Egyptian Mau Cats

A silver spotted egyptian mau lying down for the camera

a beautiful egyptian mau with dazzling green eyes

Two silver spotted egyptian maus sitting beside one another

A silver spotted egyptian mau lying down

History

The history of the Egyptian Mau cat breed is hotly debated. The romantics among us like to believe that it begins in Ancient Egypt. Depictions that resemble the Egyptian Mau can be seen in the artwork that covers many of the Ancient Egyptian temples and tombs. Many of their pictures were of heavily spotted cats that could be Servals but bear the distinct mascara marking of today's Mau.

It is perhaps more likely that the Egyptian Mau originated around europe because genetic studies have shown that the Mau is closely related to european breeds like the Maine Coon. Russian Princess Nathalie Trubetskaya imported three Egyptian Maus from Italy into the USA in 1956. She imported two silver females, Baba and Liza, and a bronze male called JoJo.

The Egyptian Mau was granted recognition by The International Cat Association in 1979. Mau breeders aspire to develop a breed that is true to the Ancient Egyptian depictions whilst keeping up the breed standard . This has proven difficult due to a very limited gene pool which has been widened recently due to more imports being used in breeding programs.

Behaviour

Egyptian Maus can be shy with strangers but tend to develop an especially close bond with their primary owners. They will fawn for the attention of their favourite people and offer no respite until their needs are met.

They relish being the centre of attention (of their favourite person) and will reward any love and affection with immense loyalty.