Egyptian Mau Kittens Lost Their Spots!
by Thomas Robertson
(New York N.Y.)
My two beloved girl Egyptian Maus are 10 yrs old.
They have: Gooseberry eyes, long rear legs, abdominal skin flap, blue-gray fur with some white marking along the nose bridge.
Here is the curious part.
As kittens they had distinctly spotted flanks with a decidedly leopard-like appearance.
After the first year or so of life the spots faded away.
Does anyone know what’s up with the girls’ “lost spots”.
Thomas
Hi Thomas… Thanks for visiting and asking. The answer as you have no doubt discovered is not readily available on the internet or indeed in the best books.
I have asked you for some photos. In the meantime as an initial answer I will say the following.
One site says that the spots fade in the sun. This sounds wrong but there may be a heat element. But as they faded with the kittens development this points to a natural occurrence.
The lion comes to mind. The Egyptian Mau is not a lion! But it is at its origin a domesticated wild Jungle cat.
Lion cubs have spots much like a leopard which fade at adulthood. It is said that the spots aid survival by providing camouflage.
Cat coats not infrequently mature like this.
These answers are provided without real research so I will do some work on this and see if I can provide a definitive answer and in the meantime I would hope that you can provide me with some photos in response to my email.
A visitor may, in the meantime, provide a good answer.
My answer is subject to seeing photos as expectation and subjectivity can play a part in these discussions.
