LaPerm means wavy or rippled in French and many other languages. LaPerms are an American breed of cats, which get their name from their unique coat. The first LaPerm kitten was born through natural mutation in an Oregon farm in USA. It was born bald, but soon grew thick curly fur. This kitten, named Curly, was mated with several breeds of tom cats, and yet gave birth to curly haired kittens each time. The reason for the strong genes lies in the fact that the curly fur is a product of natural mutation. Since all LaPerm cats available today are descendants of barn stock and not inbred, they lack any known genetic defects.

A LaPerm cat is medium in stature with a lean body structure. They are muscular cats having medium boning and long legs. LaPerm cats do not have extremities in their features. Their head is somewhat wedge shaped with rounded lines. The eyes and ears of this breed stand out. The ears are large and cupped with ringlets at the base of the ears. The eyes are almond shaped and wide set.

An adult LaPerm male cat weighs between eight and ten pounds, while a female is between six and eight pounds. The most striking feature of LaPerm cats is their coat. The coat of a LaPerm is soft with waves and ringlets forming all over its body. Depending on the genes of the LaPerm breed, cats may be born with curly hair or straight hair. Kittens whose parents have the recessive straight hair DNA and have mated with another cat having similar genes are born with straight hair. A kitten with straight hair has a flat and silky coat once it reaches adulthood. Since the coat is curly, it does not shed much. Thus, it is easy to care for this cat. Light combing is enough to remove the dead coat and bring back shine to the fur. Bathing and towel drying may be done, but the fur should never be blow dried as it may turn fizzy.

There are other LaPerm kittens, which are bald when they are born but develop the signature waves as they grow older. Modern breeders have now bred kittens which have a lot of fur during birth, which is why bald kittens are rarely seen these days. Sometimes, a cat may develop bald patches because of heavy molting. This is not unusual and in some cases it is necessary for the well being of the cat. Once the molting season gets over, the fur grows back fuller and curlier than it was earlier. The coat of a LaPerm can be of various colors including red, tortoiseshell and tabby, which are the common colors. The whiskers of the LaPerm resemble its coat and are equally curly.

LaPerms are very lovable cats and often obey more than one master. They love to be petted and thrive on affection. Being small in size, they are well suited to life in apartments and small houses.