Lykoi

Ask most people what a werewolf cat looks like and they will describe the Lykoi without ever having met one. This is a small domestic cat that came out of natural mutations turning up in feral and moggy shorthair populations across the United States. The bare patches around the eyes, muzzle, chin and feet, set against a roan coat of mixed black and white hairs, are what earned it that folklore nickname. The word Lykoi itself traces back to a Greek term for wolf.

Looks aside, there is nothing eerie about the temperament. A Lykoi is a grand companion, warm with the people it knows, playful long past kittenhood and forever nosing into whatever you happen to be doing. Bonds form hard and fast, and the cat will trail after its household from the kitchen to the sitting room and back again.

The coat is a law unto itself. Patches go bare entirely, and the overall covering thickens or thins with the seasons. One month a Lykoi may moult in fistfuls, the next it grows back, which leaves the breed with that shifting, weathered, half-wild look.

Who the Lykoi suits

Households that want a busy, people-minded cat and are not put off by an unusual face will get on well here. The breed's devotion and go suit a home where someone is about most of the day and happy to play. The half coat asks for a bit of skin care, so an owner who can keep a light grooming habit going is the right match.

As breeds go, the Lykoi is very much a newcomer. Cats carrying its partial-hairlessness mutation had cropped up here and there in feral and shorthair populations for years, but nobody set out to breed them on purpose until the 2010s.

The story runs through breeders in Tennessee who looked closely at two unrelated litters showing the same roan, half-bare coat. Vets ruled out disease and skin disorders as the cause, and DNA work confirmed these were ordinary domestic shorthairs, not cousins of the Sphynx or any other hairless breed.

To prove the trait was a recessive natural mutation and not a fluke, breeders paired unrelated cats that carried it. The kittens came out with the same coat, which settled that the look could be reproduced reliably. Outcrossing to black domestic shorthairs has stayed part of the programme ever since, keeping the gene pool in good order.

Cat registries brought the Lykoi into competition in stages across the years that followed. It is still an uncommon breed, and the number of breeding programmes remains small next to the long-established cats.

Everything about the Lykoi's appearance comes back to the coat, or rather the want of it. The body underneath is lean and athletic, small to medium in build. Hair grows sparse or vanishes altogether around the eyes, nose, muzzle, chin and the backs of the feet, while the rest of the cat carries a thin roan covering. Pigmented and colourless hairs mingle to throw up that silvery, grizzled cast the werewolf name plays on.

The head is a modified wedge, topped by large upright ears, with wide expressive eyes set into it. The legs run slender and the tail falls shorter than the body. Because the coat is never fixed, the very same cat can read as fuller or barer from one season and moult cycle to the next.

Coat and colours

The recognised coat is a black roan, black hairs threaded through with white or colourless ones over the whole body. The face mask and feet are usually bare. Density is anything but settled: a Lykoi can moult a fair share of its coat and grow it back later, so thickness swings through the year. Where the skin shows, it carries the pigment beneath and runs anywhere from pink to a dark grey.

For all the wild look, the Lykoi is a soft touch with its own people. It ties itself closely to the household, seeks out company and tends to pad along after its owners and settle wherever they land. Once trust is earned, affection comes easily and often.

Strangers get a different reception, at least to start. The breed turns alert and a touch reserved, a watchfulness owners often liken to a dog sizing up a caller at the door. That reserve softens after a short while. Underneath it sits a clever, curious cat that takes to puzzle toys and interactive play with real appetite.

With children and other animals a Lykoi generally does grand, provided introductions are made slowly. The hunting drive runs strong, a leftover from the feral cats at the root of the breed, so wand toys and chase games earn their keep. Energy stays high right through adulthood, and a bored Lykoi can turn bold and restless without an outlet.

Grooming a Lykoi is a different job to grooming a fully coated cat, and it comes down to the skin. Bare areas gather oils over time, so the breed does better with routine cleaning than with heavy brushing.

