- Coat is of the base colour, but showing a unique characteristic called "roan", which is a mixture of base colours and withe hairs in a proportion from 30% to 70%.
- The ideal should be a 50/50 giving the coat a "salt and pepper" look.
- White hairs are all over the body.
About the Lykoi
Origin: United States
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 2.7-5.4 kg
- Height
- 25-30 cm
- Registry status
- Recognised by TICA
- Breed group
- Partially hairless
- Origin
- United States
- Known hereditary risks
- None well documented
About
What is a Lykoi?
Medium-sized cat with unique partially hairless coat resembling a werewolf. Distinctive appearance with varying amounts of fur.
Lykoi history and origins
Developed from natural mutations appearing in feral cat populations. First intentionally bred in 2011. Name comes from Greek word for wolf. TICA recognized breed.
Lykoi appearance and size
Typically 2.7-5.4 kg and 25-30 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Lykoi temperament and personality
Generally described as personable, playful, mischievous, friendly, cheerful and affectionate.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 1 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Nothing hereditary documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Lykoi
What you get with the Lykoi
- Commonly described as: “Personable, Playful, Mischievous, Friendly”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “From short to semi long coat. Presents the singularity of having sparse coat.”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. The Cat API; FIFe breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FIFe standard · Lykoi
Coat and colour
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
From short to semi long coat.
Presents the singularity of having sparse coat.
Undercoat almost absent.
The quantity of coat varies from one cat to another and depending on the season.
Texture is soft.
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FIFe’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FIFe standard LYO — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Temperament
FriendlyPlayfulMischievousFriendlyCheerfulAffectionate
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the Lykoi in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Lykoi
Nothing hereditary is documented for the Lykoi breed, but there is still specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
No breed-specific hereditary disease is documented for the Lykoi beyond the partial-hairlessness trait that defines it. The peer-reviewed genetics paper that identified the causal variants explicitly reports no other health concerns. An absence of documented risk is not a guarantee of health — it reflects a small, recently founded gene pool that has not yet been studied at scale.
What to ask for anyway
- Cardiologist echocardiogram on both parents (HCM screening — standard good practice, since Lykoi has no breed-specific cardiac marker)
- General veterinary skin and coat examination, given the sparse-coat trait
- FeLV/FIV status of the breeding cats
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Lykoi owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Kittens
No kittens listed right now
That is not the same as none existing. Publishing a litter is part of a breeder's subscription here, so a Lykoi breeder can have a litter and no listing — ask them directly.
See Lykoi breeders