The modern Egyptian Mau became a fixed breed in the 19th century when a princess in the Mediterranean region was so fond of a cat imported from Cairo that she mated it with an Italian cat and gave birth. The cat’s offspring were later brought to the United States to breed and were registered and exhibited for the first time in the United States the following year, where they were universally welcomed by American families. The Egyptian Mau is intelligent, friendly, lively and mischievous, but more sensitive, and easily escapes if left unattended. The coat color is silvery white, bronze, dark gray and black, with proportional spots, fine and silky, elastic hair. The Egyptian Mau with “M” shaped markings is usually from the United States.
If there were a speed contest for domestic cats, the Egyptian Mau would come out on top because of its long, powerful feet and wrinkled skin from its belly to its hind knees. All these conditions make it extremely agile. There are records of Egyptian Maus running at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour.
In addition, purebred Egyptian Maus are very rare, with only 200 cats registered each year.
- Egyptian Mau morphological characteristics
The leopard print on Egyptian Maus should be a clear sign to distinguish them from other cats. In addition to the leopard print on their fur, they also have leopard print on their skin, plus they are the only domestic cats with natural leopard print, so Egyptian Maus can be considered as the uncompromising “leopard print control”.
Egyptian Maus come in five colors, from the most precious to the most common: silver, bronze, smoky gray, black, and blue/ash. Egyptian Maus from black to pewter will not be exhibited, but will be used for breeding.
Detailed morphological characteristics of Egyptian Maus
Head: A slightly rounded wedge shape of medium size, with some elevation from the forehead to the bridge of the nose. The forehead, cheeks and side face are fuller. The mouth is not pointed and the lower palate of the male Egyptian Mau is more developed.
Ears: The ears are large and the ends of the ears are slightly pointed and tilted forward. The hair on the outside of the ears is short and dense, and on the inside of the ears there are long, curly trimmed hairs that stick out to the outside.
Eyes: The eyes are almond shaped with large, slightly upward hanging tips and are glassy green, corn green or light green in color. If the eyes are increasingly green, it means the kitten is happy, and when it is angry, the color will change to amber. All exhibited Egyptian Maus must have green eyes. However, amber eyes are acceptable for kittens from young to 18 months of age.
Body: The Egyptian Mau has a moderate, slim body with strong muscles, the most developed of which are the neck and shoulders.
Limbs: Both are long and the hind legs are longer than the front limbs. The limbs are coordinated and can stand up with the tips of their paws.
Toes: They have a small, slightly rounded oval shape.
Tail: The tail is medium in length, with a thin tip and a thicker root.
Coat: Smooth, soft and shiny. The Egyptian Mau has many kinds of markings on each part of its body, which is its most important feature. The typical Egyptian Mau has an “M” shape pattern on its forehead and cheeks. The neck has a thin line pattern, the shoulders have a wide stripe, the back part of the shoulders is spotted, the necklace pattern on the throat is broken into two sections, the body has irregularly distributed color spots, the tail has a slightly darker color, and the pattern on the limbs is horizontal.
There are two types of cats that are very similar to the Egyptian Mau – the Osseous and the Bengal, but the Osseous is an artificially bred breed and only has leopard prints in certain specific breed pairings, while the Bengal is almost twice the size of the Egyptian, so it is also easier to distinguish.
- Egyptian Mau personality characteristics
Egyptian Maus are covered in leopard prints, and they are as smart and sharp as cheetahs. Many people are fascinated by Egyptian Maus because of their speed and passion, but not all families are suitable for keeping Egyptian Maus, and to keep them, you must first understand how Egyptian Maus’ personality characteristics.
Egyptian Maus are very intelligent cats, the owner is good to them, they will give a warm return, if the owner often reprimand them, they will slowly away from the owner. In the process of raising Egyptian Maus, owners must not leave them aside and let them go, because Egyptian Maus like responsible and loving owners. If you cannot take the responsibility of taking care of Egyptian Maus, then when you come home from work, you will not be able to see the scene of Egyptian Maus eagerly waiting for you to come home.
Because Egyptian Maus are naturally active, they love to live outdoors, although many veterinarians and cat lovers disapprove of owners who fear that Egyptian Maus will be harmed as a result. In fact, as long as they are allowed some training outdoors from a young age, they will successfully avoid outdoor dangers with their athletic body and smart brain.
In the minds of Egyptian Maus, strange people or animals are the objects they need to guard against, so they will attack violently when they see strange animals invading their territory, even if the other party is the same kind, they will not hesitate. In addition, if the Egyptian Maus encounter strange humans, they will immediately choose to hide, and if you do not relent to tease them, they may attack you, so if there are frequent guests at home, it is not suitable for keeping Egyptian Maus.
- Egyptian Mau care knowledge
Egyptian Maus are medium-sized shorthair cats that are athletic and agile. If you want an Egyptian Mau, it is best to have a cat climbing frame in your home so that they can get plenty of exercise even when they are not outside. As they may often climb up and down, you must put away fragile items in your home, otherwise a careless, they may break items such as vases. In addition, if you already have a dog or cat at home, it is not suitable for you to have another Egyptian Mau, because Egyptian Maus are not particularly friendly to unfamiliar animals, especially for purebred Egyptian Maus, they will even come out directly when they see unfamiliar cats to compete with each other.
Although Egyptian Maus seem to be more difficult to control, they actually want their owners to pay more attention to them inside. In general, as long as the owner maintains attention to them and interacts with them regularly, they will be more dependent on having you in their lives. Owners need to do daily things such as cleaning the litter box, preparing food and playing with the cat. For working people, if you don’t have enough time to play with your cat, you also need to prepare some toys for your cat to help them get through one boring day after another.
Egyptian Maus appear earlier than many cats, so some of their behavioral characteristics are different from many cats, for example, Egyptian Maus are very sensitive to temperature, they like to stay in a warm place, so when the temperature is low, the owner had better prepare a small nest for the cat in a place where the sun can shine by the window, so they can nest inside to enjoy the warm sun.
Finally, it should be noted that the pregnancy period of Egyptian Maus is longer than that of ordinary cats, usually around 73 days. During the pregnancy period, owners must ensure that their cats receive adequate nutrition and that they do not get into trouble with other animals.
- Egyptian Mau feeding essentials
Like all cats, Egyptian Maus should be fed foods high in salt, oil and sugar. If Egyptian Maus consume too much high-salt food, they may develop urinary diseases, etc.; if they consume too much high-oil food, they may become obese; and if they consume too much high-sugar food, they will not only become obese, but dental caries, diabetes, etc. may cause great trouble to them.
In order for cats to get sufficient nutrition and to be full, owners usually feed their cats with dry food, wet food and then snacks. From the point of view of cat health, it is best for owners to feed mainly dry food, supplemented by wet food and snacks. However, if the Egyptian Mau enters old age, the proportion of wet food can be increased. Owners need to note that the supply of snacks must be controlled. If too many snacks are provided, the cat may not only develop the habit of picky eating, but also the possibility of gastrointestinal disorders.
If the owner makes homemade cat food for Egyptian Maus, then the owner needs to understand what nutrients the cat has to supplement and which foods the cat cannot eat. It is also not recommended to feed raw fish to cats because raw fish may lead to parasitic diseases and the fish spines may injure the cat’s digestive tract. If you want to give your cat fish, it is best for the owner to cook it in steamed form and pick out the spines from the fish.
In addition, for those controversial foods, owners should not easily give their cats to try. For example, milk, some cats will vomit and have diarrhea after drinking milk, while some cats will not have adverse reactions to milk at all.
