The Foundation American Curl, "Shulamith", from whom all Curls descend, was 'designed' by Mother Nature, but the Founders of the breed, Joe and Grace Ruga, were (and still are) instrumental in the shaping of the breed that we know and enjoy today as the American Curl. Grace Ruga tells the story ;

"It all started on a warm June day in sunny Southern California. Joe Ruga parked his car in front of the condo where he lived with his (very pregnant) wife Grace. As Joe walked towards the front door he noticed two half grown kittens sleeping in the sun, on the concrete parking pad, near his front door.

Unknown to Joe at that moment he was walking into History.... Being that we were both animal lovers of the casual variety, he walked over to introduce himself to these felines. One was black and white and almost perfectly marked equally on both sides of her body. The other was a solid black. Both were longhaired, although the body coat of the black and white was shorter, the hair on her tail was much longer. But the most startling feature of these two were their ears. They curled backwards! 

I peeked out the front door. They were still there. I promptly went into the kitchen and got out some leftovers of food from the night before and some milk as well. I put it behind the shrubbery at the front door and went back inside. A little while later the food was gone. I refilled it and said nothing about it. 

The next day both cats were still there so I fed them again. This time I was able to pet each of them. That evening since they were now right in front of the screen door looking inside the house at us we invited them in. They waltzed in and played for over half an hour and entertained us immensely! Then all at once the black gave a signal and they both went to the door and asked to go out. This performance was repeated nightly for about a week. 

We continued to observe the very close bond between the two cats. The bi-color was much more outgoing of the two, but the black seemed to be the 'brains' for both of them. Then one night tragedy struck. The kittens had asked to go out for the night. We had been experiencing high winds (known in Southern California as Santa Ana winds) that day. As we opened the door and the kittens started out, the wind caught the door, and it slammed shut, catching the bi-color in the head! The black immediately attacked the door! Then realizing it wasn't responding she rushed to 'help' her sister! The bi-color was obviously seriously injured, and neither cat would let us touch them. The black helped the bi-color out the door and they vanished into the night. We felt horrible! 

The next day both cats were seen but did not approach us and would not let us approach them. The bi-color was walking with difficulty and little control, her head was canted to the side, her pupils were uneven, she was obviously in pain! We were frantic! We made inquiries to see if they belonged to someone in the area but no one else had even seen them. Try as we could, we could not catch the bi-color even though she could hardly move around. Watching the black take care of her was truly an inspiring experience! She would bring the bi-color food and sweet-talk her to encourage her to try and eat it. She would somehow walk next to her and help her walk. She would also threaten to attack anyone or any thing that attempted to get close to them. We were truly impressed by the devotion this cat expressed to her sister, the like of which we had never before witnessed. 

A few days after the accident all of a sudden the black came to the front door and asked to come inside. She went right to Joe, got up on his shoulder and 'told him all about it'. She never requested to go out again. Knowing the incredible devotion these two had towards each other, we realized that if the bi-color were still alive, the black would never have left her. That total love and devotion she transferred whole heartily to Joe, and they maintained that intense relationship to the end of her life. That black cat we named Shulamith which we were given to understand is a variation on a term in Hebrew which means "black but comely". 

Shulamith has become known around the world as The Foundation Queen for the entire American Curl Breed. All registered American Curls must be able to trace their lineage directly to Shulamith. 

Since her arrival in our lives many things have happened: 'Shu' had her first litter in my closet in Dec. of 1981. There were four kittens, a black & white, a brown tabby, a lynx point, and a black. When the kittens were four days old we noticed that their ears were rolling up backwards! Totally over like little sausage rolls! It never entered our heads that what we had didn't already exist somewhere else. Knowing how close we were to Long Beach, and that being a harbor, we wondered if this was something that could have come in on a ship from another country. We had looked through a number of cat books and saw nothing. We placed kittens with various people who also planned to let the cats reproduce to see if we could determine anything of the genetics of these 'different' ears. Additional people got involved with each of Shu's litters. It was all very casual. We referred to it as the 'test breeding program'. Because we had no idea what we were working with. 

In 1983, after consultation with a CFA judge who confirmed for several of us that the trait that Shu and her descendants were consistently reproducing had never been seen by the cat fancy before. The decision of the 'breeders' involved was to develop this ear trait into a registered recognized breed. 

The American Curl made its debuts at a CFA Show in Palm Springs, in October of 1983. The rest is "History" as they say. 

Curls are very intelligent. It is not uncommon to have Curls 'fetch' or be taught specific acts. They bond very strongly to their 'people' and are known to have a "Peter Pan complex"; they act like they never grow up and play throughout life! They are no couch potatoes, but they will sleep with you, they love to be touched. They are truly a 'hands-on' experience!"

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The Photo of Shulamith of Curlniques is copyrighted material and may not be reproduced without the permission of  Chanan Photography. The story about the American Curl  is also copyrighted material und may not be reproduced without the permission of  Grace Ruga.