A cheerful cat from California with ears that curl backwards, who stays playful and loving all its life.
The American Curl began in 1981 with one stray kitten in California: a little black female with ears that curled backwards. Every Curl descends from her. It has a short or a semi-long silky coat and comes in every colour. It stays as playful as a kitten all its life, loves giving head bumps and wants to help with everything.
Very loving and strongly attached to its people.
Often sits on your lap or your shoulder, and likes to follow you around.
Very playful and stays a kitten for years. Even older Curls still chase a string.
Lively and full of energy for games, also as it gets older.
Fairly quiet. When it wants something, it chirps and trills softly.
Clever and keen to learn tricks and fetch. Some even learn to open doors.
Usually friendly and curious about visitors.
Often fond of children. Keep an eye on toddlers, as play can get rough.
Usually gets on well with a friendly dog.
Usually sociable with other cats, if you introduce them slowly.
Does not like being alone for long. It wants company.
Fine indoors, even in a flat, if it gets toys and attention.
The curled ears are a defect, just like the Scottish Fold's.
No. They come from a different gene. In the Fold the fold gene causes bone and cartilage trouble; nothing like that is known in the Curl.
Every kitten of a Curl gets curled ears.
Not always. A Curl with a straight-eared cat gives at least half curly-eared kittens. The straight-eared kittens are ordinary, healthy cats.
The 'curl' in the name is about a curly coat.
No, it is about the ears. The coat is short or semi-long, silky and smooth, without curls.
The curled ears come from a chance change in one gene. That gene is dominant: one copy is enough for curls. That is why the breed could grow from one queen. Breeders could only add ordinary house cats, so the Curl comes in every colour and in two coat lengths. Britain's GCCF does not recognise the breed.
In June Joe and Grace Ruga of Lakewood, California, take in a black longhaired stray kitten with curled ears. She is called Shulamith.
Shulamith has her first litter of four kittens. Two have curled ears.
Breeding the curled cats begins. On 23 October the first Curls are shown at a CFA show in Palm Springs.
Playit By Ear is born, a black and white male. He has two copies of the curl gene, so all his kittens get curls.
America's CFA accepts the American Curl for registration.
Around this time the American registry TICA recognises the breed. Sources give 1985 to 1987.
Geneticist Roy Robinson studies dozens of litters and confirms that the curl comes from one dominant gene.
CFA gives the American Curl provisional status.
CFA gives the breed championship status: the first breed admitted as one breed with two coat lengths.
The European federation FIFe recognises the American Curl, in longhair (ACL) and shorthair (ACS).
According to CFA, crossing with ordinary house cats ends. Since then Curls are bred only with Curls.
A medium-sized, slender cat with soft lines. All eyes go to the ears, which curl back in an arc.
A semi-long, fine silky coat with a full plumed tail and tufts in the ears. This is the original coat: Shulamith was a longhair.
Recognition: Recognised by FIFe, CFA, TICA and WCF.
A short, soft, silky coat that is springy but not plush. Both coat lengths can turn up in one litter.
Recognition: Recognised by FIFe, CFA, TICA and WCF. CFA shows both coat lengths in the same division.
Cat registries write colours as an EMS code. The letter is the colour (n black, a blue, d red, f tortie), s means silver or smoke, y golden, and the numbers tell you about white (01–09), shading (11, 12), the tabby pattern (22–25) or colourpoint (33).
Black(n)
White(w)
Brown classic tabby(n 22)
Silver classic tabby(ns 22)
Black and white(n 03)
Seal point(n 33)A pointed cat always has blue eyes. FIFe also allows sepia and mink.
FIFe, CFA and ACFA allow the American Curl in every colour and pattern, in both coat lengths. The one rule: a pointed cat must have blue eyes.
Kittens are born with straight ears. After a few days to a week they start to curl, and at about four months they are set.
For a show the ears must curl back at least 90 and at most 180 degrees.
It is called the Peter Pan of cats, because it plays like a kitten into old age.
Curls often greet people and other cats with gentle head bumps, sometimes even in the middle of the night.
Because breeders could only add ordinary house cats, the Curl comes in every colour and pattern.
No study has measured it. Most sources say about 12 to 16 years, but they vary. Take it as a rough guide.
Wax and dirt easily collect in the open, curled ears. The cat then paws at its ear, shakes its head or the ear starts to smell. Ear drops from the vet usually help, but it can come back. How common it is is not known.
How it is found: Check the ears every week for wax, redness or smell. There is no DNA test.
A true Curl does not have the Scottish Fold's fold gene. But a cat sold as a Curl sometimes has a Fold in its family tree. It can then get the Fold's painful bone and cartilage disease.
How it is found: A DNA test for the fold gene (TRPV4) or X-rays of the legs.
The curled ears do not make a Curl deaf. But an older cat, like any cat, may start to hear less. It then reacts less to sounds or meows louder. Hand signals and a calm home help.
How it is found: A hearing test (BAER) at the vet.
Little work: there is hardly any undercoat. Brush a shorthair once a week and comb a longhair once or twice a week against tangles.
Be gentle with the ears: the cartilage can break if you bend them or press them flat. Check every week for wax and clean them carefully.
It wants to play more than the average cat. Fetch, climbing and puzzle toys keep it happy, also as it gets older.
No special diet needed. Good meaty food, and watch for a healthy weight.
An American Curl is not hypoallergenic. It sheds little, but people with allergies can still react to it.
Checked on 22 October 2026
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