Possible Arabian Mau?

[ingee]

Hi all, 

So about a year ago I adopted Fred, I love him to bits despite whether he has any breed in him at all, but lately I've begun to get curious. I read about Arabian Maus and the more I read about them the more I think that Fred might be at least partially this breed. I will admit that I don't know much about cat breeds as we have never really delved into them, mostly just adopting cats at shelters or strays that wandered home. So I might just be silly with thinking this, and I know that he will never be verifiable, but I was hoping that I could get a few more eyes to tell me what they think. 

He is a very long and lean boy, and tall too. Hopefully someone can give me some insight! (Also as a side note, in the home that had him before me, they cut off the end of his tail so I can't factor in tail shape!)

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• ingee
• Jul 24, 2013

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• ingee
• Jul 24, 2013

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• ingee
• Jul 24, 2013

 

[catspaw66]

He is a Domestic Shorthair with a classic red (orange) tabby pattern. An Egyptian Mau is spotted, but only on the tips of the hairs and has a dark dorsal stripe that runs from the head to the tail. They are also a grey (blue) color. The front legs are shorter than the back legs, and they are the fastest domestic cat.

 

[ingee]

Oh for sure, I don't think he's an Egyptian Mau at all. However what I have read of Arabians, they can come in red. He looks almost identical to many pictures that I have seen, his spotting is also not shown as well in the second picture, it is more "spotty" maybe slightly marbled in areas. 

 

[maewkaew]

Wow he is a handsome Red Classic Tabby boy! 

 Where  are you located?   If you're not in the Arabian Peninsula  ,  it would be nearly impossible to adopt a shelter cat that was an Arabian Mau.  unless it was some kind of special program with a rescue over there.

 An Arabian Mau is a sort of native cat of Arabia --  a landrace --   but it doesn't have formal recognition as a breed by most of the international cat fancy,  except they have some level of recognition in WCF,  a German-based sort international umbrella group for different cat clubs,  and there is a club in Dubai  that has promoted them.    but these aren't cats that are much imported to other countries.  

 Fred has a body type that might suggest some ancestry from cats from Asia  ( I wouldn't be surprised if he had some Siamese / Oriental somewhere in the background)  or maybe the Mediterranean  

.... but he's got a coat pattern that originates in northern Europe  probably specifically the UK.  

( One exception I know  of classic tabby in a very different place, is the  wild looking version of classic tabby in the Sokoke, but  I suspect that was the result of the cats from Kenya breeding with classic tabby patterned cats  introduced to Kenya by British people  who were living there - -it was formerly a British colony --   and brought  some pet cats along with them.   ) 

I love both his type and his color & pattern.    

 

[catspaw66]

Oh for sure, I don't think he's an Egyptian Mau at all. However what I have read of Arabians, they can come in red. He looks almost identical to many pictures that I have seen, his spotting is also not shown as well in the second picture, it is more "spotty" maybe slightly marbled in areas. 

I'm sorry, I kept saying Egyptian Mau instead of Arabian Mau. Egyptian is what I googled and what I looked at. I was in a hurry and didn't pay complete attention to the post.

Fortunately, someone else got the right information. Thank you, maewkaew.

 

[ulaluma]

I'm curious where you are located, where Fred is from. I'm in northern California but got a young one-eyed cat that looks much like this a few months ago from Kings County Shelter in Fresno, CA. I've been so surprised by how different he is than any cat I've had, known, or seen in shelters before, so I started looking around the internet too. There's something exotic about this little guy. He's very long, and likes to stretch out completely straight from paws to paws. His shape is still changing as he grows up, but the shape of his face, ears, and whisker pads is becoming just as described, the taper to his tail, long legs, and has skin flaps where the legs meet the torso (which is supposed to make him faster, and is probably how he can stretch so far). He's very clean and smart, loving and loyal. He's super athletic and needs playtime to be interesting and challenging, and also loves to have obstacle course type training.

I've read that people love their Arabian Maus and bring them to the states. Couldn't these guys be offspring from relocated pets?

-uQlXeMpwLDN-Mt6WQzC_Q0vZcaK87kLRh15rfA-060.jpeg

• ulaluma
• Jul 7, 2014

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• ulaluma
• Jul 7, 2014

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• ulaluma
• Jul 7, 2014

 

[alliegb]

Ulaluma - your cat looks exactly like an Arabian Mau to me.  Mine is nearly identical.  I brought mine back from the UAE when I lived there but never bred him.  In fact, if you've ever watched the Cats 101 episode on Arabian Maus, mine is the ginger kitty on the white background.  In 2011 when that was filmed, the Animal Planet folks said they couldn't find many in the states.  No idea if there are more now.

 

[tuscanytrace]

There are a few ways he could have gotten here:

1. A shipping container. I have a friend who has an Arabian Mau who arrived as a very lean older kitten in a shipping container who originated in Dubai. He's also a tabby-type, like Fred. His name is Habibi.

2. There are tons of students from the Gulf region who come to the U.S., some with families. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that someone brought their cat, maybe because their kids didn't want to leave it behind, and it got loose.

3. It's been around 5-6 years now since people started importing Arabian Maus into the U.S. Given how they love to roam, it's also possible that one or more got loose and are busy having babies.

