CFA BENGALS
MUZZLE
Worth 6 of the 30 points for Head - (100 Points Total)
The Muzzle of the Bengal Standard refers to the area of the nose & mouth of the Bengal.- Mostly soft tissue aspects of the Head.
2016 - 2019 CFA Bengal Standard for MUZZLE:
Full and broad, with prominent whisker pads.
The photos below give examples are various aspects pertaining to the Skull within the CFA Bengal Standard.
Examples of FRONT FACE MUZZLE:
Examples of SIDE PROFILE MUZZLE (Cats matching above):
Examples of KITTEN COMPARISONS (Siblings with different Muzzles):
Examples of incorrect MUZZLES or WEAK WHISKER PADS - All less Desired
weak whisker pads
Breed Council Change Considerations:
NOTE: Rose highlight indicates a "Strike-through" of wording in the Bengal Breed standard to be removed. Gold highlight indicates an "underline" which is new wording being proposed to add in to the Bengal Standard.
1. Change the Muzzle Section to reflect all three major components and create subsections for "Muzzle" as below:
MUZZLE: Full and broad, with prominent whisker pads.
WHISKER PADS: Prominent.
NOSE: Large and wide with slightly puffed nose leather. Bridge of nose extends above the eyes.
CHIN: Strong and substantial, aligns with the tip of the nose.
Rationale:
A. Whisker Pads, Nose and Chin are generally all considered part of the MUZZLE.
B. Makes it easier to divide out points according to 5 point increments as suggested by judges. In this case, 10 points could go to muzzle (currently 6 are muzzle and 3 are chin for a total of 9 points)
C. If we are allowed to indent these 3 sections under a heading of MUZZLE, it makes it easier to understand that they are grouped together for purposes of even number point allotment.
Obstacle:
A. We do not know if CFA allows for subsections to be done on their standards. I need to research to see if this idea is possible. If not, we can choose to use #3 which combines these 3 subsections into "MUZZLE".
NOT CURRENTLY A QUESTION SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED AS ABOVE IN ORDER TO CREATE A SHORTER BALLOT. I WILL FIND OUT AFTER THE FEBRUARY 2020 BOARD MEETING WHAT OPTIONS WE HAVE FOR CREATING SUBSECTIONS FOR NEXT YEARS VOTE. FOR NOW, JUST GROUPING THESE 3 SECTIONS TOGETHER IN THE DESCRIPTION SECTION WILL SUFFICE.
GROUPING THESE 3 MUZZLE DESCRIPTION SECTIONS TOGETHER JUST FOR POINTS (not combining the description) IS PROPOSAL #6 ON THE 2019 BALLOT. Results: 26 Yes, 42 No - 68 Voters needs 41 "yes" votes to pass - Did not pass.
2. If item #1 passes (question #9 on the 2019 ballot) and yet item #2 does not pass (question #10 on the 2019 ballot), then these section descriptions should be rearranged in an appropriate order, starting with "MUZZLE" and then the sections of "NOSE", "WHISKER PADS" and "CHIN" afterwards.
PROPOSAL: Sections to be rearranged to the following order:
HEAD
PROFILE
MUZZLE (moved above "NOSE" as now 3 sections are part of the muzzle)
NOSE
WHISKER PADS (A new description section for WP could be added in 2020 if we want)
CHIN
MUZZLE
EARS
EYES
Rationale:
A. Keeping the 3 major components of "MUZZLE" in order directly underneath this section description is the same way it is done for the "HEAD" and "BODY" sections. (In other words, there is a bodily order to these pieces and it is not in alphabetical order)
CREATING A DESCRIPTION SECTION FOR "WHISKER PADS" IS NOT CURRENTLY ON THE 2019 BALLOT BUT COULD BE NEXT YEAR IF WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.
THE REARRANGEMENT OF MUZZLE TO BE UNDER PROFILE, THEN NOSE, THEN CHIN IS PROPOSAL #6 ON THE 2019 BALLOT. Results: 26 Yes, 42 No - 68 Voters needs 41 "yes" votes to pass - Did not pass.
3. Consider adding Chin to the Muzzle Section
Proposal: Add the point allotment section of "CHIN" (3 points) into "MUZZLE" (and increasing the original value of 9 points into 10 points).
