Breed Standard: Egyptian Mau

 

POINT SCORE
HEAD (20)
Muzzle .................................................................. 5
Skull...................................................................... 5
Ears....................................................................... 5
Eye Shape.............................................................. 5

BODY (25)
Torso ................................................................... 10
Legs and Feet ........................................................ 10
Tail......................................................................... 5

COAT (5)
Texture and length .................................................. 5

PATTERN .............................................................. 25

COLOR (25)
Eye color .............................................................. 10
Coat color ............................................................. 15

 

GENERAL: the Egyptian Mau is the only natural domesticated breed of spotted cat. The Egyptian’s impression should be one of an active, colorful cat of medium size with well developed muscles. Perfect physical condition with an alert appearance. Well balanced physically and temperamentally. Males tend to be larger than females.
HEAD: a slightly rounded wedge without flat planes, medium in length. Not full-cheeked. Profile showing a gentle contour with slight rise from the bridge of the nose to the forehead. Entire length of nose even in width when viewed from the front. Allowance must be made for jowls in adult males.
MUZZLE: should flow into existing wedge of the head. It should be neither short nor pointed. The chin should be firm, not receding or protruding.
EARS: medium to large, alert and moderately pointed, continuing the planes of the head. Broad at base. Slightly flared with ample width between the ears. Hair on ears short and close lying. Inner ear a delicate, almost transparent, shell pink. May be tufted.
EYES: large and alert, almond shaped, with a slight slant towards
the ears. Skull apertures neither round nor oriental. BODY: medium long and graceful, showing well developed muscular
strength. Loose skin flap extending from flank to hind leg knee. General balance is more to be desired than size alone. Allowance to be made for muscular necks and shoulders in adult males.
LEGS and FEET: in proportion to body. Hind legs proportionately longer, giving the appearance of being on tip-toe when standing upright. Feet small and dainty, slightly oval, almost round in shape. Toes: five in front and four behind.
TAIL: medium long, thick at base, with slight taper. COAT: hair is medium in length with a lustrous sheen. In the smoke color the hair is silky and fine in texture. In the silver and
bronze colors, the hair is dense and resilient in texture and accommodates
two or more bands of ticking separated by lighter bands PENALIZE: short or round head. Pointed muzzle. Small, round or
oriental eyes. Cobby or oriental body. Short or whip tail. If no broken
necklaces. Pencillings in spotting pattern on torso. Solid stripes on underside of body instead of “vest button” spots. Lack of any evidence of green in the eye color in cats 8 months or over and amber cast in eye color in cats over the age of 1 year 6 months. Poor condition.
DISQUALIFY: lack of spots. Blue eyes. Lack of green in eye color in cats over the age of 1 year 6 months. Kinked or abnormal tail. Incorrect number of toes. White locket or button distinctive from other acceptable white-colored areas in color sections of standard.



 

MAU PATTERN

(Common to all colors)
PATTERN: markings on torso are to be randomly spotted with variance
in size and shape. The spots can be small or large, round, oblong, or irregular shaped. Any of these are of equal merit but the spots, however shaped or whatever size, shall be distinct. Good contrast between pale ground color and deeper markings. Forehead barred with characteristic “M” and frown marks, forming lines between the ears which continue down the back of the neck, ideally breaking into elongated spots, along the spine. As the spinal lines reach the rear haunches, they meld together to form a dorsal stripe which continues along the top of the tail to its tip. The tail is heavily banded and has a dark tip. The cheeks are barred with “mascara” lines; the first starts at the outer corner of the eye and continues along the contour of the cheek, with a second line, which starts at the center of the cheek and curves upwards, almost meeting below the base of the ear. On the upper chest there are one or more broken necklaces. The shoulder markings are a transition
between stripes and spots. The upper front legs are heavily barred but do not necessarily match. Spotting pattern on each side of the torso need not match. Haunches and upper hind legs to be a transition between stripes and spots, breaking into bars on the lower leg. Underside of body to have “vest buttons” spots; dark in color against the correspondingly pale ground color.

EGYPTIAN MAU COLORS

EYE COLOR: light green “gooseberry green.” Allowance is made for changing eye color, with some discernable green by eight months of age and full green eye color by eighteen months of age. Preference given at all ages for greener eyes.
SILVER: pale silver ground color across the head, shoulders, outer legs, back, and tail. Underside fades to a brilliant pale silver. All markings charcoal color with a white to pale silver undercoat, showing good contrast against lighter ground colors. Back of ears grayish-pink and tipped in black. Nose, lips, and eyes outlined in black. Upper throat area, chin, and around nostrils pale clear silver, appearing white. Nose leather: brick red. Paw pads: black with black between the toes and extending beyond the paws of the hind legs.
BRONZE: warm bronze ground color across head, shoulders, outer legs, back, and tail, being darkest on the saddle and lightening
to a tawny-buff on the sides. Underside fades to a creamy ivory. All markings dark brown-black with a warm brown undercoat, showing good contrast against the lighter ground color. Back of ears tawny-pink and tipped in dark brown-black. Nose, lips, and eyes outlined in dark brown, with bridge of nose brown. Upper throat area, chin, and around nostrils pale creamy white. Nose leather: brick red. Paw pads: black or dark brown, with same color between toes and extending beyond the paws of the hind legs.
SMOKE: pale silver ground color across head, shoulders, legs, tail, and underside, with all hairs to be tipped in black. All markings jet black with a white to pale silver undercoat, with sufficient contrast against ground color for pattern to be plainly visible. Nose, lips, and eyes outlined in jet black. Upper throat area, chin, and around nostrils
lightest in color. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black with black between the toes and extending beyond the paws of the hind legs. Whiskers: black.

The following information is for reference purposes only
and not an official part of the CFA Show Standard.

Egyptian Mau Color Class Numbers Silver....................................................... 0842 - 0843

Bronze ........................... ........................ 0844 - 0845 Smoke..................................................... 0846 - 0847 AOV......................................................... 0848 - 0849

Egyptian Mau allowable outcross breeds: none.


Egyptian Mau Show Standard (revised 2008)

 

Note: All pictures and graphics are copyrighted by GEMS, The Owners of the cats or individual photographers. No part of this web site may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from GEMS and the owner of the pictures. Go to PHOTO CREDITS