La Perm
Temperament:
*Affectionate
*Inquisitive
*Easygoing
*Good with Children
*Very Curious
"This feline is a face-kisser and soft-voiced when not demanding attention."
Koehl calls her find, still rare, "the cat for the 90's." And she may be right.
The La Perm is an affectionate and good natured cat, one that seeks out human
companionship and loves shoulder-riding and conversation almost as much as it loves being
petted. Curiosity is a very strong trait. The La Perm is also a hardy, working cat that
will earn its keep as a mouser or by playing happily with other pets and children. |
| Head: Broad; modified wedge |
| Eyes: Large, almond-shape; all colors |
| Ears: Medium size; rounded tips, wide at base; long hairs have curly tufts at bottom of
ear |
| Body: Medium but solid; muscular |
| Coat: Shorthair- short, silky, soft, dense, moderate undercoat, wavy over shoulders,
back, and undersides; longhair- medium to long, silky, soft, dense, thick undercoat, tight
ringlets to long corkscrew curls |
| Tail: Long, tapering; wavy short hair, curly and plumed longhair |
| Patterns: Nearly all colors and patterns |
Breed History: An eyecatching new breed, the La Perm looks like a cat that has decided to spend
some time in a beauty salon. The first La Perm was discovered by Linda Koehl of The
Dalles, Oregon in 1986. In a litter of ordinary kittens was one small, bald kitten. Koehl
feared the kitten would die, but two months went by and finally its coat began to come in.
And it was a coat worth the wait! It was soft, luxurious and, most of all, tightly curled.
This cat, a female appropriately named Curly, was to become the foundation queen of the
new breed called the La Perm- or, more specifically, the Dalles La Perm. The breed is also
sometimes called the Alpaca Cat, another reference to its unique coat.
Since Curly's arrival upon the scene, there have been many generations of La Perms- all
with the distinctive curls. They were accepted as a new breed in 1995. Longer-haired
La Perms have tight Shirley Temple ringlets; shorter-haired La Perms have what has been
dubbed the "afro look". Kittens still sometimes start out bald the way Curly
did, and females may even lose their fur prior to their first breeding, but the fur always
comes back- often even curlier than before. |
| Additional Notes: |
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