Grooming

• Wipe or bathe the skin now and again to lift oil buildup off the bare patches
• Clean the ears gently, as the exposed ear skin traps debris
• Keep an eye on the eye and muzzle areas, which are often hairless
• Trim the claws every few weeks
• Brush the coated areas lightly through a moult to clear loose hair

Exercise

• Set aside daily interactive play with wand or chase toys to feed the hunting drive
• Give it height to climb, a cat tree or a run of shelves
• Rotate puzzle feeders and toys so the mind stays busy
• Split active play across two or more short sessions a day

Environment

An indoor life suits the Lykoi best. The sparse coat gives little insulation, so the cat loses heat in a cold room and its bare skin burns easily in the sun. Keep the house comfortably warm, lay on warm spots to rest, and mind the direct sun coming through windows.

Like every cat, the Lykoi is an obligate carnivore, and it does best on a complete, balanced diet built around animal protein. The catch is size against energy: this is a small cat with plenty of go, so portions matter, enough fuel for the activity without tipping into overfeeding. Some owners find a slightly higher calorie intake helps the bare-skinned body through a cold snap, though the weight still wants watching.

Treats and supplements

Treats want to stay under roughly ten percent of the day's calories. A scrap of plain cooked meat makes a grand reward. A food labelled complete and balanced already carries the nutrients a cat needs, so supplements are rarely called for. Run any addition, such as a skin or coat product, past a vet before you start it.

By and large the Lykoi is reckoned a healthy breed, with a lifespan that usually falls between 12 and 15 years. The founding cats came from outbred domestic shorthair stock, and continued outcrossing keeps the genetic diversity up. Being a recent breed, its long-term health record is still being written, and no breed-defining hereditary disease has been pinned down. The everyday worries almost all trace back to the exposed skin.

Preventive care

• Book an annual vet exam, more often once a cat is a senior
• Keep core vaccinations and parasite prevention up to date
• Hold to a dental care routine
• Check the skin regularly for irritation, parasites or sores
• Watch the body condition to head off weight gain

Among cats, the Lykoi sits near the top for trainability. Its wits and its attachment to people mean it actually pays heed to its owners and picks things up fast, so long as sessions stay short and worth its while. Clicker work and food rewards land well, and plenty of individuals take real pleasure in learning tricks, fetch or harness walks. Better still, that strong prey drive can be poured into trained games rather than left to find its own mischief.

Basics

1. Start with litter habits, which most kittens take to readily, and keep the trays clean
2. Bring in a marker such as a clicker, pairing it with a small treat
3. Teach plain cues like come and sit with lure-and-reward
4. Build up to tricks or harness training across short daily sessions
5. Steer rough play or hunting on people onto toys, never onto hands

Genetics sit at the heart of any Lykoi litter, because the coat rides on a recessive mutation. A kitten shows the look only when it inherits the gene from both parents. Breeders pair two Lykoi to get fully coated Lykoi kittens, and they also outcross to black domestic shorthairs to broaden the gene pool. A cat from an outcross carries the gene without wearing it and can be bred back into the programme later.

Females come into sexual maturity inside their first year, though a responsible breeder holds off until a cat is grown and health-checked before any mating. Gestation runs to about 63 to 67 days, much the same as other cats. Litters tend to be small. Kittens arrive with more coat than they will keep, then grow into the telltale half-bare pattern as they mature.

Queens rear their kittens over several weeks, with weaning around four to six weeks and rehoming usually held until after twelve weeks, once the kittens are socialised and vaccinated. The breed being uncommon, waiting lists for kittens from established breeders are the norm rather than the exception.

Registering a Lykoi in Ireland

The whole of cat registration is a form: her name, her colouring, a photo, your phone number, save. Free for life with United Pet Club, chip or no chip, indoors or out.

A chip under her skin with no record behind it is a riddle nobody can solve. Lodge the number with United Pet Club instead: free for life, any brand at all, updates that never cost a cent, and a record that answers scans at home or abroad. Register the microchip, then the free account finishes the profile.