La Perm - Breeding Policies

Breeding Policies

In TICA outcrossing has mainly been with the domestic short-haired cat and domestic long-haired cat, although registration rules do allow other breeds to be used and bred down from towards the F3 generation which is eligible for entry in TICA cat shows. When undertaking outcross matings to non-pedigrees, reputable breeders seek out cats closely resembling the correct LaPerm body type with coats which are not overly thick. This practice continues the use of the kind of cats which composed much of the original foundation stock for the breed and helps to maintain genetic health by using the widest gene pool available. However, in some countries, such as the UK, it is illegal to sell the kittens from such matings as pedigrees because of the Trades Description Act 1968 through which it has been established that the legal definition of a pedigree cat in the UK is one with a fully recorded three-generation pedigree. After outcrossing to a cat of unknown parentage, at least three generations must be bred to establish a full pedigree record. In Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) breeders used the Ocicat for a two-year period, terminating on 1 May 2002; LaPerms registered during this period were permitted to have an Ocicat parent, and by extension, one or two Abyssinian grandparents, as the Abyssinian is an approved outcross of the Ocicat. Currently CFA breeders may only use non-pedigree domestic cats and after 2015 no outcrosses will be permitted in CFA. However, CFA accepts LaPerms for both breeding and showing with other breeds in their pedigrees if they are imported from another registry.

The GCCF has the most strict of the registration policies and only LaPerms with a full three generation pedigree (i.e. parents, grandparents and great-grandparents) of only LaPerm to LaPerm breeding are permitted on the full register. Only LaPerms or cats from a list of approved breeds are permmitted in the 4th and 5th generations. Cats with non-approved breeds anywhere within their five-generation pedigrees, particularly those with other rex genes or non-pedigree cats with unknown genotype, cannot be registered as LaPerms. In order not to cause any damaging restriction to the breed's genepool a supplementary register also exists for the registration of LaPerms bred as part of an outcross breeding program. LaPerms can only be registered on the supplementary register if within their five generation pedigrees only LaPerms and cats from the approved outcross list are present. In the GCCF this list comprises the Somali/Abyssinian, Asian/Tiffanie/(European)Burmese, Ocicat and Tonkinese. There was also a rather small amount of use of the Old Style Siamese/Balinese/Oriental during the initial development phase of the UK breeding program, and a cutoff date for use of these breeds was built into the breeding and registration policies. In other registries the approved list (with some slight variations) is used for outcrossing and cats of unknown parentage are not permitted. In the Netherlands and Germany Somalis and Turkish Angoras have also been used. In antipodean countries, Somalis, Tiffanies and Orientals have also been used.