Dr. Ismail Elkholy who co-founded the Egyptian Mau Rescue Organisation (EMRO) has died aged 67. He passed away on Monday, November 4, 2013 at a Canadian hospice. This is not a post about the glossy, American version of the Egyptian Mau, which is a popular pedigree cat (in the top 10) but the real Egyptian Maus living on the streets of Cairo or other Egyptian cities.
The street cats of Egypt are the genuine article – the native Mau from the homeland of this cat breed. They are descended from the cats of ancient Egypt but, sadly, today they are not worshipped (if that was ever, really the case) but persecuted, hence the need to rescue them.
I suspect that the Egyptian Maus street cats of Egypt are more purebred than the purebred ones created within the cat fancy. They actually look similar.
EMRO is quite an important cat rescue organisation because of the important history of the cat in Egypt.
EMRO was started around 2004. There are no Egyptian Mau cat breeders in Egypt. The cat fancy is a Western concept. You might see some Persian cats as the Persian is the most common pedigree cat outside of the West. However, it is not a pedigree cat in the Middle East or Asia because there is no cat fancy.
Dr. Ismail Elkholy co-founded EMRO with his wife Ms. Gloria Lauris. They have a son, Ali. I feel that his passing needs to be recognised as he did something quite important in the world of cats, going against the grain.
Dr. Ismail Elkholy worked as a engineer and in senior management. EMRO rescues: Native Egyptian Maus, Arabian Maus and Shirazi Maus. The word “Mau” means cat in Egyptian.
Thank you Dr. Ismail for helping to improve the lives of the street cats of Egypt. EMRO continues as far as I am aware. This is their website: EMRO.
This is really very sad. I hope his organization doesn’t suffer too badly – I’m sure he would want it to flourish. Very sad indeed.
We need ten more like him. Actually 100 would be better.