Is This An Egyptian Mau?
by Alexandra
(Romania)
My Mau
I have this cat from a friend and I think it is an Egyptian Mau because his behaviour and look is just like this breed :).
Is this cat an Egyptian Mau? I look forward to your answer.
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra... There are quite a lot of people visiting this website who ask this question in relation to a range of possible cat breeds. I nearly always give the same answer.
The first point is this. Almost all people who keep a cat that is a purebred cat will know that it is purebred because there will be a history, usually in writing. In other words a pedigree that satisfies the cat associations that a cat is purebred.
If there are no papers concerning this cat then he is very likely not a purebred cat and therefore not an Egyptian Mau as they are purebred cats.
There is, though, an immediate problem because as it happens there are thousands of feral Egyptian Maus living on the streets in Egypt. They are not purebred but they are Egyptian Maus. That said you are asking if this cat is a purebred. On what I have just said it is almost certainly not. There are other factors.
It is hard to be sure about purebred cats from appearance only as not all purebred cats are going to be perfect to type or be excellent examples of the breed.
The Egyptian Mau is the only naturally spotted cat. As a purebred it is "semi-foreign" in conformation (the way the body looks). This translates to being slenderish or a bit more slender and refined than your average random bred cat.
This cat is not semi-foreign in appearance in my opinion but is probably more cobby (stocky). That goes against this cat being an Egyptian Mau.
Back to the spots. This cat is a tabby cat but there are no spots as far as I can see. It appears that he is a mackerel tabby (a tabby cat with stripes). That also goes against this cat being an Egyptian Mau.
Another factor is that tabby cats are perhaps the most common of all mixed bred cats, which also points to this cat being a random bred cat.
In fact, he looks very like the European Shorthair, which is in effect a random bred cat turned into a purebred one. See this page: European Shorthair.
In conclusion and drawing all the factors above together I would have to say that your cat is a random bred cat and not an Egyptian Mau...but what a very good looking cat he is. There are many people who prefer random bred cats and they are no less important or beautiful than purebred cats and sometimes they are better (healthier).
Thanks for visiting and asking. This page says more about answering the question: What Breed Is My Cat? Also visitors might be able to say some more on this subject and better than me.
