American wirehair
The American Wirehair began with a single kitten in a farm litter in Verona, New York, in 1966, born with a springy, crimped coat.
The mutation is dominant and unique to this breed — no other cat's coat works the same way.
It weighs 3.5 to 6 kilograms and is built like an American Shorthair, which is its foundation. Every hair, including the whiskers, is crimped, hooked or bent, giving a dense, resilient, slightly coarse coat that springs back when pressed. It is one of the rarest breeds in the world, with only a few hundred registered cats, and yet it is genetically well off — it has been outcrossed to American Shorthairs throughout, so the gene pool never narrowed.
- Origin
- Verona, New York, 1966, from a single farm kitten
- Size
- 3.5–6 kg
- Lifespan
- 14–18 years
- Coat
- Crimped and springy, whiskers included; dominant gene
- Status
- One of the rarest breeds; a few hundred registered
- Health
- Robust, thanks to continuous American Shorthair outcrossing
Related: American shorthair · American bobtail · American curl · American ringtail
2 american wirehair photos, newest first
Living with a american wirehair
Do not over-groom. The wire coat is fragile in the sense that vigorous brushing damages the crimp; an occasional gentle comb is all it wants, and many owners do essentially nothing.
The coat holds more oil than a normal one, so the odd bath helps, and the ears tend to produce more wax and want checking.
A minority of individuals have sensitive skin. If a cat is scratching or the coat looks greasy and flaky, that is worth a vet visit rather than more brushing.
Health is genuinely good for a mutation breed, because outcrossing to American Shorthairs was never stopped — a useful demonstration that a rare breed need not be an unhealthy one.
They are easy-going, adaptable, moderately active cats and undemanding to live with.
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual cats vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.
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