Egyptian Mau?

[hannon12]

Hi everyone,

I have two kittens that are 8.5 months. I always thought they had a little Bengal in them, but when I was browsing the web, I came across the Egyptian Mau breed. Can anyone, who knows cat breeds well, tell me if they look like a Mau? I've attached a picture of them when they were about 3 months old.

The bronze is male, the gray female. They are two out of a litter of four, the other two being gray females as well.

Both have loose skin in their lower abdomen, which I have read is a trait of the Mau breed (I thought they were just chubby, but the rest of them is slender). Their eyes are a light green, though the lighting in the picture doesn't show this. I know there is no way to know their breed for sure, but any insight into what breed they look like would be great!

I'm just really curious!

318805_10151085327877008_96792403_n.jpg

• hannon12
• Jan 6, 2013

 

[flintmccullough]

http://www.cfainc.org/client/breedEgyptianMau.aspx

 

[orientalslave]

Almost certainly domestic shorthair - cats of no breed - and both are brown tabbys (the paler one looks to have black pads) but certainly unusual and striking markings. 

 

[StefanZ]

They are strickingly beautiful, so no peculiar you do have speculations.

However, breed is not what they happen to look like in a cat book or on Internet, but their ancestry and parentage.  So suitable paperworks "certificate of birth" from a Cat Association is necessary. Or at the very least, good and solid proofs of such a parentage.   Say, you live in a place where Egyptian Mau are very common.

There are exceptions but they are rare!

So, unless you do have proofs, or at least, strong indicies, they are moggies, or domestics, as is more politely to say.

But if you wish, you can surely say they are look alikes some breed.....   

Nice cats, you can be proud of them.  If they have good psyche too, you can surely participate in Cat Shows with them.  Practically all Shows have also classes for  Pet  cats.   (ie not purebreed cats).

Welcome to our Forums!

Good luck!

 

[missymotus]

Agree, they are just domestics. 

Maus are rare, well all pedigrees are being just 3% or so of the population, and within that some breeds rarer than others.

Stefan is right you should enter them in the domestic class of a cat show, especially the ticked one. 

The ticked tabby has what is unofficially referred to as a "trout pattern" in Ocicat outcross programs (not suggesting these kittens are Ocicats either, being another rare breed) 

 

[callista]

Awww, spotted tabbies! How cute! They do remind me a little of Ocicats, what with their big ears and spotted fur, but odds are they don't actually have any Ocicat in them, just the luck of the draw making them resemble Ocicats. They certainly do make it obvious why people created Ocicats to begin with. That spotted, wild look is just gorgeous.

What do they look like now, as adults? The kitten photo is just adorable! They look so happy and healthy.

Loose skin on the abdomen is pretty normal. My cat Tiny has that, and he is normal weight, though large and muscular. He's a mackerel tabby ex-feral of no particular breed. I think it just happens because a cat's skin is pretty loose and there was some extra left over after the kitty had its coat on.

 

[missymotus]

They do remind me a little of Ocicats, what with their big ears and spotted fur, but odds are they don't actually have any Ocicat in them, just the luck of the draw making them resemble Ocicats.

They look nothing like Ocicats, with the head type and ear set being completely wrong.
But I'm just a breeder and owner, so no expert compared to others.

The OP's guess of a Bengal was closer and more realistic, but they're still likely not mixes

 

[callista]

They look nothing like Ocicats, with the head type and ear set being completely wrong.
But I'm just a breeder and owner, so no expert compared to others.

The OP's guess of a Bengal was closer and more realistic, but they're still likely not mixes

I didn't say I thought they were Ocicats; I said they made me think of Ocicats because of the spots.

 

[missymotus]

  [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]They do remind me a little of Ocicats, what with their big ears and spotted fur[/color]

just the luck of the draw making them resemble Ocicats

Is what I'm commenting on, the ears and spotting is nothing like an Oci, nor do they resemble them. 

 

[Willowy]

Eee! They're so cute! I've never seen a kitty with the tiny spots like the one on the left, I can definitely see why they call it trout pattern, though. Lovely kitties.

