Extra Love Needed: Meet Georgie Hairlesson

How old are you Georgie?

I am 2 years old, I was born on August 7, 2011 at Destynys Sphynx in Maryland.

Where did your name come from?

When my human mom (Sharon) got me, she was looking at some of my ancestor’s names, my grandparents, great-grandparents, etc, and she wanted to pick something cute.  Mom wanted to give me a unique name, and I wanted a name that was cute but not stupid.  We both sat down and thought about it.  I have ancestor’s with cute names like O B Skinobi, Judy Jetskin, Baldylocks,  Velvetwrinkles, Wrinkle Wrinkle  Little Star, Skin Amon and Spice, Gidget Goes Naked, and my favorite is my very own Grandmother, who’s name is ‘This Lil Piggy Stayed Home’.  Grandma goes by the nickname “Piggy”.  My dad is ‘Destynys Gideon Guy’, and my Mom is ‘Citizenkat Phoebe of Destynys’.  Mom came from a home called Citizenkat.

My Gremlin photo from last year. I love making faces.

So, here we were (me & Sharon) trying to think of a name for me.  We looked on a forum board called Sphynx Lair, where Sphynx owners go to talk about us, how to take care of us, etc.  Someone on Sphynx Lair posted about good names for Sphynx, and George Hairlesson was one of the names.  Mom loved it because she likes someone named George Harrison, who was a “Beatle”, and she likes Beatles.  I thought she was talking about a bug, I didn’t want to be named after a bug, but then I found out that this Beatle named George Harrison was actually a person, so I was ok with the name.  My full name is ‘Destynys Little George Hairlesson”.  The breeder’s name, where a Sphynx is born, is always the first word of a cat’s name.  I came from Destyny Sphynx in Maryland, so the word Destynys is the first word in my name.

Do you go by any nicknames?

Yes, I do have a nickname, it is “Little Georgie”, that is Mom’s favorite name for me.  I also just go by the name “Georgie, or “George”, that is my grownup name.

Me stretching, I love to stretch.

How did you come to your forever home?

Whew, that is a great story.  When me & my siblings were about 8 weeks old we caught a terrible virus, an upper respiratory virus of some kind.

My first human mom, Carole, took care of us 24/7, she ran us to the vets office, gave us different medicines, and was putting hot/cold packs on our eyes to help with the swelling.  I don’t remember a lot about that time of my life, I don’t want to remember it, we were all so sick.  I stayed sick until January, about 3 months before I was well enough to go to a forever home.  My human Mom Sharon had been looking for a Sphynx for a few months.  She checked out different sphynx websites, breeders websites, to find out about us.    She happened to see Carole’s website, and she fell in love with my dad, Gideon Guy, who was featured on the front page.  She clicked and looked at all the pages on Carole’s website, and she just knew that Carole was someone that she wanted to get a kitten from.  So, she called Carole and found out that I was available.  On the phone the first time, Carole told Mom up front that I was a “Special Needs” kitty.  See, I had some eye damage from my illness.  Mom didn’t care, she told Carole that she could handle a “Special Needs” kitty because she has had cats for 30 years, and some of those cats have had ‘issues’.  So, Mom (Sharon) drove from Ohio to Maryland one January wintery day, and that’s how I came to be with my Mommy Sharon.

What type of sphynx are you? (I heard there were different kinds)

A back shot of me, showing my long back and markings.

I don’t know anything about that.  I’m only 2, and I don’t read much because of my bad eye, reading has never been my ‘forte’.

Do you require the house to be a certain temperature?

No, not really, but if it’s too cold you better have room for me under the covers.  LOL  I do sleep under the covers, and sometimes I wear a t-shirt.  Mom doesn’t buy me expensive Sphynx clothing, she just buys baby clothes from the store and that’s what I wear.  My clothing size is 6 months or 6-9 months in human baby clothes.

What special care do you require since you are hairless?

