The American wirehair cat, at the first sight, may give the same appearance for the American shorthair breed, but with a slight, remarkable difference. The wiry coat, the face, and sometimes the color patterns, are what differentiate the two breeds. The history of this breed was not the crossbreeding as many would think. It happened basically as a natural genetic mutation in one of the farm cats in 1960s, and the breeder succeeded to generate the same wiry coat by mating the cat with another in one of the neighborhood farm, which seemed to have the same wiry gene. The result was kittens that appeared totally wiry haired with a slight triangular face.The wirehair breed is similar in temperament to the American shorthair, but they are not alike in appearance. The Shorthair cat has a slight hard coat, not so silky like Persians for example, but the Wirehair breed has a thick, hard, twisted-hair coat that looks really springy. For caring of such coat, it is not good to brush the Wirehair cat’s coat at all; unless it is shedding heavily in the summer as in normal circumstances brushing cuts the hairs, resulting in severe damage.
As you may not like to stroke the wirehaired cat, there is a lovely feature about it… this breed is too tender and quiet. They are good hunters for invading insects, but their most common trait is to enjoy the morning sunlight and watch birds on trees from your windows.
The American Wirehaired cats may accept being with strangers, such as visitors, if they are socialized since they were born. Otherwise, they will hide and seek a quiet place.
They are good with kids above 10 years old, or even more according to how respectful and delicate they are with animals. They shouldn’t be left with toddlers and children, and they accept the cat-friendly dogs in their house.
Some people think that a wirehaired cat will trigger more severe allergy symptoms than other breeds. That’s definitely wrong! There has not been any scientific evidence that any breed could cause more or less allergy symptoms to the individuals, for the allergy happens basically due to the dead skin cells “dander” and not the hair type, and also depends on the body reacts.
