AMERICAN CURL

 

A bit of history

Curl, like the ears of that little golden eyed black cat picked up in Southern California by Grace and Joe Ruga, one beautiful summer day of 1981. At the beginning, Grace and Joe did not really take notice of that distinctive trait. They took it for no more than a little weirdness. They started getting interested when Sulamith took back home a litter of kittens, from an unknown male, some of which having curled ears. The Rugas asked feline breeding specialists who told them that Sulamith’s crescent moon shaped ears were due to a dominant gene, and that some of her descendants would inherit it. Creating a new cat breed with curled ears was only one step ahead, that was quickly crossed since TICA, a big American Federation, recognized the American Curl as soon as 1985.

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Its look

The American Curl is a medium-sized and elegant cat. From the front, the head is triangular, without flat plane and displaying smooth lines seen from the side. The eyes are rather large and walnut shaped. The ears have a feature that is essential and distinctive of the breed. Curved out on the head like two crescents of the moon, they form an arch backwards. The tip should not touch the head. The neck is slender and graceful, the body elegant and rectangular. The tail is as long as the body. The American Curl exists in two varieties: shorthair and longhair. The first one has a short and silky coat, while the latter has a fine textured semi-long coat with very little undercoat. Well-furnished, the tail is plumed. All coat and eye colours are admitted.

What kind of a companion is it?

Thanks to its rich inheritance from its ordinary ancestors and the many breeds it comes from, the American Curl, despite its rather sophisticated looks, is a robust cat without specific problems. At the very most, one needs to watch its ears a bit and regularly clean the inside with a compress soaked with a proper lotion – never use Q tips! – but not more often than required on a cat with normal ears. Having no undercoat, the longhaired American Curl’s fur hardly ever mats and is easy to groom.

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Number of kittens born the last 365 days : 33

Before contacting a breeder, do not hesitate to ask advice to the breed club(s) which will inform you.

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Breed club(s)

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