What You Don't Know About LaPerms

And She Purrsisted!

- Candilee Jackson

Introduction

With the new year of 2023, "What You Don't Know About ..." is going to take a tangential turn to examine CFA's rarest and newest breeds. A peek at the Khao Manee, Lykoi, and Toybob are planned for future editions of Cat Talk throughout the year.

The LaPerm was ranked at forty-fourth most popular by CFA in 2018, our last "normal year," as stated by James Simbro, CFA's Systems Administrator. Upon investigation and research, finding breeders and owners for e-interviews and candid pictures has been challenging.

This writer has been with CFA since 2000 and has never seen a LaPerm other than a picture in breed books. When judges were queried, many had not seen a LaPerm since attending the Breed Awareness program, which trains new judges. "I think I've only judged two in fifteen years of judging ... a beautiful one in Australia, and just recently another in Finland," stated Teresa Keiger, Cat Talk Editor-in-Chief. Bethany Colilla, a judge since 2017, had the privilege of judging two in November 2022, and she was not just surprised at seeing the LaPerm in the Parkville, Maryland show hall, but excited to be able to judge a breed that is so rare. Veteran Judge Loretta Baugh, who has been a judge since 1965, reported that she has seen LaPerms in Regions 1, 4, and 8. "I've seen more overseas, with very few in the continental United States," said Loretta. Iris Zinck, a twenty-year veteran CFA judge, stated, "They are so rare in my area, I believe I have only ever judged three, and I barely remember the first two-I think they were kittens. The third, however, was an adult, and a very striking one."

A Little History, If You Please!