The LaPerm is a medium sized, semi-foreign breed. The first thing people notice about them is of course the curly coat. The second thing is their wonderful temperament.
LaPerms are people-oriented cats. They love 'helping' their owners around the house, but if their humans would rather relax on the sofa, they are more than happy to curl up against them and relax, too.
Because of their curly coats, LaPerms shed a lot less than many other breeds. They rarely need grooming.
Because there is less hair floating around, many allergy sufferers find that they can tolerate the LaPerm. However, this does not mean the breed is in any way hypo-allergenic. It's just that fewer hairs mean fewer irritants.
There are long-haired and short-haired LaPerms, and they come in all colours and patterns.
At the moment, there is a lot of outcrossing done, mainly with other semi-foreign breeds (in the UK) or with domestics (in the USA). One side effect of this is, that every so often there will be LaPerm kittens without the curls. These are called LaPerm variants.
American breeders use the designation BC (born curly), BS (born straight) and BB (born bald) to designate with what type of coat a cat was born. These days there are very few cats that are actually born bald, but it still happens occasionally.
At this moment, the LaPerm is recognised by TICA and CFA in the USA, and GCCF in the UK. Several Dutch breeders are working towards recognition with FIFe, but they still have a long road ahead of them.
In most other countries the independent cat clubs also recognise the breed.
This page is mainly intended to promote the breed in The Netherlands. On the Dutch language pages you will find links to catteries, available kittens and adults in need of a new home.
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