Skookum Cat
The Skookum cat is one of the dwarf cats of which there are no less than thirteen breeds.
All are created by crossing cat breeds with normal legs with the founding dwarf cat, the Munchkin. The mutant gene that produces the dwarfism is dominant.
The Skookum is a cross between the Munchkin and the LaPerm cat breed. The LaPerm is one of the Rex cat breeds with a curly coat so it is no surprise that this cat, as the above picture clearly shows, is a short legged curly coated cat. The rex type fur is low shedding.
There is the notable disparity in leg length, the hind legs being noticeably longer than the forelegs.
An interesting subject is the naming of this cat breed. Roy Galusha created the Skookum in 1990s and he explains the naming of the breed on this page: The dwarf cat and the origin of the breeds.
License see note
In brief, the name Skookum was carefully considered by Roy and this an an extract from the story behind the name:
“……A local Native American word that comes from the Chinook language and was part of the Chinook Trade Language was Skookum (pronounced Skoo Kum). The word Skookum means mighty, powerful or great. It is also used to signify good health or good spirits. If someone really likes something, they might refer to it as being really skookum (“Boy that apple pie is skookum”) or if you really like a horse (“that is one skookum horse)….”
The middle cat is a Skookum kitten. I’ve lost the credit – please notify me. Unfortunately, the naming of this cat became a contentious issue with TICA. They thought that it could translated to mean “scary monster”.
The Skookum cat is registered with the Dwarf Cat Association and TICA as an experimental breed. This breed is also recognized by the Rare and Exotic Feline Registry and as a new breed by Catz Incorporated the New Zealand National Registry for Cats.
The dwarf cats generally are agile athletic cats despite their short stature. They have a cobby body conformation. If you wish you can read lots more about the dwarf cat breeds by clicking on this link: Dwarf Cats and Miniature Cats. There are links on that page to the other dwarf cats.
Here’s some more information on the cats that make the Skookum cat:
LaPerm cat
This is a well established curly haired cat that is either short or longhaired. The above link takes you to a comprehensive discussion on the breed.
Munchkin
The founding dwarf cat and a popular and well known dwarf cat. The link takes you to some fine Helmi Flick photographs and a full description.
Photo center of page: Permission granted by image author and owner of cat in photo, Beth Fillman, for the promotion of education.
P.S. This page has been re-dated to 14th Dec 2018. It was written in around 2008.