the welfare of the cats.
