My Name is Kristen Leedom. I’ve been breeding sphynx for 22 years. I was born an animal lover. As a child I was able to connect with animals better then people. I spent most of my days in the woods at the park spending time with toads and frogs. I was the girl who had a pocket full of worms. My best friends were my pet rats who were the first animals I was to ever breed.
As a child I was very ill. I had severe respiratory issues. I developed an allergy to my rats which complicated my health issues. I tried to hide it as much as I could. Having to part with my pet rats would had been devastating. I was heavily medicated on steroids and other medications which also made me sick. I learned to live not being able to breath. Walking up a flight of stairs or going from hot to cold from inside to outside in winter would immediately cause my bronchial tubes to close. I started receiving experimental antibody transfusions when I was 12. The transfusions continued until I was a Jr in high school. My respiratory problems slowly went into remission.
I had never had a pet cat or dog before. My only pets were my rats which I had become highly allergic to. (long story short, I attempted to get hairless rats a few years ago because I love rats and they make great pets but sadly I am still highly allergic to them.)
22 years ago, when I was 21 years old when I purchased my 1st sphynx. I was at my parents one summer day sitting out back by their pond having a few drinks when we got into this conversation about cats and whether there were different breeds of cats like dogs. (Keep in mind the internet didn’t exist then) I grabbed the Sunday journal where they had a section for people who sold pets. I saw an ad placed from someone selling sphynx kittens…. a hairless cat. To me this was wild. I couldn’t imagine such a thing. I called the number and the next day my mother and I took a trip two hours north. It was love at 1st sight. I purchased a blue and white male kitten.
I brought him to my parent’s house so my dad could see him. He looked at the kitten and fell in love with him and said he wanted him. So, I let my dad keep him. The following day I went back up north to the breeder and purchased his brother for myself who was also a blue and white boy.
I fell under the spell of these amazing cats and purchased a pair for breeding and then the house across the street from my parent’s where I had grown up. My dream was always to be a veterinarian. Breeding sphynx I think was the next best thing.
When I started breeding sphynx there were maybe 20 other breeders in the world. The internet didn’t exist, so we advertised in magazines such as Cat Fancy and Cats USA as well as newspapers. Years to come I was one of he 1st breeders with a website.
The sphynx became my passion…my life. I’ve dedicated everything to them. I never get a day off and can’t go on vacations. What I do isn’t easy. There are very few people in the world that have been breeding sphynx as long as I. I am very passionate about what I do and take it very seriously. Countless hours go into each of my kittens and cats. In 2004 I founded the Elf of which people and now breeding all over the world. In 2009 I founded the Skinderlop.
