Does my cat have Egyptian Mau (EM) genes in him??

Does my cat have Egyptian Mau (EM) genes in him??

by Fazela
(South Africa)

Hello, I have had my cat since he was a few weeks old, he is now 7yrs of age. With all the research I've done it seems like he has quite a few EM traits in him:

- he used to have a strange meow when he was younger. This is what got my interest.
- he has longer hind legs
- he has the M marking on his forehead
- he has the extra bit of skin from his belly to his hind legs (like cheetah as such)
- he is muscular and well toned
- he now weighs ~8-9kg

I hope you can tell me from the pics.

Many thanks,

Fazela

Hi Fazela... thanks for visiting and asking. This is in fact a not uncommon question but as I get few submissions from South Africa I'll try and answer your question.

The simple answer and one that most breeders would give is: "I have no idea and I don't think so...Your cat is a moggie, a random bred cat".

And he is a moggie. But he has an Egyptian Mau coat that is modified by the white spotting gene.

OK, he is a moggie, a random bred cat but your question was, "does he have an EM genes in him?"

And the answer is almost certainly yes on two counts.

1. His appearance indicates this - just. He has the classic spots and green eyes.

2. The domestic cat originates it is confidently thought in the European and African wildcat.

The African wildcat, which looks like a domestic cat, was first domesticated by the Egyptians thousands of years ago. This cat evolved into the Egyptian Mau that is still found on the streets of Egypt today. These are street cats, moggies to breeders in the USA but in some ways more purebred that purebred Egyptian Maus in America.

They certainly have the original Egyptian Mau genes.

In fact it could be argued that all moggie cats today have some Egyptian Mau genes as these were the first domesticated cats that were exported to other countries over hundreds and thousands of years.

On this basis it is likely that your cat has some EM genes...

See also:

What Breed Is My Cat?

Cat Genetics - the Cat Breeds - this explains the spread of the domestic cat from its origins to other countries and the development of the breeds.

Hope this helps. Feel free to disagree.

From Does my cat have Egyptian Mau (EM) genes in him?? to Egyptian Mau Cat