09/04/2026
An early-morning rant… but an important one. 🤍
I really don’t like talking down about other breeders. I don’t believe building my program requires tearing someone else’s apart.
But I *do* believe in awareness.
After seeing the recent conversations surrounding Sin City Sphynx & the CFA guy with persians who just went down in NewYork as well, I want to say something to anyone currently searching for a Sphynx:
**Please. Do your research.**
Don’t knowingly support environments or breeding practices that don't reflect genuine care for the cats or preservation of the breed.
And I want to make an important distinction here: breeders are not God. Things happen. No one is immune from something going wrong.
A kitten can develop unexpectedly. A health problem can appear despite testing. A pregnancy can go wrong. A congenital issue can occur. Even responsible breeders can experience heartbreaking situations.
**The difference is intention, prevention, transparency, and what the breeder does when something goes wrong.**
Poor intention is different.
When I was building The Naked Kitten Co., I very carefully sourced my cats. I developed open relationships with breeders. I wanted to see how their cats lived, how their kittens were raised, what their breeding goals were, and why particular cats were being paired. I was also incredibly fortunate to have mentors who helped me recognize the good—and recognize what I needed to walk away from.
And the stories I could tell from simply trying to build my own little group…
In just the last couple of years, I have personally encountered situations that made me stop in my tracks.
I met someone breeding a cat with a known tail abnormality after it had already appeared again in offspring—and the breeding continued.
I drove to meet someone about a kitten that was sneezing, coughing and had significant nasal discharge immediately upon meeting. I walked away. During that same interaction, the breeder proudly told me they kept 15+ cats in one bedroom.
I encountered someone who simply wasn't litter training their kittens.
I have seen breeding programs repeatedly breed within an extremely small local gene pool because sourcing an appropriate match requires more work, travel and planning.
I've seen businesses constantly importing kittens for resale, where the kitten pictured online may not even be in the country until shortly before the buyer receives it. And this isnt referring to planned choice importing which is perfectly fine
I have personally been on the receiving end of serious health information being misrepresented to me.
And I have walked into situations where an entire litter of kittens was absolutely terrified of human interaction.
That last one especially stays with me.
A properly socialized Sphynx kitten should know people. These cats *crave* human interaction. At five weeks old, my babies are already climbing onto me, harassing me for attention, crawling into my lap for warmth and cuddles, and learning that humans mean safety and love. 😂🤍
These aren't stories from decades ago.
These are things I have encountered relatively recently.
And there are far too many examples like them.
So when situations involving other catteries become public, please understand that they aren't necessarily isolated examples of a larger problem within animal breeding.
There are also AMAZING breeders out here.
There are breeders losing sleep over newborns.
Breeders driving hours—or across states—to bring the right cat into their program instead of simply breeding whatever is convenient.
Breeders HCM scanning, researching pedigrees, studying structure and temperament, asking questions, learning from mentors, retiring cats when necessary, cleaning endlessly, socializing babies every single day, and making decisions based on what will strengthen the next generation.
Those are the people I want families to support.
And please don't assume price alone equals quality.
Sometimes an unusually low price can absolutely be a reason to ask more questions—but paying the highest price doesn't automatically protect you either. I recently saw a situation that shocked me while kittens were being offered around $2,800.
A price tag isn't proof of ethics.
Transparency is.
Ask questions.
Ask to see Mom.
Ask about Dad.
Ask for current photos and videos.
Ask to see where the kittens are actually being raised.
Ask about HCM screening.
Ask how kittens are socialized.
Ask why the breeder chose that pairing.
Ask what happens if something goes wrong.
Look at the environment—not just the perfectly staged kitten photo.
And don't be afraid to wait.
I think sometimes we get caught up in instant gratification. We see the kitten and think, *I want one NOW.*
Unfortunately, that urgency creates the perfect market for operations built around producing and moving kittens quickly.
A beautiful kitten will come again.
A responsible breeder will understand your questions.
And the right baby is worth waiting for.
I will never claim perfection at The Naked Kitten Co. I am always learning, and breeding will always have things outside of our control.
But I can promise there is purpose behind my program.
My cats are family-raised and free-range. My breeding cats are carefully sourced. I value lineage diversity, health, temperament and structure. My breeding cats receive yearly HCM screening. And my babies are raised right in the middle of real life—with hands on them, people loving them, and absolutely no shortage of cuddles.
Because breeding should be about more than producing kittens.
It should be about protecting the cats in front of us while trying to leave the breed a little better than we found it.
Do your research. Ask uncomfortable questions. Be willing to wait. And support breeders whose actions show you what they stand for.
