Egyptian Mau Breed Info 2019

For many generations, this breed was preserved only within the borders of its homeland; it was first seen in the USA in the 50s. Princess Trubetskaya owned a pair of such cats, their names were Gepa and Ludol and they were originally from Egypt.

Their spotty colouring (small specks) resembled the colouring of cats in ancient Egyptian times. There were close connections between such cats and their modern deities. The god of the Sun, Ra, who, in a battle, destroyed the Big Snake, took on the appearance of a spotted Mau cat.

Mau marks play an important role in the standard of the USA – the Association of cat lovers of the USA. On the forehead should be a characteristic pattern in the form of the letter “M”, as if frowning eyebrows go to the back of the head and are divided into two spots along the spine.

They grow together again through the hips, to form a clear line. The tail is surrounded by wide stripes and ends with a black tip. Around each eye are allowed two “circled” lines, diverging on both sides of the muzzle. Stripe is visible on the legs, with pronounced paired spots. On the lower parts of the body, the spots should contrast with the relatively light coat colour.

In recent years, four varieties of Mau have been bred: silver with spots of charcoal colour; honey – with dark spots; smoky – with a body the colour of charcoal with a white undercoat and dark spots; tin – with dark grey or brown spots on a pale yellow-brown background.

Occasionally there are cats with small and numerous spots – the so-called “trout” pattern. Eyes in each case should be the colour of green gooseberry, although this feature does not always appear in young mau.

The type of these cats resembles the Abyssinian. It’s like a mixture between Siamese oriental appearance and long-haired squat exterior. Musculature remains an important feature of appearance, mau – sturdy cats. The coat should be short and shiny. These are wary cats, in relation to strangers show restraint.

EARS are medium sized or large, sharp at the ends, set high, far apart. Can end with tassels.

The eyes are large, almond-shaped, set slightly obliquely towards the ears. Ideally, the eyes have the colour of an unripe gooseberry, although this feature was not very characteristic of the early Egyptian Mau.

The coat is thick, silky, of medium length, but sufficient to have 2-3 ticking rings. By type, these cats have much in common with the Abyssinian. The same texture of wool – short and shiny.

As for colour, the CFA standard imposes the following requirements on the pattern and coat colour of the Egyptian mau. A pattern resembling a scarab beetle with markings going back and separated into separate spots along the back is required on the forehead. On the tail – the rings are thick, the end of the tail is dark.

Three colours are preferred: bronze, rolling in cream with brown spots; silver with a similar colour distribution, but with black markings; smoky – charcoal colours with black markings.

We sell a wide range of cat trees which are great for the Egyptian Mau which you can find here – Egyptian Mau Cat Trees