 

[mewlittle]

they have a DNA test now fore curious owners to me they look like a mix of mue and bengal

 

[missymotus]

they have a DNA test now fore curious owners 

The DNA test will not tell you a cat is a certain breed, here's a link that perhaps you should have read before posting yet more misinformation 

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/cat/ancestry/index.php

As the link says:

"Today, most mixed (random bred) cats descend from crosses between random bred cats and not from crosses between breed cats."

 

[thebluepencil]

Technically, they must be DSH's due to the lack of papers, but between you and me, I think they have something exotic within them. 

 

[hthegeisha]

I would agree with BluePencil- I think they definitely have a pure breed in them. They are very distinctive and with their muscle structure and form evident in the pictures, I can see why you would wonder, but the first thing that lit on my mind was Abyssinian or Savannah- those breeds of 'wild type' have such similar body type and coat. Paperless, but gorgeous! 

 

[orientalslave]

I would agree with BluePencil- I think they definitely have a pure breed in them. They are very distinctive and with their muscle structure and form evident in the pictures, I can see why you would wonder, but the first thing that lit on my mind was Abyssinian or Savannah- those breeds of 'wild type' have such similar body type and coat. Paperless, but gorgeous! 

Savannahs are vanishingly rare, and Abys are far from common.  The likelihood of them containing something of either breed is very remote.

 

[cat person]

Savannahs are vanishingly rare,

The Savannah, is a rare breed in many parts of the world

. However, in the USA, there are MANY T.I.C.A. breeders. Simply, have a look at this link please

:http://www.savannahcat.com/public/index.php.

and Abys are far from common. 

I have NO IDEA how common an Aby is. But, in the USA they are a ticked patterned cat. Not a spotted one. This is what an Aby in the USA looks like: http://www.breedlist.com/abyssinian-breeders.html.

The likelihood of them containing something of either breed is very remote.

Just my humble opinion, but, that depends on where you are in the world. However, I do not see any Abyssinian in those cats.

Technically, they must be DSH's due to the lack of papers, but between you and me, I think they have something exotic within them. 

.

 

[orientalslave]

I counted them and got 98 or 99.  I wouldn't call almost 100 breeders in such a large country as the US common - that's an average of less than 2 per state.  How many breeders of Maine Coons are there?  And of Siamese?  100 breeders with 3 females each breeding an average of 6 kittens per year per queen = 1800 kittens per year.  Of course that's an estimate, but it's probably safe to say that 10,000 would be a wild overestimate.  If you look at the number of registrations of the really popular breeds - Maine Coon maybe, Siamese maybe - this number is probably a drop in the ocean of pedigree cats.

 

[cat person]

I counted them and got 98 or 99.  I wouldn't call almost 100 breeders in such a large country as the US common - that's an average of less than 2 per state. 

That is true. I guess, to me a rare hybrid is the Safari. That is the hybrid, between the Geoffrey Cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) male and a domestic cat female. There are a total of nine. Source:  http://www.safaricat.com/public/index.php.

How many breeders of Maine Coons are there?  And of Siamese? 

No idea 

.

100 breeders with 3 females each breeding an average of 6 kittens per year per queen = 1800 kittens per year.

Most USA breeders have more then three queens. At least, from, the breeders I have seen and met/worked with.  Now, simply look at these two breeders:  http://www.savannahcatbreed.com/  and  http://www.a1savannahs.com. Then, you will see that, there, are more then 1,800 kittens annually.

Of course that's an estimate, but it's probably safe to say that 10,000 would be a wild overestimate. 

I suppose, but, I really 

.

If you look at the number of registrations of the really popular breeds - Maine Coon maybe, Siamese maybe - this number is probably a drop in the ocean of pedigree cats.

Now, that, is COMPLETELY TRUE

.

 

[jazzcatsmom]

They are beautiful My son adopted a very similiar kitten and asked the Vet what breed he thought Neeko might be. He texted me after the visit to let me know Neeko was healthy and might be an Egyptian "Meow" cat

 

[StefanZ]

They are beautiful My son adopted a very similiar kitten and asked the Vet what breed he thought Neeko might be. He texted me after the visit to let me know Neeko was healthy and might be an Egyptian "Meow" cat

 Iam sure the vet wanted to give a homage to this pretty kitten, and make the owner feel proud and good.

Thus, the weigh lays surely on MIGHT, and not on Egyptian Mau.

Here in this Forum we call these for a somewhat look alike, or similiar...  

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