The Egyptian Mau is a naturally spotted short-haired breed in silver, bronze or smoke, with light green eyes, established in the 1950s from cats brought from Egypt.
Fast, agile and loyal to its own household, it is recognised in Britain but uncommon.
The Egyptian Mau is a medium-sized, short-haired cat with a naturally spotted coat and pale green eyes. "Mau" is the ancient Egyptian word for cat.
Spotted cats appear in Egyptian wall paintings, and the breed is named for that resemblance. The modern Mau was founded in the 1950s by an exiled Russian princess, who acquired cats from Egypt while living in Italy and took them to the United States in 1956. The breed was established there and reached Britain later; an earlier British breed that used the same name is now the spotted Oriental.
The Mau is muscular and graceful, with hind legs longer than the front and a loose flap of skin running from the flank to the hind leg, which allows a long stride; it is considered one of the fastest domestic cats. The coat is spotted at random over the body, with barred legs and tail and an "M" on the forehead. Three colours are shown: silver, bronze and smoke. The eyes are large, rounded and a light green often compared to a gooseberry.
Maus are loyal to their own household and often reserved with strangers. They are active, agile and playful, with a soft, chirruping voice, and they dislike sudden noise and disruption.
A weekly brush keeps the coat in order. The breed is generally healthy; an inherited anaemia, pyruvate kinase deficiency, is known and can be identified by a DNA test.
The Egyptian Mau is recognised by the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy and the international registries. It is a minority breed in Britain, with 46 kittens registered in 2023.