Egyptian Mau

The Egyptian Mau is one of the few naturally spotted cats. It has an elegant, long body and a stride like a cheetah. The eyes are oval shaped and vivid green in colour with dark highlighting sometimes referred to as "mascara". There are two stripes on each side of the face next to the eyes, and banding on the legs and tail. The short coat may be one of four base colours (silver, bronze, smoke, or black), all with randomly placed black spots and black striping.
You won't find a more distinctive looking cat than the Mau. It's surprising Maus haven't become the latest unusual pet craze. Plus it's fun to have a cat that directly traces its lineage to the first cats domesticated by humans. (It was actually a two-way street. With agriculture came stored grains, followed by lots of rodents, followed by very grateful cats. They were happy to associate with us - we provided them with an easy, ready supply of food.) As with any breed, watch for the quality of the breeder, buy only from reputable breeders with clean catteries and healthy, friendly cats. The Egyptian Mau is the only natural domesticated breed of spotted cat. The Egyptian's impression should be one of an active, colourful cat of medium size with well developed muscles. Perfect physical condition with an alert appearance. Well balanced physically and temperamentally. Males tend to be larger than females.
Inbred cats have been reported to have a higher incidence of respiratory disease, intestinal disease, and neurologic problems.

The exact origin of the Egyptian Mau is not recorded and therefore cannot be known for certain. The Egyptian Mau is often said to be descended from African wild cats,and a descendant of the cats seen in wall paintings of Ancient Egypt.

The modern Mau is said to have originated in 1953, Italy, when exiled Russian Princess Natalie Troubetskoy met the cat of the Egyptian Ambassador to Italy. She convinced him to obtain several cats from Egypt for her, and she began to breed them. From her the Mau has been described as having a "troubled" look, with their round eyes and open expression. The Mau achieved championship status in some organisations in 1968. There were attempts by British breeders to create Maus from cross-breeds of Abyssinians, Siamese and tabbies, however these did not resemble the true Maus. This "recipe" later became the basis for the Ocicat.