Ears/ Degree of Curl

Points:
CFA TICA ACFA FIFE
10 points 20 points* 10 points 10 points

Ears - Degree of Curl

CFA Description: minimum 90 degree arc of curl, not to exceed 180 degrees. Firm cartilage from ear base to at least 1/3 height.

TICA Description: The overall appearance of the American Curl ear should be one that is aesthetically pleasing to view. Minimum 90 degree of arc of curl. Firm cartilage from ear base to at least one-third of height of ear. Wide at base and open; curving back in an arc when viewed from the front, side or rear. The surface of the curved portion of the ear should be smooth. Tips rounded and flexible. Moderately large in proportion to head. Erect, set equally on top and side of head. Furnishings are desirable.
Note: The TICA Description does not break down into separate categories for Degree of Curl, Shape & Size, Placement & Furnishings.

ACFA Description: minimum 90 degree of curl, not to exceed 180 degrees. Firm cartilage from ear base to at least 1/2 of height.

*Note: The TICA Standard does not break down points for degree of curl, size/shape, placement/furnishings. The ears have a total of 20 points, however, the basic description for the ears are relatively the same. One notable difference is the height of the firm cartilage in the different standards. CFA, TICA and FIFE all state 1/3 height of the ear. ACFA states 1/2 the height of the ear.

FIFE Description: same as CFA.

Another notable difference between the 4 associations is that CFA, ACFA and FIFE all give the ears a total of 30 points. TICA gives a total of 20 points to the ears.

Checking for 90-180 Degree of Curvature

The Standards for all 4 associations state the ears should be 90 degrees to 180 degrees of curvature. The more open 90 degree curvature is preferred. The tighter curled ear is allowed, if in fact, the arc of curvature of the ear is rounded and circular. The ideal curvature is to mentally imagine a coin placed in the arc of the curl. The curvature of the ear should conform to the curvature of the coin. Note drawing above and videos below.

When the first standard was written, the writers were told that when they are allowing a variance, the most desired should always be stated first, thus, 90 - 180 degrees. The 90 degree of curl is preferred. More curvature up to 180 degrees is allowed.

In the video below, Grace is demonstrating how to visualize the curvature of the ear using a penny to compare the arc of curl of the ear.

(VID068)

Below is another video using a penny to check the correct curvature of the ear.

The video above demonstrates the "penny test" for evaluating the desired DEGREE OF CURL and SMOOTH ARC. The cat used for this demonstration is out of an American Curl with a similar curled ear and a straight eared domestic. For those breeders that have been hesitant to bring in a domestic with straight ears because they don't want to have to breed 2-3 generations of straight eared cats to get a good curl for their breeding program, this cat shows that this will not always be the case. Grace has been breeding a number of straight eared domestics the past couple of years to produce a desired look. Odds are that you will get a number of straight eared cats or cats with very little curl in your first domestic to curl breedings, but you can get some good curled eared cats also. You are invited to spend some time on the pages discussing Breeding Outcrosses and Evaluating Pedigrees for more details.

Degree of Curl - "The Penny Test"

Tighter curl is not desired. Also please be sure to read comments on the DQ page regarding ears for health issues with tighter curled ears.  Notice the tall perfectly rounded curvature on the cat to the right. Again, although the tighter curvature is allowed, it's not the IDEAL. This is going to be a really hard look to achieve if you are breeding cats with small ears.

Note the tall open rounded curvature of the ears on the cat to the right. This is an excellent example of correct ear curvature and height of ear. The nose, profile and chin are also excellent on this cat.

You will see both the still photos and videos demonstrating the "penny test" being used to show the desired curvature of the ears. The reason so much time is being spend on this point to illustrate that the OPEN CIRCLE appearance of the degree of curl is much private interpretation of the description of the degree of curl has circulated over the years. Also note in the videos discussion for size of ears required to allow for this open circular curvature. Short haired curls can sometimes achieve the circular curve with smaller ears.... not so much with long haired curls. If you have smaller ears on a LH curl, the ears will start to disappear into the fur. This is one of the reasons breeders need to start bringing in more outcross lines with larger ears for LH curls.

Notice in the diagram on the left where the 90 degree is and where the 180 degree of curvature is. The video below is also on the page discussing ear placement. It is important to note Grace's comments regarding the imaginary line from the tips of the ear to the top of the skull. Even though 180 degree of curvature is allowed, if you follow the line of the curve from the tip of the 180 degree curvature, where's it going to end up on the skull? ... Somewhere closer to the top of the head behind the ear base... not the center of the skull.

The Learning Curve

"90 degrees not to exceed 180 degrees" would look like this:

Although 180 degree curvature is within the Standard, you will rarely see a Curl with this type of ear curvature which would allow you to visualize a coin in the arc of the curl. Likewise, ears with less than 90 degrees of curl do not fit the Standard at all and should not be in the show halls.