We do require a bath once a week.  I HATE this part of being a Sphynx.  I HATE BATH TIME, UGH!   We do require a bath once a week.  We do not require shampoo, since we are hairless.  I take my bath in Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash.  Mom fills the kitchen sink, and I have to stand there while she washes me with a wash cloth, washes my face, and all over.  Then, she cleans out my ears with a q-tip, and she has to clean my toes to get the gunk(little box poo) out from between my toes.  Since I have no hair between my toes, the gunk gets caught in the folds of skin that are around my toes.  I do have to say, it is gross, I do get little box gunk buildup, I wish I had cat hair between my toes so there wouldn’t be any room for the gunk.

A closeup of my ear, showing my longer hair. Mom says that it feels like toddler hair, the first hair that a baby gets.

Would people who have cat allergies be okay around you because you are hairless?

They might be ok around me because Mom bathes me once a week.  See, It’s not our hair that people are allergic to but the dander on our skin.  See, since I get a bath once a week, and I do clean myself every day, I think people with allergies might be better off with a Sphynx.

What are a few things you would like people to know about sphynx cats that they may not know?

We are just like everybody else, only naked!  We do have various stages of naked.  Some Sphynx are totally hairless, other sphynx have a thing coat of what Mom calls ‘Peach Fuzz’.  I do have some peach fuzz, and I have more on my feet, and on my ears than the rest of my body.  Also, different times of the year I lose my fuzz and then I’m totally naked again, but then the fuzz comes back.  When I had my eye removed, Mom noticed that I lost all my peach fuzz in the hospital.  My surgery was only a one day surgery, I came home that night, but from the stress of going to the hospital, I lost all my peach fuzz.  It’s starting to grow back right now.

A closeup of my front foot, showing my hairy foot.

Do you live with any fursiblings? If so, do you all get along?

I have 2 fursiblings.  I have J.R., a 12 year old black cat that Mommy adopted off the streets in Columbus, Ohio when he was a baby.  J.R. lived next to a dumpster, and fended for himself out of the dumpster.  J.R. was a feral cat that Mom adopted and tamed down.   Also, there is Zoey, a 4 year old Miniature Pincher.  Zoey belongs to Randy, my Dad.   We all get along great.  J.R. is old and grumpy, and I am friends with Zoey and we sleep together sometimes.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering getting a sphynx cat for the first time?

Read up about us, and look on the internet to get us from a reputable breeder.  There are a lot of good breeders who are trying to breed healthy sphynx, and they always try to find good homes for their kittens.

Anything else you would like to share about yourself?

Yes, I have my own Facebook page, here’s the link:    https://www.facebook.com/GeorgieTheSphynx?ref=hl

I am trying to get 200 likes, I have 170 right now.  I have friends all over the world, most of my friends outside the USA are other Sphynx’s or their owners.

I love talking to my friends on Facebook.

ALSO,  I recently had my left eye removed.  I had an ulcer on my cornea, and some other eye issues.  Mom had been treating it with ointment & steroid drops, but it didn’t get any better.  It hurt, and was very annoying.  It always felt like I had something in my eye, and my inner eyelid was usually ½ way over my eye.  It actually made it harder for me to see. It hurt to have my eye removed, but my vet gave me plenty of pain medication.  That first night was rough, I just stayed with Mom and slept in her bed. The 2^nd day I felt much better, and it’s been a upward climb since then.  You wouldn’t believe how I run, and jump on my cat tree.  I caught my first fly just a few days ago, I tracked that sucker down with my good eye, and caught me some flying meat. Yum Yum.  I got my stitches out on Saturday, Aug 17^th, and we will post photos on my Facebook page.

A side shot of my good side, my right side, and showing the long hair on my ears.

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Author’s Note: Thank you to Georgie and his mom for letting me pester them with questions, you can visit Georgie on Facebook and check out many more pictures of his handsomeness. . Photos for this article were used with permission. This article is a part of the extra love needed theme. Please click the below image for more extra love needed articles.

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