The Egyptian Mau Cat: A Noble Historyby Marjorie Dorfman | More from this Blogger 13 May 2006 02:23 AM
They differ from other cats anatomically, metabolically and in their behavior. They are, for example, very fond of warm temperatures and thrive best in that environment. They are also more sensitive to medicines and anesthesia and their gestational period is much longer than other cats (73 days). Their voices are very musical and their vocalizations unusual. When stimulated, Maus will chirp and chortle, but never meow. When Maus are happy, they show a "wiggle-tail," which is produced by moving the back legs up and down, appearing to be marking territory. Purebred Maus are relatively rare, numbering worldwide about 3.000. They come in five colors: silver, smoke, bronze, black and pewter. All Maus have green eyes. The body is muscular and of medium length, with hind legs longer than the front. This gives these cats the appearance of standing on tiptoes when upright. These longer hind legs are the reason they are so fast, and they can run up to 31 miles per hour! In 2004, in the movie, "Catwoman", the cat named Midnight was played by three Egyptian Maus as well as one computer=generated Mau. Do YOU own an Egyptian Mau cat? Please share your experiences. Related Articles: "The Savannah Cat: "Exotic Beauty" http://blogs.families.com/admin/b2browse.php?blog=28&p=5915 Learn more about Marjorie Dorfman  Marjorie Dorfman is a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York. Relevantpets tags User Comments LilLisa222 (5) 17 Mar 2007 08:45 PMDear Marjorie: I just realized I am the proud owner of an Egyptian Mau. When I tell you how I became one, you will doubt that my Fiona is truely a Mau..but she is. There is not a criteria she lacks. Crazy thing is, she came to my back door in Baltimore City 2 summers ago. Yes, a stray. She was about 10 weeks old and feeding her outside was insufficient. This beautiful, silver, charcoal spotted cat wanted in and I relented. Got her shots and then shortly thereafter took her back to the vet to get her spayed. At this second visit I inquired as to what breed she might be because she looked so unusual. The vet said she indeed look exotic but did not know to what breed she belonged. At any rate, like I said, that was 2 years ago. 2 DAYS ago I was told about a genetically engineered Tiger like cat called a Toyger. While looking for information about these Toygers, I stumbled upon a site that dealth with cat breeds. Unbelievably, there was my Fiona looking right at me with the words "Egyptian Mau" right under her picture along with a description that *I* could have written about my own cat. How can I verify that I indeed have a Mau? In al reality, I don't care if she is nothing but a mutt - I adore this animal - but I'm telling you - this IS a Mau!  Marjorie Dorfman (2577) 18 Mar 2007 02:26 AMHi Lisa, I would suggest that you plug the words, "egyptian mau" into the search engines. You will see a reference to a page that answers all questions about the breed. You may have to check out more than one page, but you should find your answer there. I am no authotrity on this breed and all of my information came from differnt Internet sources. I hope this helps. Best, Marjorie retic (5) 13 Oct 2007 02:13 PMHI I just recently recieved 2 kittens that I did not think were tabby's. When looking up on types of cats i noticed that they kinda look like an egyptian mau. They have the long back legs the stripes on the legs, tail, head and a golden color darker on the top by the spine and lightening as it wraps around under it's belly, and are very playful. I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a website or some place to go to find out if my kittens have the egyptian mua in them.  Courtney Mroch (9169) 17 Oct 2007 08:55 AMOne option, if it's available, might be to get a DNA breed test done. I know they have Doggie DNA tests to determine breeds for dogs, but I don't know if they have it for cats. Also, have you tried looking at the Cat Fancier's Assn? http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/egyptian.html Another description that might help you determine what your cat is. Or maybe contacting someone at Egyptian Mau Rescue Org to see if they could identify by a pic you email them? http://www.emaurescue.org/ Same goes for the International Association of Egyptian Mau's http://www.aime.us/AIME_us.htm Good luck! Let us know what you ultimately conclude your cat is. I'm curious to know. charlottetd (5) 17 May 2008 11:59 AMtheres also an egyptian mau kitten in the film life is beautiful (1997), im almost 100% that its one of the old style mau's with the ears right on top of the head. I am a proud "mother" of a stunning silver mau whos just turned 1. Unfortunately mine didn't just wonder into my house, but instead cost a considerable amount. However now that i have her i can't imagine ever living without a mau, the house would be to quiet for one, and being able to get uninterrupted sleep would be unusual. I would definately recommend this breed over any of the the human bred species, such as bengals etc. moovin (6) 07 Oct 2009 06:35 PMI have two Mau kittens (7 months) they and they are a pure delight. I read that they can jump seven feet due to the extra muscle they have on their stomach. But sense they are medium sized cats so I was doubtful. The the other day I watched as one jumped from the floor to the top of a 6 foot 8 inch door and stared down at me. They are always greeting to me when I arrive home and love to cuddle. Each morning they let me know when the sun comes up and how I can provide them a topping to their food bowl. They love to eat. When I pick them up and their stomachs are packed round like a hard rock. Last month they entered a cat show and won several awards in the kitten class. I am hoping to show them this January as adult cats. They love people, dogs, you name it. They are high energy, curious, lovable little purr machines! Community Tags cat breeds, cat facts, cats, Egyptian Mau cat, felines Discuss this article
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Mau is the Egyptian word for cat and this breed is fascinating for a number of reasons. Not only does it have a very formidable history, cats of this breed are also delightful to know and striking to behold. Images of these cats are seen everywhere in Egyptian art, reflecting their importance in the religion, mythology and everyday life of this ancient culture. As such, they were worshipped as deities, cherished as pets and mummified and mourned upon their death. It is believed that these cats were domesticated from a spotted subspecies of the African Wild Cat.