An abrupt change of direction would look like this

Note that the tips of ears on the diagram showing ABRUPT CHANGE OF DIRECTION would never point to the center of the base of the skull... rather to the skull somewhere closer to the base of the ear.

In the video below, Grace draws out what she has called "The Learning Curve" to illustrate proper curvature used in the drawings above.

Balance plays a factor in choosing the "better" ears. Short, tightly curled ears combined with a long head will appear to be unbalanced. Also a cat with a shorter head and tall, looser ears will also look unbalanced. We must remember that ideally, the head should be longer than wide.

Even Curvature of EarsYou will see the video below on several pages because it addresses several graded characteristics of the curl. In the video, Grace demonstrates a proper chin (2 points), head shape (8 points), placement of ears (8 points), and ear furnishings (2 points). It is included here to demonstrate even curvature of ears.

Curvature from every angle.

The video on the right demonstrates the curvature of the ear from every angle. Because the curled ears are one of the most distinguishing features of this breed, the curvature of the ears are very important. Note how elegant the ears on this little 4 month old kitten are. (This little guy earned the title of Supreme Grand Champion in TICA as an adult.)

Video 104 avi

Evaluating the Ear

In this photo, pay particular attention to where Grace's fingers are. She is GENTLY feeling the cartilage in the ear for crimps and thickness of cartilage. You can see some crimps, some of them are only detected by feeling for them. (Crimps are passed from generation to generation. Unless the cat you are breeding has other really great features, don't breed cats with vertical or horizontal crimps. If you do breed a cat that has a crimp, don't, DON'T, D-O-N-'T breed cats with a history of crimps on both sides of your pedigree. This is not a trait you want "set" in your breeding program.)

You will rarely see judges handling the ears of your cats, It's probably best if they don't know how without hurting them. You do not need to dig your fingers into the base of the ear to feel for crimps, but you may have to GENTLY place your index finger inside the curvature of the ear with your thumb on the outside of the ear and GENTLY and SMOOTHLY draw your fingers from the base to the tip of the ears. If you GENTLY squeeze your two fingers as you draw them to the length of the ear, you will feel any bumps or ridges in the cartilage. You will also be feeling for thickness of the cartilage. (Note that you are FEELING the cartilage, not SQUEEZING it.)

This is really hard to describe in words. It's best illustrated in a video. We'll be adding a few videos in the future. To help people that don't have computers or internet service that can open larger files, we will keep the videos to a minimum.

The photo on the left shows Grace (breed founder) evaluating the degree of curl of a 4 month curl. We've included the next few photos of Grace handling this baby because we want to illustrate how she holds the cat, how she holds the ears, and how she looks at the ears to evaluate the way the ear's curl.Again, look closely at how Grace is holding the kitten's head and ears. Don't be afraid to handle your cat's head and ears... just watch how it's done in these photos and videos so you don't hurt the ear or the cartilage. Note that Grace is turning the ears together by gently holding them at the base of each ear so she can compare the degree of curl in both ears.
In all these photos, pay attention to how relaxed Grace's hands are. When you are confident on how to handle the ears, it will be relaxed and gentle. Notice that the cats in the videos don't object at all to Grace handling the ears.

Watch these videos over and over again if you have to in order to get the relaxed gentle feel. There is no need to hurt the cat or alarm them in any way if you touch is gentle and relaxed.

The ears on the curl should have a smooth, even curl from the front and from the back. That means no harsh or severe change of direction. In the photo below, Grace is evaluating the degree of curl. For a good show quality cat, the amount of curl in both ears should match. (This is much harder than most judges or new breeders would think. Just because your breeding cats have good ears does not necessarily mean they will produce kittens with good ears or even curl. Be sure you read the page of documenting your kittens and breeding plans.)

Even curl in both ears is much harder to get than anyone except breeders that have been breeding for awhile know. Matching ears with minimum 90 degree of curl is not an easy trait to breed. If you look at the records of the parents of a curl, you will find that one parent with good ears won't necessarily produce kittens with good ears. And don't rush to discount the grandparents. Most breeders don't document degree of curl in their breeding cats on their pedigrees. Grace's original pedigrees all document the amount of curl for each generation. Some of her best cats jumped a generation. The parents may have had 1st or 2nd degree ears, but the grandparents had really well matched 3rd degree ears.

The inside edge of the ear should also have a smooth curve.

The real key when evaluating the curvature of the ear is to look at the cat and the ears from every direction. Everywhere you look on these ears should be smooth... think of a perfect circle of a coin. You really want to be able to imagine a coin fitted neatly in the curvature of the ear.

Examples of Good Curvature of the Ear

The slides below are from the CFA 2016 Breed Presentation discussing Degree of Curl