Introduction
The LaPerm, unlike most breeds but typical of other rex breeds, owes its origin to one cat - Curly, who was born in 1982 on Linda and Dick Koehl's farm in The Dalles, Oregon. Several years of unregulated breeding gave rise to a small colony of curly, or rex coated cats on the farm and when selective breeding began these cats were the basis of the breed. As with other rex breeds, starting with a small gene pool meant that outcrossing to straight coated cats was vital to improve the size, health and strength of the breed's gene pool. Both long and short coats were present in the original colony and are recognised within the breed.
The LaPerm is a medium sized, curly coated cat of foreign type and is recognised in both longhaired and shorthaired varieties. The males tend to weigh 7 to 10 pounds ( 3.2 to 4.5 kg) while the females grow to be between 5 and 8 pounds (2.3 to 3.6 kg). Kittens are usually born with wavy coats but may be born with straight or virtually no coat, the curls or waves developing as they grow. Breeders in the US have bred selectively and today the majority of kittens are born with a curly coat. Many LaPerms have a heavy moult during their kittenhood, after which their coats grow back in curlier and thicker, but with minimal undercoat.
Of the breeds recognised by GCCF, the type of the LaPerm is most similar to that of the Abyssinian or Somali, with the slightly broader muzzle of the Ocicat. Although, like the Selkirk Rex, the curly coat is produced by a dominant gene and both longhair and shorthair varieties are recognised, there is no other similarity; the Selkirk Rex is a much rounder, cobbier cat, resembling the British Shorthair in type.
The LaPerm is a medium sized, curly coated cat of foreign type and is recognised in both longhaired and shorthaired varieties. The males tend to weigh 7 to 10 pounds ( 3.2 to 4.5 kg) while the females grow to be between 5 and 8 pounds (2.3 to 3.6 kg). Kittens are usually born with wavy coats but may be born with straight or virtually no coat, the curls or waves developing as they grow. Breeders in the US have bred selectively and today the majority of kittens are born with a curly coat. Many LaPerms have a heavy moult during their kittenhood, after which their coats grow back in curlier and thicker, but with minimal undercoat.
Of the breeds recognised by GCCF, the type of the LaPerm is most similar to that of the Abyssinian or Somali, with the slightly broader muzzle of the Ocicat. Although, like the Selkirk Rex, the curly coat is produced by a dominant gene and both longhair and shorthair varieties are recognised, there is no other similarity; the Selkirk Rex is a much rounder, cobbier cat, resembling the British Shorthair in type.