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DESCRIPTION
The LaPerm is the perfect combination
of curly long or short hair and a loving dog like personality. This breed of cat loves their family.
This cat is a unique combination of curly hair and an affectionate personality. Their coat is lesser shedding too.
The coat on both the short and long-haired cats may vary
in length and fullness and depending upon the seasons and maturity of the cat. Adults of either sex have
a full ruff on the neck at maturity.
The face and head of the
Laperm are triangular in shape with wide-set ears and large expressive eyes. The whiskers are even curly!!!
The legs on the LaPerms are elongated in proportion to their small
to medium sized bodies. Males tend to weight about 7-12 pounds and females weigh 5 to 6 pounds.
The LaPerm breed also comes in many many colors.
About
the breed:
The farm was located
in an area of Oregon that is steeped with ancient Indian history. The breed is strongly allied with Native
American culture because the farm is situated in a sacred territory of the Wishram people, a Chinook speaking tribe who traditionally
made a living netting, drying and trading salmon from the Columbia River. The area still contains rock
carvings of the vigilant goddess Tsagaglalal. LaPerm name means wavy or rippled in several languages.
It is because of this that many people choose names that reflect the cats origins.
The wonderful breed is from an original mutation that is the basis for the LaPerms. Varies
cats had been acquired by Linda and Richard Koehl to help with controlling their mouse population on their farm.
In 1982, on the Oregon farm a kitten was born to a plain hard-working brown tabby called Speedy. The
kitten was completely bald and had a blueprint of tabby pattern on her skin. She looked nothing like its
mother or litter mates. In about eight weeks the kitten began to grow very soft, curly hair.
The kitten was named "Curly" and she continued to grow. It was also found that her disposition
was very special.
Curly grew up and for filled her role
as a farm cat. She was injured by a fan in a pick up truck and luckily survived. Curly
was convalescing from her injuries as a house cat when she found her way outside and started down the path of motherhood.
Curly was a first time mom and she gave birth under a tree in the middle of a rainstorm one night. Linda
heard strange noises and went outside to find Curly fiercely staving off barking dogs while straddling her newborn babies.
Linda put the kittens into her pockets and took them into the warmth of a barn to make them a nest in the hay.
The next day in the daylight she realized that all five kittens had the same appearance as their mother and grew to
have curls just like their Mom. None of the five were neutered and soon more curly coated kittens were
being born there on the farm.
The colony of unusual rex cats which included long and short coats and were many colors including
chocolate and color points. The random litters that were born on the farm continued to exhibit the incredible
event of bald and curly kittens. Linda decided to do more research and realized that she had some kind
of rex cat. It appeared to the owner of the cats that the curly gene was dominant and carried by both males and females.
She decided to enter a cat show and the LaPerms perked the interested of cat world. Several people
in the USA cat fancies gave her their support and the breed has grown in the States and there are breeding programs in many
other countries around the world.
The people that love
the LaPerms own thanks to Linda Koehl for without her care and seeing their potential which included taking the steps that
she did to get the breed out to the cat fancy world we would not have this wonderful breed of cat. For
those of you that follow Native American customs it could be said that Linda was chosen to help the cats on their path of
discovery by the cat fancy.
The curly coated beauties have also been fortunate to have some wonderful breeders actively work with the
lines to get what you see today. Working with a new breed and trying to gain the deserved recognition for
that breed is a long hard road. It takes a lot of dedication and planning. These breeders
also deserve a thanks, for without them the breed would not grow and flourish.
The LaPerm cats hair types have a wonderful
touch of mystery. They can have anything from wavy coats to ringlet-type curls that range from tight ringlets
to long corkscrews. The tightest curls occur on the underside of the cat, the throat and the base of those
sweet ears. The long hair is topped off usually with a curly plumed tail. The short
haired cats have more texture to their coats than the long haired ones. There is no ruff and the short
haired cats have a tail that is like a bottle brush and the coat generally stands away from the body. The
coat is soft in texture for all lengths. Each cats coat is distinctly unique.
The breed is low maintenance and requires
minimum grooming because the coat does not mat easily. The LaPerms curls hold the hair so the shedding
is minimal. Think of a poodle or a terrier if you haven't seen one in the fur. A
bath and towel drying is all that is required to maintain the curl. Don't use a blow dryer because
that tends to make the frizz. The coat in both the short and long haired cats vary in length and fullness
depending upon the season and maturity of the cat. All adults have a full ruff on the neck.
They are also considered low shedders and the hair they drop tends to be caught up in the curls.
You will be amazed by the colors of these cats.
They are recognized in every color and coat pattern. Something for everyone! Some
kittens can be born hairless, but that doesn't happen as often now with the advancement of the breed. Kittens
can have short wavy hair or straight hair at birth. Kittens often go almost totally bald beginning with
a spot on the tops of their heads. Generally the process starts when the kitten is about two weeks old
and then there will be various stages of baldness during their first four months or so. The hair coat generally
comes back in and will always be curly if the kitten was born curly.
As
an adult the coat ranges from different stages of molting due to heat cycles and such through the life of the cats.
The coat usually settles when the cat has been spayed or neutered.
There can be straight haired kittens born in a litter and we want you to know that they have all
the wonderful qualities except the curls and they make wonderful companions for you and your family.
LaPerms are an active cat but that by no means affects their gentle and affectionate personalities.
They are very happy to be a lap cat and you will find they follow your lead. If you are busy they
are often found watching what you are doing and looking for a chance to be a part of it. If you are sitting
they will not miss the chance to jump in your lag and stay with you. They seek human contact and often
times purr as soon as they become aware of your presence. They love to reach up and touch your face with
their paws to show their affection towards you. The cat is usually gentle voiced too.
Beware!!!!!! This unique combination of cat with their appearance and their personalities is
going to steal your heart just as they have stolen ours. The coats on the cats beckon to be petted and
I don't know if there is anyone that can resist those curls. Their temperament is affectionate and trusting and when they
gaze into your eyes it takes your breath away. You will then be on your way to a for filling relationship full of wonder as
you find that you can even teach them games to play. They are also wonderful to leash train and
love to go where you go. Just remember we warned you and you will find that one if not enough.
Our Thanks and Thoughts
Thank you to the
special LaPerm breeders that decided to trust us and talk with us. A very specail thanks goes to Marh Sharum and
Linda Koehl who have shared with us some incrediable cats!!! We have some very incredible cats now and we
get to show the love we feel for the LaPerm breed now. We just couldn't give up our passion and they gave
us a chance to be new blood so to speak within the LaPerm breeders. We also look forward to meeting more of the breeders
in the future.
The breed deserves to grow and be known. We are very passionate about our cats and we
want to see more breeders lovingly raising LaPerms, more cats being shown and more cats being placed in loving homes.
There are some wonderful LaPerm breeders here in the United States and this is where it all started.
To the North of us the Canadian's also have some nice breeders. There is also some very wonderful breeders
all over the world. This breed is young compared to Siamese or Manx but it is capturing the hearts of people all over
the world.
We believe that the cats deserve to be known and shared with all that are drawn to them.
If you are interested in sharing your home with an incredible unforgettable cat, or if you want to be an ethical breeder please
contact us and we will try to help you. Who knows, this may become a passion for you too!
We
feel that this breed processes a magical power.......maybe from their humble beginning on Native American lands. To
see them is one thing but to be able to touch them is the final part of the spell of the mystical Laperm.
We all love the cats and there is no side to be on and it really doesn't matter now, lets just start with that.
*-) In the beginning an exciting breed of cat was discovered with curly hair - The LaPerms, would you like
to met them?
Walk your path in love and light.................just like a LaPerm. *-)
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