THE STORY OF FAOLAN LYKOI
Faolan
(fáelán)
GAELIC – “LITTLE WOLF”
Faolan is a small cattery based in the heart of the southern Wisconsin Kettle Moraine. We specialize in the Lykoi breed, a newly emerging breed on the cat scene. We are a family cattery and our kittens are raised and socialized in our home, with love and socialization supplemented by my two cat-loving and prime kitten socializing boys. We partner with Desiree Bobby of Beeblebrox Sphynx & Lykoi.
I became interested in Lykoi due to their unique appearance and curiosity of the underlying cause. What I found was a wonderfully interactive and endearing personality to go with the striking appearance. Professionally, I am a board-certified veterinary surgeon, but personally, I have always had a fascination with genetics, how traits are inherited, and what makes things tick. I started selective breeding hamsters as a young child and the desire to study and select to improve has always been a part of my life. I am honored to be participating in the growth of this unique breed and look forward to the progress made in the years to come!
Connie Hurley DVM, DACVS-SA
Faolan Lykoi
Palmyra, WI
LYKOI
(λύκοι)
GREEK -“WOLVES”
The first “Lykoi” were found by Patti Thomas in 2010 after two unique, partially hairless feral kittens and their black domestic shorthair mother were discovered. Thomas took the kittens and mother into her home, and began doing numerous feline tests with her local veterinarian, as well as DNA testing with UCDavis for Sphynx and Rex coats (negative) to confirm this new roaned, hairless trait was not caused by related genes. At that time, Thomas, who had captured enormous public interest in the two mutant kittens, made the decision to embark on the possibility of establishing a new breed.
In April of 2011, Thomas contacted Johnny Gobble, DVM who agreed to take the kittens and their mother in a co-owned, joint partnership, to assist in the possibility of establishing a new breed. At that time, Thomas gave the “werewolf” appearing kittens the name Lykoi, which loosely translates to “wolves” in Greek (λύκοι).
A few months later a second Lykoi appearing pair was discovered by Gobble in Tennesee. Genetic and health evaluations were performed by Gobble in association with Dr. Leslie Lyons to ensure the second pair was also of unknown origin. DNA panels for genetic disease, color and blood type as well as skin biopsies and echocardiograms were performed. The cats were found to be healthy and the hair pattern was not from any known disease or disorder.
To confirm if indeed the unusual appearance was due to genetics, Dr. Johnny Gobble and his team bred two of the unrelated cats to produce the first intentionally bred Lykoi. On September 14, 2011, the first kitten from a Lykoi to Lykoi cat breeding was born. Since the mother to the original Lykoi kittens was a black domestic, extensive outcrossing with shorthair black domestic cats began. With time, it was determined that the gene was recessive, and to continue to reduce genetic inbreeding, more outcrossing with the domestic cats was done. In the past 6 years since these first intentional breeding, other Lykoi have been found in the feral cat population in Europe, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Texas, California and Michigan.
We look forward to helping to expand the genetic base of this unique breed. We have partnered with Desiree Bobby of Beeblebrox to focus on breeding healthy, well-socialized, and high quality Lykoi.
Feel free to contact us with any questions!
Regards,
Connie Hurley, DVM, DACVS-SA