Rationale:
A. If we are attempting to score points in "5's" as judges have requested, then we would want to either:
i. Add Chin into the Muzzle
ii. Give it 5 points (from 3).
B. Option "A ii" - seems to make the chin more important than it is to our breed.
C. Only 10 breeds (out of 45) currently give specific points for chin. In most, it's combined with Muzzle. Out of these 10 breeds, 5 of these are Siamese variations.
D. Chins in many ALC's are not prominent. So, some breeders may not consider a strong chin desirous.
E. For these reasons, the proposal is being drawn up using Option "A i".
Obstacle:
A. We could unintentionally hide the "Chin" by including it within the muzzle.
CURRENTLY PROPOSAL #13 (under "Chin") for the 2019 Ballot. Results: 27 Yes, 42 No - 69 Voters needs 42 "yes" votes to pass. Did not pass.
Breed Council Change Considerations for 2019 that did not get on the Ballot:
A. Add a new description section for "WHISKER PADS" so that we can fully describe all 3 major muzzle components under one point allocation section called "MUZZLE".
Rationale:
A. Allows for Whisker Pads to be highlighted as one of the 3 major components to the muzzle.
B. Makes it easier to divide out points according to 5 point increments as suggested by judges. In this case, 10 points could go to muzzle (currently 6 are muzzle and 3 are chin for a total of 9 points)
C. It would be nice if CFA will allow us to list out the subsections under "Muzzle" so that it is apparent that we are including the Nose, whisker pads and chin. I will be investigating the format options once this ballot is completed and the board has approved whichever changes they are considering after the Feb. 2020 board meeting.
NOT CURRENTLY ON THE 2019 BALLOT AS THE BALLOT JUST BECAME TOO LONG. IF THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE THIS QUESTION ASKED IN 2020, WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
B. Change the MUZZLE section to reflect all three components and remove individual sections for Nose and Chin combining them into "Muzzle".
Example 1: Combines wording from Muzzle, Nose and Chin currently in our standard
MUZZLE: Full and Broad, with prominent whisker pads. A nose that is large and wide with slightly puffed nose leather. A chin that is strong and substantial which aligns with the tip of the nose.
Rationale:
A. This option would shorten our standard and eliminate 2 descriptor titles as they will be merged into “MUZZLE”
B. Makes it easier to divide out point allotment into 5 point increments as suggested by judges.In this case, 10 points could go to muzzle since we are combining all aspects of Muzzle - Nose, Whisker Pads and Chin.These together are currently worth 9 points (6 for Muzzle and 3 for Chin)
C. Whisker Pads, Nose and Chin are generally considered part of the “MUZZLE”.
NOT CURRENTLY ON THE 2019 BALLOT. BCS - I THINK WE NEED TO DECIDE FIRST IF WE WANT TO ADD CHIN INTO THE MUZZLE GROUP BEFORE WE CHANGE THE INDIVIDUAL DESCRIPTIONS. THIS HAS BEEN PROPOSED FOR THE 2019 BALLOT. IT MAY BE A GOOD IDEA TO KEEP CHIN LISTED SEPARATELY. IT MAY BE A GOOD IDEA TO ADD IN A DESCRIPTION FOR WHISKER PADS (CURRENTLY WITHIN THE MUZZLE SECTION) AND THEN REMOVE THE DESRIPTION FOR MUZZLE ENTIRELY SINCE THE 3 COMPONENTS WOULD BE COVERED INDIVIDUALLY WITHIN THE DESCRIPTIONS. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE COUNCILS THOUGHTS ON THIS. WE CAN TAKE IT UP AFTER THE BOARD VOTES IN FEBRUARY.
C. Add language to this part of the standard to add language regarding having a "break" where the Whisker Pads meet the cheek.
Rationale:
A. Submitted by a CFA judge and board member after TICA 2019 Annual Bengal presentation.
B. This is a sign of extremely large Whisker Pads.
Obstacle:
A. Only found this wording as part of the TICA standard. Not part of Fife or WCF (two other international cat associations).
B. Could be considered extraneous - Bengals with extremely prominent Whisker pads would also have Whisker Pad break. The CFA standard calls for "prominent" Whisker pads, not extra-large.
CURRENTLY NOT ON THE 2019 BALLOT AS IT HAS NOT HAD ENOUGH TIME TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COUNCIL AND APPROPRIATE RESEARCH DONE.