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The American Curl
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The American Curl is different from any other breed, with it's innocent
look and sophisticated curled-back ears.
This is Cinnamon, our first Grand Champion
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There are any number
of great sites that describe this incredible little creature... one of our favorites is the CFA website.
American Curl cats
are more than just a cute cat with curled ears... There is a distinct personality that Curl owners fall in love with.
The Perpetual
Kitten ... is
one of the unique descriptive phrases for this breed. They are also called the Peter Pan of cats. Both phrases describe the playful character of this breed. They literally stay playful...
kitten-like... all their lives. We have a 9-yr old half-curl that challenges the younger cats. You would never
know she was 8-9 years older than our kittens.
Another dominate
characteristic of this breed is their attachment to their people. It is unusual to find a Curl that does not want
to be near their people much of the time. Our cats will lay next to us when we are watching TV, curled next to us and
almost ALWAYS, with a paw casually draped over an arm or a leg. It's not enough to just lie NEXT to their people.
They want to have that additional personal attachment.
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Their Origin
This breed has been "hand built", starting with a mutuation in the domestic cat population, a female found in California
in 1981. The female's ears were not straight, like other cats' ears, but were curled back.
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She was found in a neighbor's yard an was adopted by a family who were
fascinated by her curled ears and sweet disposition. She was named Shulamith. She was carefully nurtured
and bred with several specific goals in mind. One, obviously was retaining her uniquely curled ears.
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Shulamith, nicknamed "Shu", to those who learned to love her, was a long
haired shiny black medium sized female.
The American Curl was first exhibited in 1983 and given championshhip recognition
in 1987 by the Intenational Cat Association.
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The American Curl took the cat fancier world by storm...
Cat breeders had never seen anything like this cat before.
American Curls will typically have a litters from 3 to 7 kittens.
If two cats with curled ears are bred together, typically most, if not all the kittens will have curled ears.
However, when an American Curl is bred to a cat with staight ears, typically about half the kittens will have curled ears
and half will have straight ears.
When Curl kittens are four to seven days old, their ears start to become
firm and curl backwards on the head. At about six weeks, the kittens enter into a transitional stage and the ear gradualy
unfolds. By the age of 4months, you should have a pretty good idea of what kind of curl this kitten will have as an
adult, but the ears can continue to change for as much as 2 more months.
Typically, these kittens are not sold until they are almost 4 months old. This is one of the reasons. As
a pet, the curl of the ears is not a major concern. But as a breeding or a show cat, the curl of the ears is HUGE!
CURL CHARACTER
Most people are attracted to this unique breed because of their looks. We love to go to cat shows and educate visitors
about the breed. But it's their great personalities and characters that turn owners into fans.
At cat shows, I describe Curls "as the ultimate pet". When the originators of the breed finally determined that
the "looks" could be reproduced with confidence, they then decided to look for personalities and character that would make
this breed the most popular cat you could find.
They "coo" ... Curls are typically a quiet cat, although, my whole males can sometimes challenge this statement.
But for the most part, they have a unique and sweet little "coo" rather than a meow. Except for the queens in season
and the males who desperately WISH the queens were in season, American Curls are a relatively quiet pet.
We have all LONG HAIRed cats, but my house is not covered with cat hair like you would expect. The American Curl
has a long, sleek, silky coat with very little undercoat (usually. Nikki is an exception to this distinct characteristic.
But we think she's so beautiful anyway, we don't care.) Even though the body coat is not 'puffy', the tail of a LH Curl
will be full and fluffy... and soft and silky.
The American Curl is also known as the "Peter Pan" of cats. They rewtain their kitten-like playfulness into adulthood
and seem to really never grow up
(in attitude.)
They love their people and will lay with you, or on you, while you watch TV or read. They love to play with toys,
especially those with bells and feathers... but their absolute favorite is the laser light.
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