The LaPerm is very low maintenance that requires the very minimum of grooming because the coat doesn't easily mat. The curls hold the hair in a similar way to a poodle, so shedding is minimal.
Although no cat is hypoallergenic a few breeders have claimed that people who are allergic to cats have less trouble with LaPerms. This is due to the fact that LaPerms don't shed as much. Should a person who is allergic to cats consider a LaPerm they should spend time with the cats to test their reaction. Also a bath in clean water at least once a week is recommended. LaPerms come in both short and long-haired varieties. The length and fullness of the hair varies on the maturity of the cat. LaPerms can have wavy coats 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. Males and females have a full ruff on the neck at maturity. The longhair LaPerm often has a curly plumed tail. The coat is moderately soft in texture, but each LaPerm's coat is unique. The shorthair LaPerm has more texture to the coat than the longhair and doesn't have a plumed tail, but a “bottle-brush.” The coat stands away from the body that parts down the middle. Whiskers are always long and very curly! They have a semi-foreign body type with a modified wedge-shaped head. LaPerms have long legs, a long neck and firm muscles that comes from a cat bred from working stock. They have almond shaped eyes, large cupped ears, a long broad nose of which has a slight break in profile, but no stop, and long broad muzzles with a firm chin.
Kittens are born bald or with straight hair and then the curls shortly come in later; but most kittens are born with curly hair. Breeders often use the initials BC, BB or BS in their kittens' names which referring to how they came into the world. BC = Born Curly; BB = Born Bald; and BS = Born Straight.
Most kittens go through an “ugly duckling phase” (as all Rex varities do) in which about two months old they loose their coat and go almost totally bald. The coat grows back relatively quickly and is nearly always more curly and more softer. This process may happen to the cat more than once in their life, but once spayed or neutered it is generally a lot more stable. In which case it will happen less frequently and quite possibly never again in the cat's life.
The LaPerm comes in every recognized colour and coat pattern. Because the LaPerm originated from one single cat outcrossing to other cats is vital to increase the gene pool and is accepted by SACC (South Africa Cat Council) and other world authorities. As a result the LaPerm is a very healthy breed not plagued by illnesses and various conditions that other pedigreed cats are. Allowable outcrosses differ from registrar to registrar worldwide.
