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Egyptian Mau
Egyptian Mau
	Black silver spotted tabby Egyptian Mau
Common nicknames	Mau
Origin	Egypt
Breed standards
CFA	standard
FIFe	standard
TICA	standard
ACFA/CAA	standard
CCA-AFC	standard
GCCF	standard
	Domestic cat (Felis catus)

The Egyptian Mau is a small to medium-sized, short to medium-haired cat breed. They are one of the few naturally spotted breeds of domesticated cat. The spots of the Mau occur on only the tips of the hairs of its coat. It is considered a rare breed.^[1]^[2]

History

Origins

Historical evidence points to the Mau being an Egyptian breed. The feline genome data published in the Pentascope document shows the Egyptian Mau to be very closely related to the Maine Coon, Korat, and American Turkish Angoras (indistinguishable from native Turkish Angoras).^[3] The phylogenetic tree published in PlosOne demonstrates that the Egyptian Mau belongs to the group of Western-derived breeds.^[4] The East Mediterranean/Anatolian group is omitted because breeds that supposedly originate in that geographic area do not do so.

In 1953 in Italy, Princess Natalie Trubetskoy saw a cat belonging to the Egyptian ambassador to Italy and after asking about the cat she persuaded him to help her obtain a cat from Cairo. She obtained a female named Baba who was later bred with the ambassador's cat. A male bronze tabby was born and he was bred with his mother to produce a female named Lisa. These progenitors were first shown in 1955 at the Rome Cat Show. English fanciers attempted to reproduce this novel breed by using Abyssinians, Siamese, and tabby cats which became the Ocicat. Princess Natalie travelled with her three Maus to the United States in 1956 and in the following year Baba became a champion. The American Maus are purpotedly from Baba although other reports claim they're descended from a pair named Gepa and Ludol, brought into the country in 1953.^[5]

Breed recognition

The breed first received championship in 1968 with the Cat Fanciers Federation followed later on with recognition from the Cat Fanciers' Association in 1977 and The International Cat Association in 1979.^[6] By the 1990s there were breeders in North America, Europe, and Japan. The Egyptian Mau did not reach British shores until 1998 when the first Maus were imported by Melissa Bateson, 8 years after it received full recognition from the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF).^[7]

Popularity

Egyptian Maus are a relatively rare breed worldwide. Fewer than 200 kittens are registered with the GCCF each year.^[8] In 2022, only 39 Mau kittens were registered at the GCCF, ranking the cat breed at position 27 out of 40 breeds in popularity.^[9] In 2018, the Egyptian Mau ranked at position 27 out of 45 cat breeds registered with the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA).^[10]

Characteristics

The breed conformation is described as "a balance between the compactness of a Burmese and the slim elegance of a Siamese. Its medium-length body is muscular, with the hind legs longer than the front, giving the Mau the appearance of standing on tiptoes when upright."^[11]

The Egyptian Mau is the fastest of the domestic cats,^[12] with its longer hind legs, and unique flap of skin extending from the flank to the back knee, which assists in running by allowing the legs to stretch back farther, providing for greater agility and length of stride. Maus have been clocked running more than 48 km/h (30 mph).^[12]^{[unreliable source?]}

The typical gestation period for a regular house cat is 64-67 days, ^[13] but the Egyptian Mau has a longer gestation period, at 73 days.^[11]

Appearance

The Egyptian Mau is a muscular cat with notable features being their spotted coat and a tabby marking on their forehead that is said to resemble a scarab design. The head is gently rounded and of medium size. The ears are medium to moderately large, broad at the base with a bit of pointing at the tip. The hair on the ears is short and may have tufting. The eyes are round and large. The eyes are light green although kittens may have amber eyes. The body is of medium length with prominent shoulder blades. There is a loose flap of skin extending from the flank to the knee of the hind legs. The tail is of medium length and thick at the base. ^[14]

Coat

The Egyptian Mau has a medium length coat with two or more bands of ticking.^[14]

