LaPerm Cat Breed: Information, Origin & More Details

The curly-haired country cat.

The LaPerm cat has a relatively short and humble history.

The entire breed is traced back to a single litter of 6 barn cats, birthed in a barn to a cat named Speedy, owned by Linda and Richard Koehl.

Of these 6 little barn kittens, one was born bald and took some weeks before a coat of soft, wavy, downy hair grew onto Curly, as she was named.
It was after Curly had kittens of her own, and these kittens too carried her wavy coat, that Linda realized she may have a new breed on her farm.

LaPerm

Table of Contents Quick facts about the LaPerm Health Quick facts about the LaPerm
Weight: 5 to 8 pounds	Height: 6 to 10 inches
Life span: 10 to 15 years
Intelligence: high	Temperament: social \| affectionate
Playfulness: medium	Activity level: active
Vocalness: quiet	Coat length: long hairless short
Shedding amount: infrequent
Good with: kids \| seniors \| dogs \| other cats \| families
Traits: LaPerms are considered hypoallergenic. They are easy to train, easy to groom, friendly toward other pets and strangers, and have a high prey drive.

Cut to a cat show demanding a breed name, and there you have it; LaPerm became the breed we know and love today.

Considered to be a Rex breed (See Devon Rex for more information), the LaPerm holds no genetic similarities to the other Rex breeds. Instead, this gentle and affectionate cat carries a strong working cat gene.

This gene makes the LaPerm fiercely fun to play with, loving games like catch and chase. Keeping your LaPerm well entertained is of vital importance, as the strong hunting instinct of this breed could have it wandering.
Keep it well stimulated, and you will have an eternally kind and loving cat willing to curl onto your lap after a good bout of playtime.

The curly coat synonymous with the breed is, in fact, quite low-maintenance, with little shedding or matting to manage. The cats are known to lose some fur at times, with fur falling off in big clumps as the seasons change.

Keeping your cat well-groomed will prevent these clumps from becoming unmanageable.

The robust genetic pool that brought us the fur of the LaPerm also brought us a cat that is resilient, stocky, and relatively free of genetic illnesses, with a lifespan between 10 and 15 years.

As with all cats, though, regular tooth brushing and ear examinations will keep nasty infections and periodontal diseases.

This robust gene pool also gives us LaPerm’s with huge variations in coat length and color. You can expect to find LaPerms with long and short coats or coats that vary in length.

Along with the length of the coat, you will find cats in calico, tortoiseshell, red and black. They have lively expressions, almond-shaped eyes, and thick bushy tails with the distinctive curl of the breed. You can expect your male LaPerm to mature within 2-3 years, with females taking a little longer to reach maturity.

Origin

United States

Health

Dr. Adedapo Adisa:
LaPerm cats are known for the distinctive appearance of a curly coat formed from a genetic mutation.

Native to the United States, some LaPerm kittens may even be born without coats but eventually develop the striking curly coat appearance as they grow.

The LaPerm cats have an easy-going temperament and gentle personality, often known for climbing perches, bookshelves, and or even shoulders of humans and their purring sounds. Blessed with good health, the LaPerm cats have a life expectancy that ranges between 10-15 years.

Despite having a large genetic pool and being purebred cats,
the LaPerm cats are known to be very healthy cats with no known genetically or inherited medical conditions attributed specifically to them up till now.

Some researchers have attributed this clean slate of health the LaPerm cat to the fact that they are a new cat breed with very few populations. Moreover, not many studies have been carried out on the LaPerm breed.

Albeit a healthy breed, the LaPerm cats should be properly vaccinated against the following conditions.
Feline distemper (Panleukopenia virus), Feline Calicivirus, Feline rhinotracheitis (Feline Herpesvirus 1), Rabies, a zoonotic disease that can be transmitted to humans from the cats.

Some of these vaccines come as polyvalent vaccines and might need to be given to the LaPerm cats more than once before they can confer immunity to them.

The LaPerm cats should also be dewormed routinely as specified by your veterinarian and based on their feeding patterns and diets. Deworming helps kill the various types of adult worms that might affect the cat’s health.

LaPerm Cats should be placed on a proper cat diet and feeding plan to avoid getting overweight and obese, predisposing them to certain health conditions, diabetes, or even orthopedic conditions.

Dental care should be taken seriously in LaPerm cats. This helps to avoid gingivitis or periodontal disease, which can affect the gums and general health of the cats.

Like every other cat, the LaPerm cats should always undergo routine Veterinary visits as this would help catch any disease condition early enough before they progress with a poor prognosis.