The American Curl has backward pointing ears making it a very distinctive cat. In June of 1981 a half-starved black female cat with strange ears was found in Lakewood California. The kitten was named Shulamith. She became the founder of the American Curl breed. She was nursed to good health and gave birth to four kittens in December of that year. Two of them had curled back ears just like their mother. The American Curl is very friendly with children, other cats, and even dogs. They are very playful, need a climbing post, and lots of toys. They have no undercoat, so their fur is very easy to look after. The cats' ears are their most remarkable feature. They are not flexible like other breeds. They stand upright at the corners of the head and curl smoothly backwards then pointing towards the center of the skull. A person shouldn't try to bend their ears because of their inflexibility. Because the gene that causes this breed's unique ears is not linked to any adverse side-effects, they can be mated with other American curls. They are usually mated with American shorthairs. The gene that produces the curled ears is dominant so most of the litter will have the trait. However, the offspring will also carry the normal gene and pass it on to some of the kittens. Information came from Encyclopaedia of Cats by Esther J. J. Verhoef - Verhaller ⓒ 1998