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Egyptian
Mau
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Egyptian
Mau photo of Miuty: ©copyright
Helmi
Flick
Introduction
The history is a little hazy and is one of the most interesting aspects
of this breed. Sarah Hartwell says that this cat breed could
be the oldest domestic cat breed originating in the period of Egyptian
history called, the "Egyptian Middle Period", roughly between 2030 BC
and
1640 BC (about 4000 years ago).
Some experts say (in a recently published article) that the wild cat
was domesticated some 9,500 years ago. If that were true the Egyptian
Mau wouldn't be the first domestic cat breed. Although at the time wild
cats were domesticated there were no formally recognized domestic cat
breeds.
It seems that the evidence that the Egyptian Mau is a domesticated
sub-species of
the African Wildcat is found in ancient Egyptian illustrations. This
may be fairly good evidence but probably isn't conclusive.
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Photo
of Luke: ©copyright
Helmi
Flick
In any event since domestication some 4000 years ago and since being
adopted by the Cat Fancy in 1953 or 1956 (and being selectively breed
thereafter) her appearance has changed. Certainly the Egyptian Mau
today does not have the appearance of a wild cat that has been
domesticated. She
looks distinctly a domestic cat, although of medium build and very
athletic, she does not have the strong and slightly wild appearance of
a
wild/domestic hybrid cat, for example an F1
Savannah or the Ashera
GD.
However, two things seems sure, (a) her spotted coat has
uniquely been
acquired
naturally (i.e. without our interference through
cross-breeding) and
(b) she is a very old established domestic cat breed.
History
| Date |
Event |
| 3,500
BC |
Beginning
of this breed in Egypt - uncertain |
| 2000
BC |
Allegedly
first became a domestic cat |
| Pre-
WWI |
Shown
in European shows |
| WWI
& II |
Negative
impact of the World Wars on the
development of this breed |
| 1953
or
1956 |
Egyptian
Mau imported into USA |
| 1968 |
CFA
recognize this breed |
| 1972 |
This
breed wins Grand Champion in CCA Show
(Canadian Cat Association) |
| 1977 |
CFA
Championship status granted (Full
Status) |
| Current |
Recognized
in the UK by GCCF. Full status
in TICA. |
Photos
of
Starz (on left) and Luke © Helmi Flick
Appearance
and Character
She is a medium sized short haired cat of elegance and distinction;
looking extremely
attractive. The conformation is described as "Modified
Oriental". Understandably, this is a very popular
breed of cat, supported by the current poll on this website.
She has more than
good
looks, however, as she is claimed to be the fastest domestic cat breed
(31 mph, 48 kph).
This would seem to be anecdotal. Cats such as the tamed Serval
(therefore a domestic cat) are bigger and have longer strides and are
therefore, probably, faster.
In doesn't surprise me that she is fast. It would seem that the
wild/domestic hybrids are very fast too. That said, all fit domestic
cats can move extremely quickly for a relatively small animal.
The Egyptian Mau's fur is apparently more "primitive" (evidence of the
ancient origins) and cats of this breed are prone to face off danger
rather than flee from it (evidence no doubt of her wild ancestor). Her
skin is spotted in the same pattern as her fur.
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Photo:
©copyright
Helmi Flick - please respect copyright, which is enforced
If you look at the photographs of Starz and Luke you can see the
outstanding gooseberry green eyes.
Three colors are acceptable for the CFA Championship classes, Silver,
Bronze and Smoke. You can see the Silver (Luke) and Bronze (Starz)
above.
They have a distinctive voice, making chirping sounds and other sounds
peculiar to this breed (other cats chirp too, such as the Maine
Coon).
The Egyptian Mau appears to demonstrate her ancient origins in some of
the uniquely different anatomical features that she possesses.
Apparently this cat is very sensitive to air temperature and
understandably prefers very warm temperatures. She also has a longer
than normal gestation period (as does the Siamese)
The Egyptian Mau is recognized for her slightly worried expression,
which I
think you can see in the above photographs particularly Miuty (the
header picture).
Update
early
Sept. 2008:
The Wikipedia author writing an article about this cat breed makes a
number of errors in my opinion. For example, he says that the Egyptian
Mau is "significantly smaller than other breeds" but earlier on in the
piece he says that the cat is "medium sized". These two statements
can't be compatible and in any event this cat is not smaller than the
average cat.
He also says that the Mau is the fastest of the domestic cats. This is
a very unscientific statement and almost certainly incorrect. This cat
is probably a fast runner (maybe one of the fastest) but a number of
other cat breeds are also going to be fast including cats that are not
even breeds but plain moggies. The author's sources are almost
exclusively websites which are very incestous in their sources of
information. Great care should be exercised in using the internet for
research.
He refers to the belly flap on this breed as a specific feature of this
cat, which enhances running speed. Belly flaps are either loose skin
related to fat loss or simply a normal feature found on many cats
purebred or not. A feature of fast cats is the flexible spine (see the Savannah
for instance, a cat that is almost certainly faster than the Egyptian
Mau) and a lot can be learnt from the Cheetah, the fastest of land
animals - see Cheetah
Speed which expliains why the
Cheetah is fast.
_______________________________
Update:
in relation
to my comment above about the Eyptian Mau belly flap a visitor to this
site, Athena, has made a valuable contribution, which I'd like other
visitors to read and see: Egyptian
Mau belly flap - it
seems that I am incorrect - that's fine.
_______________________________
He also says that the Egyptian Mau is a natural breed. It may have been
but is not longer as selective breeding is very much part of the
evolution of this breed. The Egytian Mau is a feral cat in Egypt and
wantonly neglected there. The coat patterns of the Egyptian Maus in
Egypt are not the glamorous looking coats of the purebred Amerian Maus
but quite dull, although the basics are in place.
See a fantastic slide show
of the best
pictures of the Egyptian Mau cat.
Egypt
It seems that in Egypt, they are treated as plain domestic cats and not
treated that well. Their future looks poor in Egypt. An Egyptian
website concerned with the welfare of this cat breed in Egypt says that
in ancient times it was an offense to kill or hurt this cat breed. Many
are mummified.
The author says that times have changed and the Mau now
faces persecution and extinction as they are not protected. There are
many feral Egyptian Maus in Egypt that are being systematically
poisoned by the local authorities
(not much different to what happens
in the West then).
Breeders
Best Google search ranked websites:
Wild
Trax Exotics
Located in Central Arkansas, USA. This cattery also breed Bengals.
This is the only cattery website (other than directory websites) listed
in the first 4 pages of a Google search.
Would you like to be listed on this site? This site is currently (Oct.
2008) getting 10,000 page views daily and 4,000 unique visitors daily.
Get seen advertise on this site. Contact
me for a full custom page or
upload your own on
the forum.
Sources:
- About.com
- Wikipedia
- Messybeast
- Breedlist
- Breeder sites
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