Congratulations! If you are reading this, you are most likely preparing to bring home your first sphynx kitten! Deciding whether or not your sphynx kitten will need to wear clothes because you live in a cold environment (even air conditioning), or whether your baby will wear clothes for photos and fun is a personal decision. You can read our blog, "Do Sphynx Cats and Kittens Need to Wear Clothes?" here: https://www.nudiepatooties.com/blogs/nudie-patooties )
We live in Minnesota and knew that our sphynx would need to wear clothes, so we were careful to make the experience positive and took sizing and fit very seriously. If you know your kitten will NEED to wear clothes, you will want to start when they are very young and make sure the fit is cut to a cat’s body. If you want to increase the odds your sphynx will be able to wear clothes, take it seriously while they are kittens and make it as comfortable as possible. From our experience, the best clothes wearers start when they are small kittens.
When we originally started designing kitten clothes many years ago, it was common for kittens to go home between eight and twelve weeks. Within the past year, TICA now recommends, for their health and socialization, kittens should go home at 14 plus weeks. We still do, however, see many breeders allow kittens to go home at 12 weeks. Since most breeders respect the recommendation from TICA, the trend is larger, healthier kittens going to their forever homes.
Buying clothes for a sphynx kitten is a lot like purchasing clothes for a baby. If a parent has an 8 ½ month old baby, they most likely would not buy clothes for a 6-9-month-old, but rather go up to the 9-12-month size! YOU WANT TO PURCHASE CLOTHES AS THEY ARE GROWING INTO versus OUT OF A SIZE!
Our friend Wesley is a great example of his mama’s great shopping skills! Wesley went to live with Debbie at 14 weeks. At that time, he was just growing into a Munchkin size (4-5 lbs.). At that time, Debbie purchased the next size up (Tweener) with her Munchkin order. When the length of the Munchkin size grew shorter, Debbie knew it was time to try on the Tweener. Wesley was able to wear his fleece from almost 5 pounds through 7. In this photo, he weighs 6.6 pounds. Even though a Tweener will fit 5-7 lbs. and Wesley only weighs 6.6 lbs., it would be silly to purchase another Tweener because Wesley is now ready for a Biggies size.
You can expect your kitten to gain at least a pound a month until around the age of 8 months. By this time, 99.9% will fit into a Biggies (some even grow faster!) That is why you need to weigh and measure before ordering!
Here are some basic guidelines for you to follow:
If you are bringing your kitten home at 12 weeks, you will most likely need a Peanut size! Your breeder will do a Vet check or be able to weigh your kitten at the cattery right before they come home. Most breeders DO NOT let kittens go home before three pounds and most 12-week-old kittens will fit perfectly into a Peanut size. There are some instances where the kitten does weigh more, so getting an accurate weight right before they come home is helpful. We usually ship within 24 hours (sometimes same day), so your shirts will arrive in 3-4 days time!
If you are bringing your kitten home at 14 weeks, you most likely will have close to a 4 pound kitten and will need a Munchkin size. Most kittens stay in this size a while because this is when their shape begins to change and the cute little kitten belly starts to thin down and they grow longer. When you see the back of the shirt inch away from the tailbone, you will know it is time to consider a Tweener!
TWEENER is our most mis-ordered size, so please read this carefully! A Tweener is meant for a kitten that is 5-7 pounds. (Which is usually about 5-7ish months old). During this time, their bodies have grown long and thin and their bellies have almost completely disappeared. You want to purchase a Tweener either before 5 pounds or soon after. Many kittens blow right through this size right into a Biggies size--It all depends on how their bodies develop, but you want to be sure your kitten is growing into this size and not out of it at the time of purchase. These shirts are cut very thin and long and it is very rare that a sphynx will stay in this size as an adult. Unaltered sphynx sometimes stay a Tweener until after they are neutered or spayed. Some Bambino’s and sphynx from small lines also might stay at this size, but the occurrence is 1 out of 100.
By eight months, most of our babies will be wearing a Biggies or a Chubba Bubba! Always remember, fleece is a fuller fabric and will always run a tad smaller than a knit. If you are at the end of a size in weight, you will want to size up!
Lastly, we encourage you to email, live chat, and contact us with any questions! We have been in your shoes before and are very happy to help you. Also, fill out your baby’s information on your order forms! If we see something that doesn’t make sense, we will contact you and fix the order BEFORE it is sent!
