It may sport anything from a wavy coat to ringlet-type curls that are anywhere from tight ringlets to long corkscrew curls.

The tightest curls occur on the underside of the cat on the throat and at the base of the ears. The longhair LaPerm is generally blessed with a curly plumed tail and often-times a full curly ruff. The coat is moderately soft in texture, yet each cat’s coat is distinctly unique.

The shorthair LaPerm has more texture to the coat than does the longhair. It does not have the ruff, has a “bottle-brush” type tail and the coat generally stands away from the body.

Some kittens are born hairless, or bald, but most have short wavy hair at birth. Often they will go almost totally bald beginning with a spot at the top of their head. This process generally starts when the kittens are about two weeks old and they can be in varying stages of baldness the first four months or so.

The coat will generally come back in but the cat may lose it again and again. Although not common, they may also be born with straight hair and then lose that with the new coat coming back in curly. For the first six months it can be a guessing game as to what you have, however, the whiskers may be the give-away; if they are curly almost certainly the coat will be as well. Unfortunately, the reverse is not always true; curly cats may have straight whiskers!

The LaPerm is a “low maintenance” breed requiring a minimum of grooming; the coat does not mat and rarely sheds as the the curls hold the hair much like that of a poodle. Bathing and towel drying are all that is required to maintain the curl; blow drying tends to “frizz” the hair. After the coat is totally dry a little spritzing with a fine mist of plain water works well to achieve more curl.

The coat on both long and short hair may vary in length and fullness depending upon the season and maturity of the cat. Both male and female of the longhair variety may have a full ruff on the neck at maturity. Both varieties will have a “saddle” of shorter hair over their shoulders although this is much more apparent on the longhair. The males tend to weigh between seven and ten pounds while the females range between five and eight pounds. They have a semi-foreign body type with a modified wedge-shaped head. Although the look of each kitten may vary, one thing always remains the same: the great personality of this new breed. Even the straight-hairs are blessed with it, making finding good homes for them very easy. LaPerms are very gentle and affectionate; they seek human contact and purr as soon as they are aware of your presence.

LaPerms thrive on attention and loving, returning it in kind. They are generally quiet voiced but can become quite vocal when seeking attention.

LaPerms are very people oriented, adapting quite readily to life on the farm, house or apartment; as long as there are humans to love the LaPerm will be quite content in almost any setting.

They readily adapt to other pets and children and their loving personality makes them a welcome addition to any home.

Kindly reproduced from HattKatt LaPerms