Egyptian Mau

Egyptian Mau In Ancient Egypt

The exact origin of the Egyptian Mau is not documented and therefore cannot be known for certain. However, the popular belief is that the Egyptian Mau is an ancestor to the African Wild Cat. This belief is due to the Egyptian Mau’s remarkably similar appearance to the African Wild Cats. The African Wild Cats were also known to be in the same region where the Mau first appeared. No matter how they came about, once this breed was domesticated it became indispensable.
The Egyptian Mau is an elegant beauty that graced Ancient Egyptian art as early as 2200 B.C. Throughout most of the Ancient Egyptian timeline, these cats were seen as both loving companions to be treasured and valuable protectors to be honored and revered. Egyptian Maus were originally trained to hunt prey, such as birds and fish, and return the bounty to their humans. They were also taught to guard crops by keeping away small animals that would disturb them. Cats were held in such high regard that if anyone were to be caught killing a cat in this time period, they would be immediately stoned to death for their crime.

Egyptian Mau Appearance
The proper Egyptian Mau should look proportioned with an overall medium size. The face should be medium length, with a rounded muzzle. Adult males may also show jowls. The ears should rest well back on the head with sufficient space between them. The eyes should be large and almond shape. Gooseberry Green is the only acceptable eye color, however, many Egyptian Maus begin life with Amber colored eyes; the Egyptian Maus eyes are allowed to mature like a fine wine for up to eighteen months, changing from Amber to Gooseberry Green. Many times the majority of the iris will be Amber with a defined ring of Gooseberry Green around the pupil.
The feet of the Egyptian Mau are small and oval. There should be five toes on the front paws and four longer toes on the back paws. The shoulder blades should be visible and stand up higher than the back line. A loose skin on the stomach, or “belly flap,” is highly desirable. The tail should be medium at the base and have a slight taper as it extends outward. The back legs are higher than the front legs, but the Egyptian Mau should walk evenly regardless. These powerful legs allow the Egyptian Mau to reach speeds of over 30 miles per hour.
The Egyptian Mau showcases a scarab, or an “M,” on their forehead. The scarab turns into dorsal stripes at the back of the head and flow down to the tip of the tail. The tail also sports bands perpendicular to the dorsal stripe. The legs, both front and back, should also have bands, however, the leg bands do not need to flow evenly or be perfectly horizontal. At least one broken necklace should appear on the chest of the Egyptian Mau.
The Egyptian Mau’s spots do not need to make a pattern. They may be small and round, large and oblong, or any combination in between. Their spots should never make any type of tabby or mackerel pattern, and connected spots are undesirable. Silver and smoke Egyptian Maus should have black spots and stripes, where bronze Egyptian Maus should show dark brown markings. Oftentimes, the toes and ears are spotted as well. The ears may also have lynx tips without penalization.
Certain matings can result in producing kittens whose coats are either tarnished or cold. With Egyptian Maus, tarnished generally refers to a silver cat that has areas of fur that are bronze in coloring. Cold is often used to describe a bronze Egyptian Mau whose bronze coloring is not as dark as desired. Cold bronze was once another known as another color itself, called Pewter.