Egyptian Mau?

[nekochan]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Thanks Nec - I didn't know that - see I still learn something new

Still the kitten is DSH and not a Mau

Yes I agree. The head and ear shape don't reallyl look like a Mau to me...

I did have a rescued foster kitten once that looked like a Mau! I know they are not a common breed but she really did look like one so I just called her an Egyptian Mau mix because the resemblance was so great. She was colored like a (somewhat dark) silver Mau and she had the eye and head/face shape similar to a Mau... I don't really know what the breed's personality is like so I can't say whether she matched it, but she was playful and outgoing and very active. She was also VERY destructive-- she chewed a poster off the wall of my bedroom, she chewed up a book cover, and even chewed up our 25-foot phone cord! Of course she was a teenager when we had her...

 

[ferriscat]

The dilute colors are probably popping up from the imports that were brought in under the previous importation policies. Recessives are forever, so when the dilutes pop up, they're Maus, but there's not much more that can be done with them.
It is terribly unlikely that a dilute kitten would ever leave a breeder's watchful eyes, since they are even more rare than a regular Mau. There are only a handful of Mau breeders out there and it often takes over a year of being on a waiting list to get one.

Either way about it, though, your kitten is perfectly stunning. Feel confident that he could easily hold his own as a HHP at a cat show.

 

[goldenkitty45]

You are right on the recessive genes - long time ago in the Cornish Rex breed (in England) there was an accidental litter with a persian. Thus the longhair gene is in the pool with the rexes. I've seen one longhair rex and know of 2 of them that exists. The one I saw was a white one and really looked "ugly" - like a rag mop. In the other LH rex, the owner kept him shaved down so he would not look as messy.