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 is still a subject of hot debate. Some like to trace its origins back to Ancient Egypt, and cats resembling the Egyptian Mau can be seen in lots of the artwork covering Ancient Egyptian monuments and tombs. These depictions show a heavily spotted cat that could be a wild Serval, but they also bear the distinct 'mascara' marking of the Mau.

A less romantic origins story suggests that the Egyptian Mau originated in Europe, with genetic studies showing it to be closely related to European breeds such as the Maine Coon.

The breed's history in the USA begins with Russian Princess Nathalie Trubetskaya, who brought three Egyptian Maus from Italy in 1956. She imported two silver females, Baba and Liza, and a bronze male called JoJo.

The Egyptian Mau was recognized by The International Cat Association in 1979. Mau breeders still aspire to developing a breed that looks like the cats in Ancient Egyptian depictions, while maintaining the breed standard. This has proved very difficult, as the gene pool turns out to be very limited. It has been widened recently after new, imported bloodlines were brought into US breeding programs.

Behaviour

Egyptian Maus tend to be shy with strangers, while developing very close bonds with their owners. While hiding from strangers, they will fawn for attention from their favorite people, and will keep demanding whatever it is they want until they get it!

As long as they've bonded with you, Maus relish being the centre of attention and will reward love and affection with unswerving loyalty.