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A brief historical overview
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The breed was created in 1982 in the U.S. state of Oregon by a woman named Linda Koehl. The curly hair is due to a natural mutation in the genes of one of their farm cats named Curly. She received no preferential treatment compared to the other cats on the farm, until one day she got stuck in the engine of a pickup truck and was injured. To heal her, she stayed indoors and became a real house cat.
The Koehls came to appreciate her endearing, affectionate character. She later had a litter. The curly gene being dominant, the five kittens (all males) also had this particular characteristic. And so began the breeding of LaPerm.
To get outside opinions, Linda took her cats to various cat shows. Judges, other breeders and visitors confirmed that she had very special cats. With the support of several important people in the breed associations, the LaPerm was granted breed status and a breeding program was established.
Today, although the LaPerm has little presence in Europe, it has been exported to many other countries around the world. |
General appearance
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| The LaPerm is a medium-sized, elegant and muscular cat. Its weight may be surprising for its size. |
Behavior / characteristics
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| LaPerms are described as very affectionate cats, enjoying perching on their owners' shoulders. Of course, these traits are entirely individual and depend above all on the history of each individual. |
Genetics
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| The curly gene of the LaPerm is totally different from that of other curly breeds such as the Devon Rex or Selkirk Rex. There are semi-long-haired and short-haired LaPerms. |
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English (United Kingdom)