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Could my cat be an Egyptian Mau?

post #1 of 16
1/2/11 at 9:11am
Thread Starter 
Hi, this is my first post and I hope I am writing this in the correct forum!

Just over a year ago I got a 12 week old kitten from a friend-of-a-friend whose cat had a litter.
He is very playful and intelligent, and he just worships me (his owner) he would do anything for me. My vet thought he looked like a Bengal but after doing some research myself I came across this breed the Egyptian Mau and I cannot help but think my boy has the same qualities. However I am under the understanding that he is a regular moggy but I have never seen a moggy look so distinctive and unusual before.

Anyway, here are some photos for you to look at. Now he is 18 months old.





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post #2 of 16
1/2/11 at 11:02am
No - not even close. He's a handsome brown spotted tabby & white domestic shorthair.

Tabby markings come in 4 types:

1. Classic - swirled/bullseye markings on the side.
2. Mackerel - vertical stripes on the side.
3. Spotted - spots on the side.
4. Ticked - like an Abyssinian.

Your cat is spotted but its not a Mau or a Bengal.
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post #3 of 16
1/2/11 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your response! I had never seen a spotted tabby before, and even his personality matches that of the Mau.
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post #4 of 16
1/2/11 at 11:28am
I seem to be getting a lot of emails lately asking if their particular cat is a Mau. Wonder if the Mau breed is getting more recognizable. I show and breed them and my website pops up in searches I guess.

Most spotted purebred cats were developed/bred from naturally spotted domestic cats in the past. Their other characteristics were selectively bred for as well. So therefore, there will be spotting and other characteristics that can come up randomly in the domestic cat population. The difference is that purebred cats will pass these traits on to their offspring, while domestics have a wide range of characteristics that that they will produce. This is why you'll find long and short hair, and many different colour/pattern kittens in one litter.

Unless you know the parents, or can find a tattoo or microchip, there really is no way to tell if a cat is pure bred or not.

I do have to agre, that spotting in domestic cats is quite rare and very striking to look at. I have only seen a few in my life.
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post #5 of 16
1/2/11 at 12:25pm
He is a stunning beauty! Congrats!

If he has good psyche, as it seems, you perhaps want to show him in the Pet class at Cat Exhibitions?

Such spots arent common in moggies.
Altthough I DID saw almostsuch a one, in my neighbours garden! I presume some of our neigbours a little futher away has such a one. Or they got visit of some friend with hers cat.


Good luck!
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post #6 of 16
1/2/11 at 2:00pm
Definitely not a purebred cat (because of the white, for example), but I do think there's some Bengal in him. I may be wrong, but to me those spots have a rosette'ish' look to them which shouldn't be found in a regular moggy without there being some rosetted cats in his lines. Technically he is a moggy, but I do think there is some breed mixed in him.

He's very handsome whatever he is.
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post #7 of 16
1/2/11 at 4:35pm
Just so you know - spotted tabbies do pop up in the general population - not common but they do.

Friends of mine have a house on part of the farm property. There was a cute kitten (maybe 5-6 months old) that came up to me when I was in the car. I was petting her and noticed she was 1/2 mackerel and 1/2 spotted tabby (which could be called "broken mackerel" to be technical). But the spots were more like and Ocicat pattern spots. Only problem is the cat was a blue-cream tabby and that color is not in the Ocicat gene pool.

And I'm the only one in the area with Ocicats and mine are neutered But some people may say "oh she's part Oci", but she was not.
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post #8 of 16
1/2/11 at 6:58pm
He is a beautiful cat
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post #9 of 16
1/2/11 at 8:23pm
I found a stray kitten (about 6 mo old) once a long time ago who looked like an Egyptian Mau... I called her a Mau mix although she was probably just a DSH she looked quite a bit like one. I don't have any photos unfortunately. She was a silver spotted tabby, although darker silver than the Maus you usually see.
She looked a LOT like this Mau kitten:
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post #10 of 16
1/3/11 at 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
Just so you know - spotted tabbies do pop up in the general population - not common but they do.
If this was a reply to my suggestion that there might be bengal in him: Yes, I'm very well aware that spotted tabbies are normal (and are actually quite common around here), but cats with rosettes are not (unless you have asian leopard cats or mixes in the population).
The kitty in the pic doesn't have a flashy show bengal pattern and excellent contrast, but I see something else than broken mackerel or regular spots. (But I'm actually having an infected eye at the moment so I might be seeing things..).
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post #11 of 16
1/3/11 at 2:28pm
I see just solid spots on my screen....lol - the comment was to the OP just information for her.
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post #12 of 16
1/3/11 at 9:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthernGlow View Post
but cats with rosettes are not
The spots aren't perfectly round, sort of arrow head shaped however I believe rosettes have different shades in/around each spot.
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post #13 of 16
1/14/11 at 10:15pm
Hi there,
I don't post here much but I have to reply to this one.
Definately part bengal...gotta be at least 50%...or even more.
The horizontal flow of the spotting is a dead give away and I don't see any trace of a bullseye pattern.
Seriously, the flow of her spots is more bengal than my the flow of spots on my full bengal.
Very pretty
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post #14 of 16
1/16/11 at 3:59am
The flow of the spots have nothing to do with whether or not this cat is part Bengal or part Mau. The Mau is a randomly spotted breed, and for that reason, you can find Maus with wide-open horizontal flowing patterns like the cat in this thread. Check out some of the cats here, especially the RW at the top of the page.
http://www.egyptianmau.org/stars/gra...ands97_98.html

