The least one can say is that the Mau is a cat with a long history. Originating in Egypt, it is supposedly the oldest domestic cat in the world. The Egyptians deified it and one can see pictures of it on funerary paintings dating back from the 3rd millennium BC. This cat was easily identified thanks to its spotted coat. Despite the vagaries of History, the Mau traveled through the ages and reached our times in the luggage of a Russian princess!
In the early 50’s, Russian princess Nathalia Troubestkoy’s exile took her to Italy. There, at the Egyptian ambassador’s in Rome, she discovered two cats whose beauty astounded her. The ambassador told her that these cats were not unique and that many others of the same kind could be found in Egypt. The princess was seduced by the cats and she succeeded in persuading the ambassador to give her his cat, a male called Geppo.
Meanwhile, the ambassador helped the princess export Baba, a small female who looked like Geppo, from Egypt. Geppo and Baba had only one male kitten, Jo-Jo, who was re-mated with his mother. They had a female, Lisa, who was at the origin of every Mau we know today.When the princess journey took her to the United States, she kept on the work she had started with her cats. She called this breed “Mau”, which simply means cat in Egyptian. She continued the selection by importing from India very similar cats. Although the Mau never became a very popular breed, it quickly had many fans and official recognition by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) came in 1977.
The Mau is a medium sized, shorthaired, classy cat. His highly feline silhouette leaves no one indifferent, but what makes him so original is his spectacular, spotted coat. The body is randomly spotted with round or oblong markings, except along the spine, where they follow two parallel lines. The tail and legs are banded. The neck is set with two open collars, and the head is made-up like that of the pharaohs of old: a line of mascara under the eyes, which fades towards the ears. An M shaped pattern is drawn on the forehead. The almond-shaped eyes are large and their color goes from green to amber. Three colors are acceptable in Maus: silver, bronze or smoke.
Silver Egyptian Mau
The ground color of the Silver Mau is almost white. The black markings must show good contrast without any sign of red shade.
Bronze Egyptian Mau
The ground color of the Bronze Mau is brown, and fades to an ivory tone at the belly level.Finally, the ground color of the Smoke Mau is silver on the first third of its length and charcoal gray on the rest.The Mau is totally original cat, which must not be confused with the other spotted, domestic cats such as the Bengal, the Ocicat and the Oriental tabby.
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