Egyptian Mau

The Egyptian Mau’s hind legs are longer than his front legs, giving him a characteristic tippy-toe stance.There is little doubt that Ancient Egypt was the birthplace of the domestic feline we call the Egyptian Mau. Their ancestors are highly visible in the artworks of the Ancient Egyptians. Many of their pictures were of heavily spotted cats bearing the distinctive mascara marking and barring seen on today's Mau. Recent findings in research studies lead by feline geneticist Leslie Lyons, PhD confirmed that cats first originated in Egypt.

The Egyptian Mau arrived in the United States in 1956 when Russian Princess Nathalie Troubetskoy, imported three Maus from Italy: two silver females, Baba and Liza, and a bronze male called JoJo. The TICA accepted the Mau as a championship breed in 1979,

Mau is the Egyptian word for cat. The “M” shape on the forehead is called the mark of the scarab. Egyptian Maus are the fastest domestic housecat.