We also have crowded and busy patterns. . . patterns with vertical flows. . . swirling patterns with whirlpool flows. . . all are equally correct and equally Egyptian Mau. Then you get to the issue of spots, which can be any size or shape.

I'm not saying the cat in question is part Mau. Unless the owner has papers on a him, we'll never know for certain. However, the Mau is a very rare breed in the UK and their foundation lines do not resemble the cat is question. My foundation girl is out of the UK foundation cattery's line, so I hope I should know. He's still a very handsome guy! I bet he draws a lot of attention from the neighbors
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post #15 of 16
1/16/11 at 9:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FerrisCat View Post
The flow of the spots have nothing to do with whether or not this cat is part Bengal or part Mau. The Mau is a randomly spotted breed, and for that reason, you can find Maus with wide-open horizontal flowing patterns like the cat in this thread. Check out some of the cats here, especially the RW at the top of the page.
http://www.egyptianmau.org/stars/gra...ands97_98.html

We also have crowded and busy patterns. . . patterns with vertical flows. . . swirling patterns with whirlpool flows. . . all are equally correct and equally Egyptian Mau. Then you get to the issue of spots, which can be any size or shape.

I'm not saying the cat in question is part Mau. Unless the owner has papers on a him, we'll never know for certain. However, the Mau is a very rare breed in the UK and their foundation lines do not resemble the cat is question. My foundation girl is out of the UK foundation cattery's line, so I hope I should know. He's still a very handsome guy! I bet he draws a lot of attention from the neighbors
Interesting. I quickly ruled out Egyptian Mau because of my lack of knowledge about them. I always thought that they had small, close together spots. If what you are saying is true, I guess this cat could be part Egyptian Mau.

I know that bengal breeders have put in a lot of time and effort, trying to eliminate a "domestic pattern flow" in bengals. This website illustrates what I mean (http://www.akerrsbengals.com/commonterms.htm). Knowing that, I ruled out the possibility that the OP's cat is just a regular cat or moggie...I think people in the UK call it. You know what I mean...lol.

Honestly, she still looks like a bengal to me. Obviously, not full bengal. BTW, I've seen a lot of bengals. I'm obsessed...lol.

Can I have permission to post a link to your pic on a bengal forum? I'd like to hear what people there have to say. Let me know.
Thanks
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post #16 of 16
1/17/11 at 12:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauraetco View Post
Interesting. I quickly ruled out Egyptian Mau because of my lack of knowledge about them. I always thought that they had small, close together spots. If what you are saying is true, I guess this cat could be part Egyptian Mau.
Many breeders prefer the tighter, busy patterns with small, close together spots. However, this is a preference and not at all directly addressed in our standard. For more clarification and some excellent visual aids, please take a look at pages 82-96 in the breed presentation that our breed council secretary gave at CFA's most recent annual meeting.

Quote:
I know that bengal breeders have put in a lot of time and effort, trying to eliminate a "domestic pattern flow" in bengals. This website illustrates what I mean (http://www.akerrsbengals.com/commonterms.htm). Knowing that, I ruled out the possibility that the OP's cat is just a regular cat or moggie...I think people in the UK call it. You know what I mean...lol.
Thank you for sharing the link!

Many Egyptian Maus and Bengals share a common ancestor with Millwood Tashi/Tory of Dehli, the foundation domestic used by Jean Mill when she established the Bengal breed. Other Egyptian Mau lines have been used to bring in specific traits to the Bengal breed. We have a Bengal breeder on this board who would be able to provide far more information on the connection than I could!
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