Maftet EGYPTIAN MAUS Ancient and elegant
About Maus
The Egyptian Mau is a spotted cat. While there are other breeds that can occasionally produce spotted examples, the Mau is almost always spotted. This makes it unique - a naturally spotted breed (there are other spotted breeds, but they are not naturally occurring).
The Mau is possibly a very ancient breed, with illustrations of similar looking spotted cats on walls of ruins in ancient Egypt. This suggests that the Mau is the original 'spotted cat' archetype.
The modern history of the Mau began in 1953 when the exiled Russian Princess Natalie Troubetskoy managed to obtain several cats while she was living in Rome. Later when she emigrated to USA she took 3 cats with her and these formed the foundation of the breed.
Many modern Maus can trace their ancestry back to Troubetskoy’s cats, although to prevent inbreeding lines have been sourced directly from Egypt over the years.
The Mau is relatively new to New Zealand, introduced in early 2000 by Lana Pennington of Amun-Ra Egyptian Maus.
Appearance
The Mau comes in 4 colours - silver, bronze, smoke and black.
Silver Maus have dark grey to black spots on a light silver background. The eyes, nose and lips are outlined in black but the (upper) throat, chin and nostril area is pale silver. The nose leather is brick red and the paw pads are black.
Bronze Maus have dark brown spots on a light bronze background. The eyes, nose and lips are outlined in black but the (upper) throat, chin and nostril area is pale ivory. The nose leather is brick red and the paw pads are black.
Smoke Maus have a charcoal gray background with a silver undercoat beheath. The spots are dark black and can be seen best as the cat moves. The eyes, lips and nose are outlined in dark black while the (upper) throat, chin and nostril area is a light color. The nose leather and pads are black.
Black Maus are completely black. No spots are visible and because of this they are unable to be shown in most registries.
Temperament
Expect involvement is the best way to descibe having a Mau in your life. They are a gentle, intelligent but also high energy friend that needs to spend time with you. They are curious and to some extent needy so can be a little destructive if left alone for long periods - best not to go there, if you are always out then maybe another cat breed is best for you!
Coat Color Genetics
See Mau Genetics.