What is this strange looking cat with odd ears?

This picture is on the Reddit.com website and the person who posted it said that this is a 'very rare and strange cat'. It is a strange-looking cat (but not very rare) because the photograph captures nicely, almost in silhouette, the curled-back ears. It looks like everything is against what we normally associate with the domestic cat appearance with their ever-alert ears pointing forwards to collect the sound waves heading towards them.

What is this strange looking cat with odd ears? Image: Reddit.com

Domestic cats have really good hearing, better than human hearing. Their large ear flaps which can rotate around the head thanks to the 30+ muscles controlling the them, help in picking up the soundwaves.

So, when the ears fold back like this it must affect their hearing and it is due to a genetic mutation. It does look very strange and a bit disturbing to be honest. But this is an American Curl purebred cat (probably) and if he is not a pedigree cat, he'll be a random bred version. The purebreds are deliberately created by breeders to be sold to the public.

It's quite a rare purebred cat and not that popular compared, for example, to the Persian or Maine Coon cat breeds.

It gives the cat a kind of devilish look and they come in shorthaired and longhaired varieties. Essentially this cat is a standard random bred cat with curly ears. There is nothing extreme about the cat's appearance.

American Curl cats are born with straight ears and the ear flaps do not curl back as you see in the photograph until the kittens are 2 to 10 days old. The kittens enter a transitional phase that lasts until about 16 weeks of age and during this time the ears begin to change. They may even 'uncurl' or curl more tightly.

The cat in the photograph has particularly curly ears and would be of show cat quality.

RELATED: American Curl Cat: 12 facts.

I've seen American curl ears that don't curl quite so much. The genetic mutation causes the cartilage in the ear flaps to take up this peculiar shape. The mutated gene is dominant.

As mentioned, the ears curl to different degrees and in the 1st° curl version of this cat, only the tips of the ears curl back. These cats are considered to be pet quality which means that they are not going to be show cats. The 2nd° curl of the ears is an arc ranging from 45° to less than 90°. Cats with secondary degree curled may be considered for breeding purposes but they are not of show quality.

Finally, the third-degree curl of the ears is the curliest. The ears curl from 90 to 180° with the tips not touching the back of the ear or the head and pointing towards the center of the base of the skull. Cats with third-degree curl combined with the correct overall look of the cat as per breed standard would be of show quality.

The cat breed was commenced when in June 1981 in Lakewood, California a longhaired silky black female kitten with these strange ears wandered up to the home of Joe and Grace Ruga. They named the stray cat Shulamith. This cat was the foundation cat for the entire breed and they set about creating the breed from thereon.

Six years later The International Cat Association accepted the American Curl longhair for championship status. They are now recognised for championship status in most organisations in North America.

Here is a calico American Curl. Photo by Helmi Flick. The ears are not as impressive.

American Curl Health

This is a healthy purebred cat as there appears to be no evidence at the time of this post (Feb 2012) that there are any specific health issues relating to this cat breed. Certain cat breeds are predisposed to health problems due to genetic inheritance. That is not the case with the American Curl. This is probably due to the fact that the cat associations allow outcrossing with random bred cats. The CFA American Curl breed standard says for American Curl: allowable outcross breeds, "domestic longhair or shorthair for litters born before 1/1/2015". These are random bred cats they are referring to, both short and longhair. The genetic health of the American Curl is a very positive aspect of this cat breed.

American Curl health -- Source: Page 37 of Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats - ISBN 0-9634124-0-X

American Curl Kittens

American Curl Kittens photo strictly copyright Helmi Flick

Before you go and look for some American Curl breeders here is a great picture of American Curl kittens by Helmi Flick.

The famous curled ears are curled back in this photograph, which gives us a clue as to the age of these gorgeous kittens. It takes about 16 weeks for the ears to fully curl back and a show cat breeder will not know for sure how good the cat will be until the ears are fully settled into their final position.

As the ears are central to this cat's appearance the breed standard (CFA) employs quite a scientific approach to how they should look.

The degree of curl should be a minimum of 90 degrees and a maximum of 180 degrees. In other words (as I read this description), if the ears were in the vertical position and the fold begins somewhere about in the middle of the ear, the upper half of the ear should be horizontal if the amount of curl is 90 degrees. The American Curl kittens above in the picture demonstrate this perfectly and have on my reckoning a 90 degree curl (the 2 on the left). The kitten on the right has it seems a curl of about 100-110 degrees.

At a 180 degree of curl the top half of the ear will theoretically point downwards if the ear is vertical. The CFA breed standard says that the cat will be disqualified in competition if the following conditions are present in an adult American Curl cat, with respect to the ears:

--if there is extreme curl such that the tip of the ear touches the back of the ear or the head. (This could happen if the ear curled 180 degrees, I would have thought).

--if the ears have no curl (are straight)

--the ears are widely differing in size

-- if the ears are thick

--if the curled part of the ear is not flexible

--if the lower part of the ear (the straight part) is not firm

The ear flap cartilage should be firm for the first third of the ear. So the first third should behave normally and the fold start thereafter. The arc of the curl should be smooth and the curled bit of the ear should be flexible.

The gene at work is the dominant mutated gene symbolized by the letters Cu. The curl is caused by a change brought on by this gene to the formation of the cartilage in the ear. Homozygous curled eared cats carrying this gene have not demonstrated any anomalies associated with it.

American Curl Kittens to American Curl - You'll see some American Curl breeders on this linked page and the best pictures bar none....try and see.

American Curl Kittens - Source:

• CFA breed standard