I have my own possibly-Arabian Mau, and he looks and acts just like everything I've ever read about them. And we do live right by a shipping company, and we found him as a small kitten right on the edge of our property towards them, along with a sibling and their mother (who since is gone). Richard Parker is an amazing cat in so many ways! People remark on his personality and appearance, as well as his sibling Pi's (Pi is black). They started bringing me things like birds and rabbits before they were 8 months old, and they will eat grasshoppers if they catch them. Very sweet, somewhat vocal, wary when outdoors but wanting to be near people when indoors. Smarter than smart, too, and very laid back if nothing is going on.
 

 

[Fuduu]

No doubt..
Arabian Mau.
Kenya

 

[WickedMelon]

Hi all,

So about a year ago I adopted Fred, I love him to bits despite whether he has any breed in him at all, but lately I've begun to get curious. I read about Arabian Maus and the more I read about them the more I think that Fred might be at least partially this breed. I will admit that I don't know much about cat breeds as we have never really delved into them, mostly just adopting cats at shelters or strays that wandered home. So I might just be silly with thinking this, and I know that he will never be verifiable, but I was hoping that I could get a few more eyes to tell me what they think.

He is a very long and lean boy, and tall too. Hopefully someone can give me some insight! (Also as a side note, in the home that had him before me, they cut off the end of his tail so I can't factor in tail shape!)

IMG_4412.JPG

• ingee
• Jul 24, 2013

IMG_4415.JPG

• ingee
• Jul 24, 2013

20130603_230346.jpg

• ingee
• Jul 24, 2013

So, I know this is an old post, but I'm truly baffled by the number of people here saying Fred has a classic tabby pattern. He absolutely does not! Fred has the Sokoke tabby pattern! Please look into the Sokoke breed as it may help you learn some new things about your pet, if you still have him after all these years.

 

[lutece]

So, I know this is an old post, but I'm truly baffled by the number of people here saying Fred has a classic tabby pattern. He absolutely does not! Fred has the Sokoke tabby pattern! Please look into the Sokoke breed as it may help you learn some new things about your pet, if you still have him after all these years.

Why do you think he has the "Sokoke pattern"? He appears to be a normal red classic tabby in the pictures. Sokokes also have a classic tabby pattern, but this doesn't mean all classic tabby cats are Sokokes. Sokokes also don't come in red tabby.

Here is a link to a genuine Sokoke cat breeder's web site.

SOKOKE CATS, Sokoke breeder, Sokoke Cat, Sokoke kittens, Kadzonzo

Breeder of Sokoke cats - one of the rarest cat breeds in the world.

www.kadzonzo.se

Look on the menu on the left, where there is a link, "Do you think you have found a Sokoke?"
Click on that link and it will give you a very detailed discussion of Sokoke cats and Sokoke lookalikes.

 

[Blair228]

I know these was years ago but I was intrigued. I live in Mobile, Alabama. There was a guy with a junk yard pretty much in his yard around a mobile home trailer. He had 2 adult cats who had kittens and we went to adopt one. The daddy was a very large. I mean in height and stockiness. Not overweight or overfed. He was siamese. These were outside cats running amok with fleas. There were 2 siamese. One the traditionally and one that looked siamese but imstead of the dark around face and paws it was orangish yellow. Traditionally orange tabby and then there was what looked like a brownish orange odd ball. Someone had put a cheap gold bracelet around his neck and he had neon pink spray painted on him. The guy said a kid wanted him but when he took him home his mom said no and he brought him back. Well he went missing June 1, 2022. We had gotten him December 25, 2021. He would be about 8-10 months old. We name him Orange kitty. It seemed he turned lighter and my camera was set on light but every unique color. Almost looked like a heart pattern on his side. He had spots like a cheetah on his stomach. Very playful. He would fetch balls and bring them back like a dog the day we brought him home. He had been outside and was dirty and flea covered. We had to bath him repeatedly to get the pink off. He turned into a beautiful car. Does anyone thinks he could have been descended from the Arabian Mau?? Thank you

for any replies.

 

[Blair228]

sorry for my spelling errors. Lol. Especially at end with "car." *CAT* Autocorrect and typing on a phone.

 

[Maurey]

I know these was years ago but I was intrigued. I live in Mobile, Alabama. There was a guy with a junk yard pretty much in his yard around a mobile home trailer. He had 2 adult cats who had kittens and we went to adopt one. The daddy was a very large. I mean in height and stockiness. Not overweight or overfed. He was siamese. These were outside cats running amok with fleas. There were 2 siamese. One the traditionally and one that looked siamese but imstead of the dark around face and paws it was orangish yellow. Traditionally orange tabby and then there was what looked like a brownish orange odd ball. Someone had put a cheap gold bracelet around his neck and he had neon pink spray painted on him. The guy said a kid wanted him but when he took him home his mom said no and he brought him back. Well he went missing June 1, 2022. We had gotten him December 25, 2021. He would be about 8-10 months old. We name him Orange kitty. It seemed he turned lighter and my camera was set on light but every unique color. Almost looked like a heart pattern on his side. He had spots like a cheetah on his stomach. Very playful. He would fetch balls and bring them back like a dog the day we brought him home. He had been outside and was dirty and flea covered. We had to bath him repeatedly to get the pink off. He turned into a beautiful car. Does anyone thinks he could have been descended from the Arabian Mau?? Thank you View attachment 423201View attachment 423202View attachment 423203View attachment 423204for any replies.

Red classic tabby domestic shorthair No particular breed or mix of breeds. His pattern is very typical of the classic tabby pattern.