Coat colours

Maus come in six colours. From most to least common, these colours are silver, bronze, smoke, black, caramel and blue/pewter.^[15]^[16]

Coat patterns

The Egyptian Mau's coat contains dark patterns of varying size and shape, located all over the body and limbs. They also may have a stripe running down the lower spine and tail. ^[14]

Health

The Egyptian Mau has a higher prevalence of urate urolithiasis (bladder stones) than mixed-breeds. A review of over 5,000 cases of urate uroliths had almost half the population of Egyptian Maus as having had the condition with an odds ratio of 44.41.^[17] A Canadian study of over 10,000 examinations of uroliths in cats found that 14 out of 17 Egyptian Maus surveyed had urate urolithiasis.^[18]

Gallery

This Mau has the "M" marking on its forehead.
This black spotted tabby Mau has the "Mark of the Scarab Beetle" on their forehead.
“Bronze” spotted tabby Mau
Black silver spotted tabby Mau
Black smoke Mau kitten
Side profile of a Mau head

References

Specific

Becker, Marty; Spadafori, Gina (2006). Do cats always land on their feet?. Deerfield Beach, Fla: Health Communications Inc. p. 200. ISBN 0-7573-0573-3.
Siegal, Mordecai; Cornell Feline Health Center, eds. (1989). The Cornell Book of Cats: A Comprehensive Medical Reference for Every Cat and Kitten. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0-394-56787-0.
Stephens, Gloria; Yamazaki, Tetsu (1990). Legacy of the cat. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0-87701-695-X.

General

^ "Egyptian Mau Cat Breed - Facts and Traits | Hill's Pet". Hill's Pet Nutrition. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
^ "Egyptian Mau Breed Standard" (PDF). Cat Fanciers' Association. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
^ "Patent application # UCDV9059WO?2011-582-2 Genetic Identification of Domestic Cat Breeds and Populations". p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 11, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
^ Alhaddad, Hasan; Khan, Razib; Grahn, Robert A.; Gandolfi, Barbara; Mullikin, James C.; Cole, Shelley A.; Gruffydd-Jones, Timothy J.; Häggström, Jens; Lohi, Hannes; Longeri, Maria; Lyons, Leslie A. (January 7, 2013). "Extent of Linkage Disequilibrium in the Domestic Cat, Felis silvestris catus, and Its Breeds". PLOS ONE. 8 (1): e53537. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...853537A. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053537. PMC 3538540. PMID 23308248.
^ Stephens & Yamazaki 1990, pp. 58–59.
^ "Egyptian Mau - Purina". Purina. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ "Egyptian Mau". Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ "Frequently asked questions: Some facts & Figures". The Egyptian Mau Club (UK). Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ "Analysis of breeds registered". Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
^ "The Cat Fanciers' Association Announces Most Popular Breeds for 2018". Cat Fanciers' Association. February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b The Egyptian Mau Breed Archived 2008-12-11 at the Wayback Machine EgyptianMauBreed.com
^ ^a ^b Becker & Spadafori 2006, p. 200.
^ Tsutsui, T.; Stabenfeldt, G. H. (1993). "Biology of Ovarian Cycles, Pregnancy and pseudopregnancy in the Domestic Cat". Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Supplement 47: 29–35. PMID 8229938.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Egyptian Mau Standard" (PDF). Governing Council of the Cat Fancy. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ "Number of Egyptian Maus registered". Egyptian Mau Breed Council. Archived from the original on June 17, 2006. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ "Frequently asked questions: Some facts & Figures". The Egyptian Mau Club (UK). Archived from the original on 2011-10-09. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
^ Albasan, H.; Osborne, C. A.; Lulich, J. P.; Lekcharoensuk, C. (2012). "Risk factors for urate uroliths in cats". Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 240 (7): 842–847. doi:10.2460/javma.240.7.842. PMID 22443437.
^ Laws HL (1978). "The surgeon's assistant". Surg Gynecol Obstet. 147 (3): 410. PMC 28574. PMID 28574.