Amount of Ear Curl - Jacque O Photos

Amount of Ear Curl - Jacque O Photos

We are using Jacque O Curl to illustrate the amount of curl to look for in the American Curl's ears

We have received requests for more detailed pictures of kittens that are listed as show and breed quality. To accommodate these requests, we are adding a new page for each kitten with individual pictures showing ears, profile, head shape, etc.

We will use some of these as educational tools also for illustrating some of the things we have found from experience and judges comments at shows what the judges are looking for in the standard when they judge our cats and kittens at the shows.

We are hoping that you find this information both helpful and interesting.

This picture shows the curl of Jacque O's ears on the inside edge of the ear. The judges are going to be looking for several things when rating the ears on Curls. They are looking for:

(1) amount of curl... they want a 90 degree curl. The ear is supposed to be firm at the base and flexible at the tip. Whether the curl is towards the top tip of the ear or more towards the center of the ear is not as important as the amount of curl.

(2) UNIFORMITY OF CURL... This is CRITICAL! and really hard to produce. From comments from different judges, the uniformity of the two ears is really, REALLY IMPORTANT.

(3) Severity of Curl... The curl is preferred to be ROUNDED rather than kinked. By kinked, I mean a sharp right angle... more like a bend than a rounded curl. Both will produce the amount of curl. But ideally, the curl will be have a nice ROUND shape.

Notice the roundness and uniformity of both of Jacque O's ears.

When evaluating the curl of the ears, you want to look at both the inside curl and the outside curl. This pictures shows Jacque O's ear from the back so you can see the outside curvature of the ear.

OK, and finally, you want to take a good look from the top of the head to see that both ear tips curl the same on both ears. The judges are going to be very critical of these details. They are looking for even the slightest of imperfections.

Different breeds of cats are judged differently based on the standards for that breed. 60% of the total points for an American Curl are from the neck forward. This is HUGE! In the different examples of our kittens and cats, we will try to illustrate what the judges are looking in rating an American Curl.

The ears alone are worth 30 points. Here is what the standard says regarding the ears:

"Degree: minimum 90 degree arc of curl, not to exceed 180 degrees. Firm cartilage from ear base to at least 1/3 of height." (worth 10 points).

"Shape: wide at base and open, curving back in smooth arc when viewed from front and rear. Tips rounded and flexible."

"Size: moderately large" (Shape and size worth 10 points)

Placement = 8 points. Furnishings = 2 points.

Whether you are purchasing a kitten or cat for breeding, showing or as a pet, you should find this information interesting and valuable.