HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF EGYPTIAN KATZMAU

The history of the Egyptian Mau dates back over 4000 years to ancient Egypt.

One of the oldest breeds, the Egyptian Mau is thought to be the ancestor of the sacred cat worshipped by ancient Egyptians. As the story goes, during the time of the cat cult Maus were worshipped as the physical manifestations of gods, and the Egyptian women patterned their elaborate eye makeup after the Mau's facial markings. 
In Egypt, cats were first welcomed for their ability to keep rodents away from their stores of grain, but later they became much more - first beloved household companions and then objects of worship.

In Egyptian Mythology cats were identified with the goddess Bast, who was depicted as a slender, regal woman with the head of a cat. So revered were cats as Bast's physical symbol, that upon a feline's death, the Egyptians went into mourning shaving their eyebrows as the sign of their grief. Such cats were often mummified, along with rodents and other small prey to nourish them in the afterlife.

Evidence in the form of writings, ornaments, frescoes, statues and papyrus paintings shows that spotted cats did indeed exist during the time of the Egyptian cat cult, and fanciers believed that the Mau is a direct ancestor of those cats. however, whether the Mau is truly the ancestor of the sacred cat of Egypt, we will never know, since no direct proof of this exists.
The modern and better documented history begins in early 1900, when fanciers in Italy, Switzerland and France worked to develop the Mau. however, as it did with many purebred breed, WW11 decimated the Mau population and by mid 1940s the Mau was almost extinct.

The efforts of the exiled Russian Princess Nathalie Troubetskoy brought the Mau back from the edge. While in Italy, she rescued some of the remaining Maus and using some of her political connections, she obtained several more through the Syrian Embassy. In 1956, Troubetskoy and three Maus immigrated to the United States. Once there, Troubetskoy established her Fatima cattery and promoted the breed. Many modern Maus can trace their ancestry back to Troubetskoy's cats.

In the 1980s, another breeder succeedeed in bringing 13 Maus into America, paving the way for more imports. In the 1980s and 1990s more imports further enlarged the gene pool. The new bloodlines and careful selective breeding brought the breed the health and stability it needed.

Today, all major associations accept the Mau and while numbers are still low, the breed has a strong following of fans who feel that the Mau is indeed worthy of worship.

EGYPTIAN KATZMAU APPEARANCE

The Mau is long, graceful and muscular with a stride much like a cheetah. A unique flap of skin extends from the flank to the back knee, which allows for greater length of stride and agility.

The Egyptian Mau is the fastest breed of domestic cat, clocked at more than 30 mph, approx 50kph

They are medium sized cats, usually weighing from 4.25kg to 6.25kg, for adult males and 2.75kg to 4.5 kg for females.

The Maus head is a slightly rounded wedge shape, with a slight rise from the bridge of the nose to the forehead. The muzzle is neither short or pointed. The alert ears are medium to large, pointed, broad at the base, and set with ample width between. The large, alert eyes are almond shaped and slightly slanted. Eye colour is a goosberry green, which is achieved at about 18 months of age.

The breed's most striking feature is the randomely placed distinctive spotting. Considerable variety exists in placement and shape, the spots can be large or small, round or oblong, irregular or uniform, or in any combination. Regardless, the spots must be vivid and distinct with good contrast between the background and the colour of the spots. The face bears tabby barring including mascara lines on the cheeks.

The characteristic "M" on the forehead is sometimes described as a scarab beetle mark in reference to the most popular of the magical amulets worn by ancient Egyptians. The legs and tail also posses barring and the tail ends with a dark tip.

The coat is medium short with a lustrous sheen. Three strikingly beautiful colours are universally accepted.

"SILVER SPOTTED" - A pale silver ground colour with charcoal black spots

"BRONZE SPOTTED" -A warm bronze ground shading to tawny buff on the sides with dark brown/black spots.

"BLACK SMOKE" - A pale silver ground colour with all hairs tipped in black with jet black spots.

Blue silver, blue smoke, blue spotted and blue solid are all dilute versions of black, also occasionally occur but cannot be used for showing. The Marble is also not recognised for showing as a Mau. We have bred 2 Marble kittens and they are very rare. 

EGYPTIAN KATZMAU PERSONALITY

While you might first be attracted to the Mau's beautiful spotted coat, you will likely become addicted to the breed's temperament and personality.

Known for their intelligence, high activity level and loving devotion, Maus make great companions. Like their alleged ancestors who tagged along on bird hunts with their Egyptian worshippers, Maus love to stalk, be it catnip mice, rubber balls or wiggling fingers, in fact they adore all mock hunting games, particularly fetch

Toss a catnip mouse and your Mau will run it down and trot it back to you, toy firmly gripped in powerful jaws and eyes gleaming with predatory triumph, for repeated throwing. If allowed outside they become adept hunters, so for the sake of the local wildlife and your Mau's health and safety, keep them inside.

Maus are fiercely faithful too and become completely devoted to the human who pays them homage.

They generally don't talk to strangers, but with their chosen humans they are loving and loyal companions who want to be at your side and involved in every aspect of your life.

While not overly talkative, Maus will let their owners know if something is amiss, particularly an empty food dish. They are voracious eaters, so keep a careful eye on the amount of food given every day. When engaged in conversation with their human companions, Maus wag their tail, tread with their feet and make a variety of sounds called "chortling".

GROOMING THE EGYPTIAN KATZMAU

The Mau's short fur lacks the downy undercoat that would call for more regular grooming, so minimal grooming is needed for the breed. However, Maus generally enjoy being brushed. Twice a month brushing with claw clipping is about right.