Egyptian Mau
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This
breed originated in Egypt. It is the only natural
domesticated breed of spotted cat. Egyptian Maus still
have a bit of a really, wild cat look about them.
With
gooseberry green eyes slightly slanted toward the
ears and a coat of medium length hair with a lovely
sheen - the Egyptian Mau looks striking. In young
adults upto 11/2 years of age, the eyes may be amber
coloured before they change to the distinct - gooseberry
green eyes.
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Smoke,
silver and bronze are accepted coat colours. For the Egyptian
Mau with a smoke colored coat the hair is silky and fine
in texture.On the other hand for the silver and bronze colored
Egyptian Maus, the coat is dense and resilient and often
has two or more bands of ticking separated by lighter bands
Strong
points for disqualification are lack of spots, blue eyes,
short or round heads, pointed muzzles and short or whip
tail. Other points that do not confirm to breed standards
are the pencillings in spotting pattern on torso and solid
stripes on underside of body instead of "vest button"
spots.
A typical
Mau pattern
Random spots of different sizes and shapes, small or large,
round, oblong, or irregular shape are all acceptable. Mascara
lines on cheeks, banded tails, barred forehead with typical
"M" and frown marks forming lines between the
ears which continue upto the back of the neck breaking into
elongated spots along the spine are typical.
The
Egyptian Mau with unsymmetrical spotting patterns on either
side are often seen. " Vest buttons" spots on
the underside of the body with a heavily banded tail and
a dark tip are distinctive features specific to the Mau.