Egyptian Mau Cat Breeds
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The Egyptian Mau is a very elegant, muscular cat that boasts having a naturally occurring spotted coat which can be in any of three colours. They also are known for their “worried” expression thanks to their large, bright green eyes and level brows. They also have lines that run either side of their noses which adds to their exotic looks. Male Egyptian Maus are typically larger than their female counterparts, but both have slightly wedge-shaped, rounded heads with males having more of a jowl than females. Seen in profile, they have a slight contour from their foreheads down to the bridge of their noses. Muzzles are nicely rounded and chins are firm with cats having a level bite.
Their ears are medium to large in size and broader at the base being slightly pointed at the tips and set nicely apart on a cat’s head. Some Egyptian Maus have tufted ears whereas others do not. They have large, almond shaped ears that are set under a level brow and which boast having a slight slant on the lower lid. Eyes are a bright, gooseberry green and as previously mentioned cats have a line that runs parallel on either side of their noses which adds to their “foreign” look.
Egyptian Maus have moderately long, elegant bodies that boast being muscular and hard to the touch. They have quite prominent shoulder blades that are set high and cats have a loose flap of skin that runs from their flanks to the knee on their back legs. They have elegant legs that are nicely in proportion to their bodies with their back ones being longer than their front legs. Feet are dainty and small being almost rounded in shape. Their tails are moderately long and quite thick at the base before tapering gently to the tip.
When it comes to their coat, the Egyptian Mau boasts having a close-lying, medium length coat that always has a sheen on it. Cats with silver or bronze coloured coats have dense hair with at least two or more bands of ticking on each hair which is separated by lighter bands of colour. Smoke coloured Egyptian Maus have silkier, finer hair, but all three colours have a charasteristic letter “M” on their foreheads together with frown marks. They also have a complex “scarab” pattern on the tops of their heads from which lines run back between a cat’s ears and then down their necks before breaking into long spots along the spine.
The Egyptian Mau’s cheeks have “mascara” lines which start at the corner of their eyes before contouring their cheeks. A second line curves upwards so it virtually meets a cat’s ears. Their bodies are spotted randomly with large, small or medium sized spots that can be just about any shape and size. Bellies are also spotted and cats have one or even more broken necklaces around their necks. The markings on a cat’s shoulders can be both stripes and spots.
Their legs are heavily barred or they can be spotted with one leg not matching the other which is acceptable under the GCCF breed standard. The marking on their upper back legs and haunches can be a transition from stripes and spots to bars on a cat’s lower legs. Their tails are very well banded and boasts having a dark tip. The accepted breed colours are as follows:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Smoke