The American Curl
The Origin of Curly-Eared Cats

The American Curl hails from Lakewood, California USA, a community originally planned for post World War II and Korean War veterans. Lakewood is famous for two things, the first Denny's Donuts and a very special cat named Shulamith.

On a hot summer's day in June 1981, two 6-month old stray kittens arrived on the doorstep of Joe and Grace Ruga, of Lakewood. Both kittens, one a solid black, the other a bi-color black and white, both had long hair and curled ears.

Panda, the bi-color kitten decided to continue its travels, but the black kitten, named Shulamith, made the Ruga's home hers. By 1982, Shulamith gave birth to 4 kittens, 2 of which inherited her curled ears. Shulamith became the foundation female of the American Curl cat breed.

These unusual domestic cats were first shown at a cat show in 1983 in Palm Springs. The cats attracted so much positive attention that it was decided to develop a new cat breed.

In 1983, the Rugas and their friend Nancy Keister, began a selective breeding program with these sweet-faced cats with distinctive, rolled back ears.

Roy Robinson, a renowned feline geneticist from London examined 81 litters of these different cat breeds with curled ears. Robinson confirmed that the ear-curl gene is autosomal dominant. Basically, it is an inherited genetic trait and a spontaneous mutation, meaning that any cat with even 1 copy of the gene will show the trait. Once it was reported that the cats suffered no other defects or ill-effects, cat breeders became inspired to continue with their breeding programs.

It is interesting to note that American Curl kittens are born with straight ears, which begin to curl tightly at around 10 days and then slowly uncurl and reach curl-maturity at around 4 months.

The cat reaches maturity at around 2 years. The cat makes a perfect pet, is extremely healthy and remarkably free of genetic defects.

By 1987, TICA awarded the breed championship status and the CFA followed in 1993. To our knowledge, GCCF and FiFe do not accept the breed due to their policy of excluding new cat breeds with either cartilage or bone 'abnormalities'. Visit the all breeds of cat Governing Body in your country for the latest updates on cat breed standards.

Continue the journey with us - learn more about these curly eared cats. For additional cat information about these rare cat breeds visit:

Related Pages:

American Curl Cat - detailed fast facts

Cat Photos Courtesy of:

© Theresa Fouche Photography

Jasharvins Hiawatha - Seal Tabby Point Owner: Karen Pepler Breeder: Iaine Harper

© D Kohler Photography

A. Curl Kittens - Shantung Cattery Owner: Bev Burchell