- Permissible: All colour varieties
About the LaPerm
Origin: United States
View LaPerm breedersSee LaPerm kittens
No breeder is on record here yet. Portugal’s FIFe member club does not list this breed in its breeder directory at all, so an absence here says nothing about whether anyone breeds it in Portugal.
- Typical life span
- 10-15 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 2.7-4.5 kg
- Height
- 23-28 cm
- Registry status
- Recognised by TICA
- Breed group
- Rex
- Origin
- United States
- Known hereditary risks
- 1 documented condition, with the test for each
About
What is a LaPerm?
Medium-sized cat with distinctive curly or wavy coat ranging from tight ringlets to long corkscrew curls.
LaPerm history and origins
Originated in Oregon in 1982 from a spontaneous mutation in a barn cat litter. The first kitten, named Curly, was born bald and later developed curly fur. The curly coat gene is dominant.
LaPerm appearance and size
Typically 2.7-4.5 kg and 23-28 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
LaPerm temperament and personality
Generally described as affectionate, friendly, gentle, intelligent, playful and quiet.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Cat API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 1 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 1 condition documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the LaPerm
What you get with the LaPerm
- Commonly described as: “Affectionate, Friendly, Gentle, Intelligent”
What you are taking on
- One serious inherited condition is documented, in blood. The health guide tab has the test to ask a breeder for.
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Longhair: semi-long. Shorthair: short. Curls and waves all over.”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. The Cat API; UC Davis VGL — PK Deficiency test; FIFe breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FIFe standard · LaPerm
Coat and colour
As the FIFe standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.
Coat
Curls and waves all over.
The coat should be loose and bouncy - a coat you can run your fingers through to the skin.
It is springy, light and airy enough to part with a breath.
Tightest curls in the ruff and the base of the ears, which contain all hair layers.
A mixture of softness and a hint of wirehair.
Characteristic for the breed is the non-seasonal moulting, which can be general or partial, leaving the cat with temporarily sparse coat or bald patches.
The coat has an almost unkempt appearance.
Notes
- Longhair: semi-long.
- Shorthair: short.
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FIFe’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FIFe standard LPL/LPS — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
TICA divisions
TICA lists the LaPerm in these divisions. They are the registry's own groupings — usually hair length — not a list of colours: no registry we hold publishes one. Ask a breeder what colours their line produces.
- Shorthair
Temperament
AffectionateFriendlyGentleIntelligentPlayfulQuiet
Breed-level information from The Cat API. It describes the LaPerm in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the LaPerm
Known hereditary risks for the LaPerm breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
1 condition documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Blood
Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency
Serious
The same inherited red-blood-cell enzyme defect documented in Abyssinian, Somali and several other landrace-derived breeds is also carried in the LaPerm, per UC Davis's own breed-tagged test list. It causes intermittent to chronic haemolytic anaemia of variable severity, from mild to repeated bouts of lethargy, pale gums, jaundice and weight loss.
What to ask for
Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency DNA test on both parents
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where LaPerm owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Kittens
No kittens listed right now
No LaPerm breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.