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American Wirehair Cats

Family: Felidae

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Felis domesticusPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Justin Brough

     The American Wirehair is a fairly recently developed breed with a bold, unusual appearance. The distinctive wiry hair sets this breed apart from its relative, the American Shorthair. Despite its wild appearance, this breed is known for being friendly, gentle, and playful.

    The American Wirehair is a highly desirable family cat, just like the American Shorthair. It is friendly, gentle, and loving. Unlike some other breeds, it becomes attached to all members of the family as long as it is treated well. It is a playful cat that is interested in the world. This breed has a soft voice and is also a good mouser. Despite the texture of its coat, it requires very little grooming.

    This breed originated in New York. It is still an uncommon breed in the United States, but is extremely rare in the rest of the world.

Common Name(s)     American Wirehair.

Background     The first known American Wirehair, named Adam, was born in 1966 on a farm in New York. The kitten was born to two straight-haired American Shorthair parents, Bootsie and Fluffy, and was the only wirehaired kitten in the litter. He was red and white. The wiry hair is caused by a mutation on a dominant gene. Adam was bred with a female straight-haired kitten from the same litter named Tip-Toe. They successfully produced wire-haired kittens, and by 1969, a true-breeding American Wirehair had emerged. In 1977 the Cat Fanciers' Association recognized it as an official breed. It is still an uncommon cat in the United States, but is a rare cat nearly anywhere else in the world.

Description      The American Wirehair's defining feature is of course its wiry, springy fur that resembles the coat of a lamb. The wiry appearance is created by the fact that each hair is either curly or hooked. Unlike the American Shorthair, the American Wirehair's coat is of medium length. The hair is coarser on the head, flanks, and base of the tail, but is soft on the underbelly and chin. The coat can have any color form that the American Shorthair has, except for patched tabby. Some examples of acceptable colors include White, Cream, Shaded Silver, Black Smoke, Classic Tabby Pattern, Calico, and Blue-Cream.
Apart from its unique coat, the American Wirehair is similar to the American Shorthair in most other aspects. It is a medium to large cat and weighs from 8 to 15 pounds. It has a muscular body. The head is medium-sized, broad, and round. The eyes are large, round, and wide-set. It is highly desirable for it to have curly whiskers. The males are larger than the females and have defined jowls. This breed's approximate lifespan is 15 years.

Care and Feeding     This breed has no special dietary needs.

Housing Your Cat     The American Wirehair enjoys being indoors, but also enjoys going outside. It should be allowed to go outside, at least into a yard, but will not become distraught if it is not allowed to run free all of the time.

Maintenance     American Wirehairs require minimal grooming. They should be brushed and combed once a week. Their wiry coat can be damaged easily, so care should be taken to not damage it.

Social Behaviors     Like the American Shorthair, this breed enjoys being around people and other animals, but does not require an excessive amount of attention.

Activities     This breed enjoys playing, so it should be provided with toys and time to play with its owner. It should also be provided time outside to exercise.

Breeding/Reproduction     American Wirehairs are excellent parents. Kittens can be weaned at 8 weeks, but it is preferable to wait until they are 12 weeks old.

Common Health Problems     The American Wirehair is a resilient, healthy cat that suffers from no special illnesses. As mentioned earlier, its wiry coat can be damaged easily, but this concern is mainly cosmetic. It should not affect the health of the cat.

Availability     The American Wirehair is a difficult breed to find, due to its scarce existence. However, it is possible to find one on the internet or from a local breeder with persistence. Again, due to their rare nature, you can expect their purchase price to be fairly high.

Glossary Terms     True-breeding cat: A cat that will pass on a certain trait, such as being wirehaired, to all future offspring, if bred with another true-breeding cat for the same trait.
    Flank: The area on the side of an animal between the last rib and hip.

References Dr. Bruce Fogle, CATalog, Dorling Kindersley, 2000.
Gino Pugnetti, Simon & Shuster's Guide to Cats, Simon & Shuster Inc., 1983.

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