Cats Wiki

Welcome to the Cats Wiki! Hope you enjoy learning and contributing here; but before you start doing that, please do read our Guidelines before you start providing constructive edits and to play it safe with the community.

Best wishes, The Cats Wiki Administrators.

READ MORE

Cats Wiki
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).
American Wirehair

Information
Origin

United States

Breed Standard
CFA

Standard

TICA

Standard

ACF

Standard

CCA

Standard

Others

[FIFe Standard]

Cat (Felis catus)
List of Cat Breeds



The American wirehair breed is originating in the United States. It began as a spontaneous mutation in a litter of upstate New York farm cats in 1966. A spontaneous mutation is an uncommon, although not rare, happening. As it has occurred among cats in the past, two ordinary cats came together and as a result of their mating, a kitten unlike its parents or littermates was born.

History[]

The first wirehair cat appeared as a random cat mutation among a litter of six born to two barn cats. This single red and white male had odd wiry fur. The owner of the cats called a local breeder of Rex cats, Mrs. William O'Shea, to take a look at the kitten. She bought the kitten for $50, along with one of his normal coated female littermates, to start a breeding program. The wirehaired male was named Council Rock Farm Adam of Hi-Fi, and the female Tip-Toe of Hi-Fi.

Breeding between the two produced wirehaired kittens, many of which were sold off to other interested breeders. As the population grew, cats were exported to Canada and Germany. The breed did well, and in 1978 they were accepted for Championship competition.

Characteristics[]

Genetics[]

The unique wirehair coat is genetically dominant over a normal coat, unlike the gene that creates rex fur. The fur is springy, dense and coarse, and even their whiskers are often curled. Many find it pleasant to the touch. It is unusual in that this coat has not appeared among other cats (most mutations occur in various places), and all wirehairs can trace their ancestry back to Adam. Apart from the wiry coat, they are strong, muscular cats, built similarly to American Shorthairs. They come in a variety of colors.

Temperament[]

They are described to be intelligent, affectionate, calm, reserved, loyal, playful, and inquisitive cats.

Personality[]

It was felt, at first, that since this mutation had occurred in the domestic American cat, the standard for it should conform to that of the American Shorthair. However, there were unique Wirehair qualities besides the coat that kept cropping up in each litter, and were worth keeping.

Appearance[]

The coat is the characteristic that separates the American Wirehair from all other breeds. Just as there is a wide variety of texture in Persians or Exotics, there is also considerable variation among the Wirehairs. As this is a dominant mutation, approximately half of the kittens will be wirehaired at birth. The most readily apparent wiring is that of the whiskers and ideally, the entire coat will be wired at birth. If the coat appears to be ringlets, it may be too long and may wave or straighten with maturity. Some of the lightly wired coats may continue to crimp during the early life of the Wirehair. The degree of coarseness depends upon the coat texture of the sire and dam. To produce the best wiring, both parents must have a hard coat. Some say this cat is ugly.

Colours[]

Same as American Shorthair

Black, Blue, Red, Cream, Tortoiseshell, Blue Tortoiseshell

  • Tabby (Mackerel, Classic/Blotched, Spotted, Ticked)
  • Smoke, Silver Tabby/Shaded/Chinchilla
  • White spotting

in any combination

According to the CFA standard. Other registries, such as TICA, may accept chocolate and cinnamon, along with their dilutes, torties, etc.

External links[]

view · talk · edit Cats Navigation
Felinology Cat AnatomyCat GeneticsCat Coat Genetics • (Bicolor CatBlack CatCalicoDeaf White CatTabby CatTortoiseshell) • Dwarf CatsKittenOdd-Eyed CatSquitten
Cat Health AnesthesiaCat Skin DisordersDeclawingDietFeline AcneFeline AsthmaFeline CalicivirusFeline Hepatic LipidosisFeline Hypertrophic CardiomyopathyFeline Immunodeficiency VirusFeline Infectious PeritonitisFeline Leukemia VirusFeline Lower Urinary Tract DiseaseFeline PanleukopeniaFeline Viral RhinotracheitisFeline VaccinationFleaHeartwormNeuteringPolydactyl CatRabiesRingwormSpayingRoundwormTickToxoplasmosis
Cat Behavior Cat Body LanguageCat FightCatnip (Nepeta Cataria)CommunicationKneading
IntelligenceCat Plays and ToysPuppy CatPurrRighting reflexSenses
Cat Supplies Cat FoodCat ToysCat TreeLitter BoxScratching Post
Human - Feline Interaction
Early Interactions Cats in Ancient EgyptCultural Depictions of CatsFarm CatFeral CatShip's Cat
Cat Registry Cat showAmerican Association of Cat EnthusiastsAmerican Cat Fanciers Association
Cat Aficionado AssociationCat Fanciers' AssociationFédération Internationale Féline
Governing Council of the Cat FancyThe International Cat Association
Canadian Cat Association
Breed Full list
Domestic AbyssinianAegean catAmerican BobtailAmerican CurlAmerican Shorthair
American WirehairArabian MauAustralian MistBalineseBambinoBritish Shorthair
BirmanBombayBurmeseCalifornia Spangled CatChartreuxColorpoint Shorthair
Cornish RexCymricCyprus catDevon RexDonskoyEgyptian MauExotic Shorthair
German RexHavana BrownHimalayanJapanese BobtailJavaneseKhao Manee
KinkalowKoratKurilian BobtailLaPermLykoiMaine CoonManxMunchkin
NebelungNeva MasqueradeNorwegian Forest CatOcicat
Oriental LonghairOriental ShorthairPersianPeterbaldPixie-bobRagdoll
RagamuffinRussian BlueScottish FoldSelkirk RexSiameseSiberian
SingapuraSokokeSnowshoeSomaliSphynxThaiTraditional Persian
TonkineseTurkish AngoraTurkish Van
Hybrid BengalChausieCheetohJungle CurlSavannahSerengeti
Wild Cats
Pantherinae Amur LeopardArabian LeopardBlack PantherClouded LeopardJaguarLeopardLionTiger
Felinae African Golden CatAfrican WildcatAndean Mountain CatAsiatic Golden CatBay Cat
Black-Footed CatBobcatCanada LynxCaracalCheetahChinese Desert CatCougar
Eurasian LynxEuropean WildcatFishing CatFlat-headed CatGeoffroy's Cat
Iberian LynxJaguarundiJungle CatLeopard CatKodkodMarbled CatMargay
OcelotOncillaPampas CatPallas CatRusty-spotted CatSand Cat
ServalSouthern TigrinaSunda Leopard Cat
CategoryPortal