The American Wirehair is an American original with a totally distinctive wires coat. It is intelligent and extremely flexible.
Nature
The American Wirehair is a calm, loving, and affectionate dog who makes a great pet for households with kids and other animals. Although calm back and playful, this breed is nevertheless quite aware of her surroundings.
Wirehairs love being lap cats, but they also relish their independence. They are avid purrers and regarded as mild talkers.
Trait
The wiry, thick coat of the American Wirehair sets it apart from other breeds; it has been compared to lamb’s wool or steel wool in texture. The individual hairs are crimped, hooked, or bent, and there are various degrees of wiriness, from spiked to curly.
A wirehair’s ideal coat is thick, coarse, and crimped all over the body (including the whiskers). This coat is distinctive and has no genetic ties to the rexed coats of Devon or Cornish Rex cats.
Life
7–12 years old
Colour Collection
- American Wirehairs come in a variety of hues and patterns.
Hair fall
The American Wirehair is a breed that sheds less. Grooming is actually discouraged because of her unique, delicate coat; unless she is heavily shedding, avoid brushing or combing her.
Regular showering can also assist in removing loose hair and any greasiness caused by skin oil secretion.
Health
In general, the American Wirehair breed is in good health. These cats are able to breed with American Shorthair cats, therefore they may inherit some of the health issues common to that breed, like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Breed History
In Verona, New York, a litter of six domestic shorthair kittens with typical coats contained a surprise: the first American Wirehair. He was a male with a thin, wiry red-and-white coat, and every hair, including his whiskers, were crimped.
The kitten had potential, so local cat breeder Joan O’Shea bought him and bred him with a female cat from the area. The offspring had wiry coats as well.
The presence of wiry coats in kittens resulted from a second breeding with an unrelated female, proving that the gene responsible is a dominant gene. The American Wirehair coat is distinctive and not genetically related to the Cornish Rex or Devon Rex, according to additional research by renowned British cat geneticists A.G. Searle and Roy Robinson.
The CFA first recognised wirehairs for registration in 1967, and championship competition followed in 1978.
