Egyptian Mau

Egyptian Maus are medium-sized cats with well-developed muscles and an alert appearance. They often strike statuesque poses that show off their elegant, graceful bodies. They're also the only naturally spotted breed of domestic cat.

Maus come in smoke, silver, and bronze—as well as dilute versions of those colors. A great contrast exists between their body color and spots, and their markings can be any shape or size but should not run together. Fittingly, they have an "M" marking on their foreheads and a dorsal stripe that travels the length of their spines.

The Mau's coat is medium-length with a lustrous sheen. Smoke-colored cats have fine, silky hair. On the other hand, silver and bronze cats have dense hair with two or more bands of ticking.

Maus have large, green, almond-shaped eyes that slant slightly towards the base of their ears, giving them a worried expression. Dark "mascara" lines start at the outer corner of their eyes and continue along their cheeks. Their ears are medium-to-large, broad at the base, and slightly flared, and their medium-long tails are heavily banded and dark at the tip. The breed walks with a trademark "tiptoe" stance because the hind legs are longer than the front.

The Egyptian Mau is an old breed that originated, as the name suggests, in Egypt. Spotted cats resembling the Mau appear in frescoes dating back as far as 1550 B.C.

Details of the breed's origins aren't entirely known. But an analysis of cat mummies found in Egyptian tombs suggests the Mau descended from a subspecies of African Wildcat that migrated from Ethiopia.

One thing we know for sure is that Egyptian Maus were worshipped as deities and revered by royalty. Historical accounts report that family members mourning a Mau's death would shave their eyebrows as a sign of grief and bury the cat in linens and jewelry.

The modern Mau gained some popularity in Europe, but World War II took a toll on the cat fancy. The Egyptian Mau breeding program suffered, and after the war, Maus were in danger of becoming extinct. Fortunately, Italian breeders took it upon themselves to preserve the breed.

A Russian princess imported the first Egyptian Maus from Italy to the United States in 1956. Those three cats became the foundation of the American breeding program. And in 1977, the CFA granted the breed Championship status.