Is my Bamboo an Egyptian Mau?
A visitor, Ludi Ye, asks the question: I have this one of the most popular questions: is this a mau?
I adopted Bamboo for about half a year, she was abandoned twice. I know it might be hard to tell from the picture, but I want to give it a try because I see some mau characteristics in her. She is spotted, the background color in the belly is a lot lighter, thus the spots are more obvious. She has beautiful green eyes and eye liners and the two broken necklace. One thing i wasn’t sure was the flap maus have.
Whether she is a mau or a tabby, I love her regardless. I just have been very curious.
Ludi Ye
Egytpian Mau or Bengal Cat? Photos copyright Helmi Flick except for Bamboo.
Thanks for asking Ludi Ye. This is indeed a well asked question. This may be because the Egyptian Mau is said to come from the African wildcat. And the domesticated African wildcat is the beginning of all domestic cats. So many cats look a bit like the Egyptian Mau.
I know that you realise that you can’t name a cat breed from a picture. The cat has to be registered with a cat association in the West. However, you can find rescued purebred, pedigree cats sometimes and people do abandon purebred cats.
I believe that Bamboo is more likely to be purebred Bengal cat or a Bengal mix. I have seen purebred Bengal cats that look like Bamboo. I think her facial features and more stocky (cobby) body shape hint at a Bengal cat because Egyptian Maus are more slender (foreign in cat fancy language). Also the Bengal cat has a slightly more intense, serious and wild expression I feel, while the Mau has a more curious look that is pure domestic cat. The Egyptian is wholly domestic while the Bengal, even F5s have some wild cat (leopard cat) in them.
The pictures I have included on the page support my assessment but…and this is a big but, I am just guesstimating based on appearance. Thanks for asking.