A despicable scam took place in Alberta, Canada, where women purchased what they thought was a Sphynx kitten. Â Except that a few weeks later, the fake Sphynx cat strangely started growing fur.
Sphynx cats, a rare breed recognizable by their hairless look, are in high demand. Unfortunately, this inspires some crooked people to engineer dodgy plans to scam those looking to adopt one.
Canadian JoAnne Dyck and Holly Rattray fell victim to one of those rip-offs. Both women were smitten by hairless cats and wanted to adopt a new kitty.
JoAnne Dyck, who lives in Red Deer, Alberta, found an online ad for a Sphynx kitten. She subsequently paid about $700 to the vendor to acquire little Vlad.
The woman admitted a few strange aspects about the deal but ignored them. First, the seller claimed to live in Calgary but still refused to let Joan collect the cat on location.
Finally, the puss was delivered to Joanne. Upon his arrival, Vlad was approximately eight weeks old and hair-free.
JoAnne Dyck declared in an interview with CBC News:
“It looked like a sphynx because he was very, very skinny, and his face was really angular.”
However, things didn’t go smoothly. Vlad had an unusual behavior: he didn’t want to be touched and wouldn’t get along with Dyck’s other feline.
His mistress ended up selling him to a woman named Shanina Yung, although JoAnne kept contact with Vlad’s new owner. During exchanges with Shanina, JoAnn would learn that the pet’s attitude didn’t improve.
A fake Sphynx
Yung felt something was wrong but couldn’t put her finger on it. Still, she had shock when she spotted a little fuzz on the moggy’s body.
 “It started growing more and more and more hair and whiskers and hair in the ears and things like that,” Yung added.
 She took the fake Sphynx cat puss to see a vet. Despite her decade-long career, the vet was astounded by the kitten’s appearance.
 According to his practician, Vlad had lacerations on his skin, most likely caused by a razor burn. In addition, the cuts on the tail were so infected that they could have led to an amputation.
Fortunately, Vlad received proper care and fully recovered; his ginger haircoat also did. Shanina Yung witnessed the instant change in the puss.
“When I first got him, he just sat with his head down, scared, and shook for 24 hours. He’s a completely different cat.”, she said.
The fraud continues
Another person looking to adopt a Sphynx cat had a similar experience to Yung. Holly Rattray from Bawlf, Alberta, too, purchased her kitten online.
After seeing an ad, she got in touch with a vendor called Tim. Once Holly decided to take the kitten, she agreed to collect the puss from one of Tim’s acquaintances in a Red Deer parking lot.
Having driven two hours from Bawlf, Holly met the acquaintance in the designated spot. She recalled the person being in a rush.
The seller even took less than the asked price and hastily left the parking lot with $550.
Later, Holly examined closer her new pet. Because she had been in contact with Sphynx cats in the past, she knew the breed could have some leftover hair on their feet and tail end.
However, the female kitten Holly had just bought had none. The puss was utterly bald.
When Holly shared her concerns with her husband, he concluded that no one could have shaved a cat so perfectly.
Eventually, time would prove Holly to be correct. Her fake Sphynx’s skin healed from the mistreatment and gradually grew hair.
In addition, Holly read JoAnn’s scam story on Facebook. She reached out.
Both women alerted animal protection services hoping to stop the fake Sphynx cat fraud and the kitten abuse.