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The Egyptian Mau is a medium sized cat with a very striking wild look. The Mau is
an extremely intelligent animal that is fiercely devoted to their family. The Mau
normally takes on a role in the household, that is more similar to a human, than just
another cat in the house. The Egyptian Mau is not a "hyper" cat, but they are
active. They love attention and often demand it from you. They are very vocal
creatures, often following you around until they get just what they want from you.
They often keep track of all of their toys, having secret hiding spots for thier
favorites. They love to play fetch and are known to enjoy being walked on a leash.
The Egyptian Mau has a soft voice, using a "chortling" noise or chirp, instead of a
normal meow. The Mau is extremely affectionate and will show you, with their voice,
purring loudly,wiggling their tail and treading their forepaws
The Mau should have a perfect physical condition, showcasing their well
developed muscles, with an alert appearance. They have huge almond shaped
eyes which turn to a beautiful gooseberry green color. The Mau has a short coat
that comes in silver, bronze and smoke. You might occassionally see black or blue,
but they are not yet accepted by the CFA for showing. The Egyptian Mau is the
only naturally occuring spotted breed. Their spots can be round, oblong or
irregular, as long as they hold clear definition. We are breeding for a clean silver
coat with dark deep contrasting spots. The silver Egyptian Mau should have a clear
pale silver undercoat across their head, shoulders, outer back and tail. Their
stomachs should be a brillant silver, with
contrasting "vest buttons"(on Right),
which should be very dark in color.
All of the markings should be charcoal
black with good contrast. The back of
their ears are grayish pink tipped with
black. Their nose, lips and eyes are
outlined in black. Their nose leather
should be brick red. Their paw pads
should be black between their toes
and the black should extend beyond
the paws of the hinds legs.
The Egyptian Mau's forehead is marked with the characteristic "M" and frown marks
which add to the Mau's "worried" look or expression. Their cheeks are barred
with mascara lines. On the upper chesst there should be one or more broken
necklines. The upper front legs are heavily barred but do not have to match.
Their spotting patterns on either side of the torso does not need to match. The
Egyptian Mau has a loose skin flap
extending from the flank to the hind
leg knee. You can see this clearly in
the picture on the right. This helps
aid in their speed and jumping abilities.
The Mau can run up to thirty six miles
per hour and they can jump seven feet
high. Their hindlegs are longer than
their frontlegs, so they seem to always
be on their tiptoes. All of these factors
give the Egyptian Mau a stride very similar
to a cheetah.
The Egyptian Mau is the oldest known domestic cat. The Egyptian Mau is believed
to have originated in Cairo, Egypt. The Mau is depicted on scrolls and temple
walls as far back as 1400 B.C. The Egyptian Mau was a highly prized and
worshipped cat by the Egyptians. They had laws that protected them and even had
their cats mummified and buried right along side of them. After all the Egyptian
word for cat is "Mau".
As a seperate breed recognized by international cat associations, the Mau came
into existence in 1953, In Italy. I have found information stating that in 1953, a
Russian Princess, Nathalie Troubetskoye, came home from a trip to Egypt with an
adult female Egyptian Mau. This female was then bred to a male Egyptian Mau which
had been brought to Italy by the Syrian Ambassador. Nathalie then brought three
of her Egyptian Mau cats with her when she moved to the states in 1956. Their
names were JoJo, Baba and Geppa. The Princess named her cattery "Fatima" and
most of our Maus can be traced back to these cats. The CFA gave Championship
Status to the Mau in 1977. Breeders have brought in healthy lines from Egypt and
India to help add to the limited gene pool. This has helped to aid in producing
genectically healthy kittens.