ORIGINS OF THE EGYPTIAN MAU

The Egyptian Mau is a fascinating cat, not only because of its past history, but because of its delightful personality and striking appearance.  The Mau (mau is the Egyptian word for cat) has been clearly identified in the artwork of the ancient Egyptians.  To gaze upon this beautiful and engaging creature is an opportunity to view a living relic.  The role of the Mau in religion, mythology, and everyday life of the Egyptian conveys the degree of affection and respect in which these cats were held.  They were worshipped as deities, cherished as pets, protected by laws, and mummified and mourned upon their death.  The Egyptian Mau has the distinction of being the only natural spotted breed of domestic cat.

The Egyptian Mau almost certainly traces its ancestry to the cats domesticated by the Ancient Egyptians from the African wild cat, Felis lybica ocreata.  Spotted cats of Egyptian type and origins were bred in continental Europe before the Second World War, but by the end of the war very few remained.  In the early 1950’s the breed was rescued from near extinction by the Russian princess, Nathalie Troubetskoy, who emigrated from Italy to the USA taking with her a few cats of Italian and Middle Eastern origin.   The breed was subsequently developed in North America, and the gene pool enlarged by further imports of spotted cats of Egyptian type from both India and Egypt.  The Egyptian Mau is regarded as a natural breed, and outcrosses with other recognised breeds have never been permitted.
 

The Egyptian Mau has no relationship with the spotted oriental-type cat formerly of the same name that was developed from the Siamese in the UK.  These latter cats are now officially called Oriental Spotted Tabbies to avoid confusion, although sometimes the old name is still heard, and many modern cat books still boast pictures of Orientals incorrectly labelled as Maus.

THE MAU TODAY

Egyptian Maus are correctly recognised by most of the major cat registries of the USA, Canada, Japan and continental Europe.  However, the Mau is still a rare breed with the largest Mau registry, the Cat Fanciers’ Association, only recording around 500 kitten births each year worldwide.  Despite their small numbers Maus are regularly seen at foreign cat shows and have achieved many high show awards.  The breed did not arrive in the UK until 1998 and the Egyptian Mau Club is currently seeking recognition of the breed by the GCCF.  Maus are still extremely rare in the UK, and if you are interested in a kitten, you should expect to join a waiting list

APPEARANCE

The Mau is a medium-sized  elegant cat of moderate foreign type that bears a striking resemblance to the statuesque spotted cats depicted in ancient Egyptian art.  The breed is characterised by its exotic spotted pattern and its unique “concerned” facial expression resulting from large and alert, gooseberry-green eyes, their shape is like a slightly rounded almond with a slant towards the base of the ear, level brow line and parallel nose.  A curious feature of the Mau is the loose flap of skin that extends from the flank to the knee and supposedly contributes to the Mau’s speed and agility by increasing its stride.

The Mau’s coat is medium in length.  In the smoke colour the coat texture is silky and fine, in the silvers and Bronzes the coat is dense and resilient to the touch and must have adequate length to accommodation two or more bands of ticking, separated by lights bands of colour.  The hair should display a lustrous sheen on all colours. Maus sport a range of spotted patterns ranging from tiny round spots to large irregularly shaped blotches.  All shapes and distributions of spots have equal merit, provided the spots are clear and do not run together into stripes on the torso.  A dorsal stripe, which should ideally be broken into elongated spots, runs down the centre of the spine and then forms a solid stripe along the upper side of the tail.  The shoulders and haunches show a transition between spots and stripes, and the lower legs are heavily barred.  All Maus should have an “M” on the forehead, “mascara” lines extending from the outer corner of the eye and the centre of the cheek, and at least one broken necklace.  The Mau comes in three recognised colours all of which have the same pattern.  The silver Mau has charcoal markings on silver ground colour, the bronze has black or dark brown markings on warm brown ground colour, and the smoke Mau has jet black markings on smoke ground colour.  Self black Maus and blue Maus sometimes occur, and can be used for breeding, but are not recognised in the show ring by most registries.
 

Similarities between Maus and other spotted breeds are superficial.  The Mau should be smaller and more refined than the Ocicat, and there are clear differences in the muzzle, nose and eyes.  Although the Mau was used extensively in the development of the Bengal, good specimens of these two breeds should now be very different.  The Mau is smaller and more refined, and it should not have the small ears, large nose leather and broad muzzle desired in the Bengal.

PERSONALITY

Maus are intelligent cats learning quickly where their toys and food are kept, and even how to open doors, cupboards and drawers.  They are extremely alert and playful and are renowned for having among the fastest reflexes of all cats.  They adore toys and many will play fetch.  Maus are intensely social cats, generally getting along well with other cats, and bonding very strongly to their owners.  Many are alp cats or shoulder riders, and most will sleep with their owners.  Occasionally Maus are shy of strangers, and they can be very stubborn and wilful.  Maus make very good house cats, and for their safety they are best kept indoors.