A loving cat that likes to be with its people, with springy curls that began on an Oregon farm in 1982.
The LaPerm comes from America. In 1982 a bald kitten was born on a cherry farm in Oregon, and after a few weeks she grew curls. A coat like that looks like a perm, and that is where the name comes from. Its curls are loose and airy, best of all in the ruff and around the ears. It is curious, clever and loves to be with you, but usually not loud.
Wants to be with its people and shows it with head rubs, purring and paws reaching for your face.
Often happy on a lap for a while, but usually does not stay there all day.
Loves games, especially fetch, and wants to know what you are up to.
Active and curious, always busy with something, but not wild.
Quiet most of the time. It speaks up when it wants attention.
Clever and happy to learn tricks, fetch or walking on a harness.
Usually friendly with visitors and fairly relaxed in new places.
Patient and playful with children, as long as little ones learn to be gentle.
Usually gets on well with a friendly dog.
Usually happy to share the house with other cats.
Usually does not like long hours alone and wants company.
Fine indoors, even in a flat, with toys, places to climb and company.
The LaPerm is related to the Cornish Rex, Devon Rex or Selkirk Rex.
No. Its curls appeared by themselves, in a barn in Oregon, from a gene of its own. That gene works differently from the curl genes of the other rex cats.
All LaPerm kittens are born curly.
No. A kitten can be born curly, bald or with a straight coat. Bald kittens grow their curls later, and straight-coated kittens often lack the curl gene.
A LaPerm is hypoallergenic.
No. Loose hairs stay caught in the curls and it has no thick undercoat. That helps some allergic people, but no cat is free of the allergen.
The LaPerm's curls come from a dominant gene. One copy is enough: so a single curly parent can already have curly kittens. In the Cornish Rex and the Devon Rex both parents have to pass on the curl gene. Scientists do not yet know exactly which gene it is. All five big registries recognise the LaPerm, in a longhaired and a shorthaired form.
On Linda and Richard Koehl's cherry farm in Oregon, the barn cat Speedy has a bald kitten: Curly, the first LaPerm.
Linda Koehl takes four curly cats to a cat show in Portland. Judges urge her to start a proper breeding programme.
America's TICA accepts the LaPerm as a new breed.
Fans found a LaPerm society in America. The first LaPerms go to Germany and Japan.
America's CFA lets LaPerms be registered.
The first LaPerm comes to Britain, by way of the Netherlands. She is already expecting kittens when she arrives.
TICA gives the LaPerm championship status, and the WCF recognises the breed.
The CFA gives the LaPerm championship status.
Britain's GCCF fully recognises the LaPerm, eight years after the first step in 2004.
The European federation FIFe fully recognises the LaPerm, after provisional recognition from 2014.
A medium-sized, graceful cat with firm muscles. It is heavier than it looks. Its hips sit a little higher than its shoulders, as if it walks on tiptoe.
A semi-long coat with a curly ruff in adults and a plumed tail. Ear tufts are a bonus.
Recognition: Recognised by FIFe, GCCF, CFA, TICA and WCF.
A short coat with a crisper feel, no ruff, and a tail like a bottle brush.
Recognition: Recognised by FIFe, GCCF, CFA and TICA. The WCF only has a standard for the longhair.
A LaPerm without the curl gene, with a soft, smooth coat. Such kittens are born in ordinary LaPerm litters.
Recognition: In FIFe it can be registered and used for breeding, but it gets no certificate.
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 tortie(f)
Black classic tabby(n 22)
Red mackerel tabby(d 23)
Black silver classic tabby(ns 22)
Black bicolour(n 03)
Seal point(n 33)A LaPerm may come in any colour and pattern, also with white. Only amber, a Norwegian Forest Cat colour, is ruled out by Australia's ACF.
The first LaPerm, Curly, was born bald on a cherry farm and only grew her curls after a few weeks.
Pedigree names often carry BC, BB or BS: born curly, born bald or born straight.
The curl gene is dominant, so one curly parent can already have curly kittens.
America's CFA says the LaPerm is the only breed that may be shown in Karpati: lighter areas on the face, legs and feet.
Loose hairs stay caught in the curls, as on a poodle, so you find little hair around the house.
No study has measured it. Britain's GCCF and vets say 12 to 15 years. Take it as a rough guide.
As in every breed, white or mostly white cats are sometimes born deaf, in one ear or both. A deaf cat should stay indoors or go out supervised, but learns well to follow hand signs and vibrations. How often it happens in the LaPerm has not been counted.
How it is found: A hearing test (BAER) of white breeding cats. The Flemish LaPerm breeding programme asks for it.
The red blood cells break down too fast, so the cat can become anaemic: tired, with pale gums and little appetite. Some cats show nothing, others get quite ill. It may have come into the breed through crosses with the Abyssinian or Somali. How common it is is not known.
How it is found: DNA test of the parents. The Flemish LaPerm breeding programme asks for it.
The last bones of the tail are bent or have a small bump. It does not hurt the cat, but it is a fault at shows. The GCCF says it is not common.
How it is found: Breeders gently feel the tail tips of kittens. In Britain such a cat is not bred from.
In cats with pointed colouring, as in the Siamese, the eyes can cross a little or flick from side to side. Most cats are hardly bothered, and often it only shows under stress, for instance at the vet.
How it is found: Breeders look at the eyes of pointed kittens. Cats with these signs are normally not bred from.
Little work: the coat does not mat easily. Comb about twice a week with a rotating-tooth comb; a damp hand brings the curls back nicely. Do not blow-dry or brush too much, or the curls go straight. The longhair needs a little more time.
A LaPerm can moult heavily in any season, sometimes until there are thin or bald patches for a while. Kittens can be bald too. The coat grows back, often curlier. Bare patches can get sunburnt.
An active cat that likes to catch toys, fetch and climb. Give it a cat tree and plenty of toys.
No special needs: a good complete cat food is enough. Keep its weight down, as it is slim by nature.
A LaPerm is sometimes called hypoallergenic, but that is not true. Some allergic people react less, others just as much. If you are allergic, spend some time with a LaPerm first.
Checked on 22 October 2026
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