A "smoke" Egyptian Mau shows off the breed's athleticism--and spots. Photo by Borcard Serge [CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons. |
Physical characteristics of the Egyptian Mau
The Mau is one of only two naturally spotted breeds of
domestic cat (the other is the Bahraini Dilmun Cat; I know—I’d never heard of
this cat either, but as the name implies, they’re from Bahrain). The Mau's randomly
spotted coat is quite handsome and hard to look away from, as are their “gooseberry
green” eyes. They have distinctive facial markings that include an “M” across
the brow and “mascara” lines on the cheeks. One story says that Egyptian women
copied the cats’ pattern when applying their eye makeup. Their coat color can
be silver, bronze, or smoke.
A bronze Egyptian Mau. You can clearly see the "M" on the forehead and the "mascara" lines on the cheek. Photo by liz west, [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. |
These cats are medium sized and are known to be intelligent,
athletic, and agile. They are loyal to their humans and generally enjoy
interacting with them, though they can seem aloof, especially with those they
don’t know. Egyptian Maus love to play with toys. They have even been known to retrieve…
Oh, and sometimes they wag their tails. Check out the video below to hear some
sounds from a Mau:
From Egypt to New York, by way of Rome
Mau meant “cat” or
“sun” in ancient Egypt, and spotted cats bearing a striking resemblance to
today’s cat appear in Egyptian art going all the way back to about 1900 BC.
Sometimes they appear in domestic scenes, where they are often shown with a
woman, and in a wall painting from Thebes, the cats are shown with human
hunters in the marshes, where they seem to be retrieving birds. Spotted cats
are also seen in Greek and Roman art, notably in the Pompeii mosaic seen below.
Nice-looking cat!
Jumping ahead several hundred years… The breed was known in
continental Europe in the early 20th century, but their numbers declined as a
result of the two world wars, and they were in danger of being lost completely by
the end of World War II.
Surely you can find him now. Detail from the marsh fresco. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
Check out the spotted cat in this Roman mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Enter the Russian princess. She was actually an exiled princess
named Natalie Troubetsky. She lived in Rome in the early 1950s and learned of the
Egyptian Mau. The cat captivated her, and she acquired two of them, a black male
and silver female. Stories vary, with some saying the princess first
encountered the Mau while she was in Egypt, and she imported two of them to
Italy. Another story says that a little boy gave her a kitten in a box, and this
kitten spurred her interest in the breed. At any rate, the princess had a
female named Lulu and a male named Gregorio. She later imported another male,
Geppa, from Egypt by way of the Syrian Embassy (or so the story goes).
The princess bred her cats, and when she immigrated to the
United States in 1956, she brought along three cats that had resulted from this
breeding. She went to New York City, where she started the cattery called
Fatima. Egyptian Maus from the princess’s cats are called “traditionals.”
A new line, a bright future
There is a problem with breeds that are based on only a few
individuals: inbreeding eventually weakens the breed’s overall health. The modern Egyptian
Mau in the United States started with just those three cats Princess Troubetsky
imported, and new blood was needed to strengthen and expand the breed.
Enter
the Indian zookeeper…
The so-called “Indian Line” began with two Maus that were
born in Egypt and then adopted by a zookeeper in India. They were imported to
the United States in 1980 by the breeder Jean Mill. These cats added some
diversity to the breed’s gene pool. With careful breeding, Egyptian Maus have
become a healthy breed.
Today, Egyptian Maus create a stir in the show ring and
delight humans with their playful, loyal nature. They remain rare, and are
all the more special for that.
Sources
“The Egyptian Mau.” (2002). Cat Fanciers Almanac. http://cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsCJ/EgyptianMau/EgyptianMauArticle.aspx
“Egyptian Mau.” (n.d.). Cat Fanciers Association. http://cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsCJ/EgyptianMau.aspx
Pickeral, Tamsin. (2013). “The Egyptian Mau.” In The Elegance
of the Cat: An Illustrated History. Hauppage, NY: Barron’s Educational.
what an incredibly beautiful breed!!!! Thank you so much for all of the history, etc! catchatwithcarenandcody
ReplyDeleteThank you for the history lesson! We have never heard of this breed!
ReplyDeleteSuch exquisite cats...I've heard of them but don't know that I've ever seen one in person.
ReplyDeleteThey look beautiful, I wish I could see one in real life.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful. Bear has those green eyes ... and his build (smaller face, long) looks awfully similar as well. For the longest time, I thought he might be part Siamese - especially because he's so talkative. Feline genetics fascinates me for some reason :)
ReplyDeleteThey are SO gorgeous, and isn't that voice unique?
ReplyDeleteThat was quite interesting! Thanks for sharing. They are definitely beautiful cats!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted you to know that I chose this post from the last Showcase two weeks ago as one of my featured posts for this week's Showcase :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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