The America Wirehair is a breed of cat that is like the American Shorthair except that he or she has a coat that looks a bit like steel wool! Well, not quite, but the coat is thick and crinkly. The hairs are bent or hooked.
This is a rare cat so you won’t see many of them. This cat is regular looking with a standard body, a round head and eyes and medium sized ears. It weighs from 8 to 15 lbs (3.5-7kg).
The Coat
The coat is made of three types of hair, which makes it thick (dense). The hairs of the coat, starting from the top (the part you can see the most) are: guard hairs, awn hairs and down hairs. The guard and awn hairs are on the top of the coat. The guard hairs are the thickest and longest. The awn hairs protect the soft down hairs. The down hairs are like soft wool and keep the cat warm. They are like the duvet (or “quilt”) on your bed. You will see this cat in a lot of different coat colors and patterns. The picture shows some of them. The cat top right, in the picture on this page, is a calico cat, which means a coat that is tortoiseshell and white.
Character – What is this cat like?
The American Wirehair is playful, friendly and likes to be handled, but please be gentle. Some people say they are busy and bossy. They are also strong and good at climbing and jumping. They are fairly quiet and healthy.
The Start of the Breed
In 1966, the first American Wirehair kitten was discovered on a farm in Verona, in upstate New York, United States. He was one kitten in a litter of 6 brothers and sisters. His parents were short haired barn cats. The breed was created from that cat by a cat breeder whose name is Joan O’Shea.
It is a rare breed as I say and I think it did not take off as a cat breed because it is very similar to the popular American Shorthair.
Reading about this breed for the first time.
Me too. They are so rare I can’t find a close up picture of their fur. Or any other picture than the ones I have. A rare cat believe me.
I’d love to see a closeup of their fur – it must be very interesting – they seem like very unusual cats. I have never really heard much of anything about them. Other than fur they are normal looking cats.