Talk:Egyptian Mau

Spots
"The spots on an Egyptian Mau are not just on the coat; a shaved Mau has spots on its skin." This is true of all cats, not just the Mau. Take a look at the virtually hairless Sphynx -- it comes in all colors and patterns because color and pattern are more than fur deep. Reference: http://cfa.org/breeds/profiles/sphynx.html and http://cfa.org/breeds/standards/sphynx.html. Jenanne 17:29, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

New page - I'll work on it some more soon.

Brian Rock 03:01, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Re: possible copyright infringement - The page on the web that you cite is my own personal web page - I wrote that web page. It exists on two web sites, a Compuserve website and a Road Runner web site.

Brian Rock 18:12, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

The Compuserve site now has a redirect link to the Road Runner site, which I also author.

Brian Rock 21:22, 4 Dec 2003 (UTC)

says on it "NOTE: a modified version of this page is pending in Wikipedia. There is a misunderstanding over possible copyright violation. There is none - the author of this page and the author of the Wikipedia article are the same person. Nice that they're watching out for copyright violations, though." which is proof enough for me. :) Angela. 03:26, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Thank you! Brian Rock 03:33, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I forgot to add, I'm uncertain what the latest Mau registry number are. 3000 is approximate. Brian Rock 03:42, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I'm hoping to improve the picture - this one is of Shainefer's Albion Argent, who is a very nice cat, but not so true to breed (too long) and this is definitely not a flattering picture of him. Two things in its favor - it does show his spotted coat and it does show that some cats will tolerate leashes. Brian Rock 00:23, 21 Jul 2004 (UTC)

"They are one of the few naturally spotted breeds of domesticated cat." - How do you get an unnatural spotted cat breed? 80.47.150.113 (talk) 17:48, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

Name
About the name origin, I have to wonder if the etymology of both the Egyptian and Chinese words for cat is onomatopoeic. In Italian though the words for dog and cat are cane and gatto, parents affectionately call them bau-bau and mau-mau when speaking to their toddlers. I've always assumed it was like meow-meow. Halconen (talk) 03:04, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

'Cat' in Egypt is 'qitat', similar to most but not all Arabic dialects (c.f. Palestinian 'bsayni' or just 'bisse'). The English word 'cat' is believed to be derived from Maghrebi Arabic dialects (i.e. 'qut' or 'qatat'). Other related words such as 'female cat', 'kitten', or 'wild cat' bear no relation to the word 'mau'. The onomatopoeic word for 'meow' in Arabic is 'mawa`'. In Coptic the word for cat is pronounced something like 'te-ah-shav'. The word for cat in Ancient Egyptian during the Middle Kingdom appears to have been 'mw', which does indeed seem onomatopoeic (in hieroglyphics the vowels are not given, so the actual pronunciation could have been anything; 'meew', 'maw', 'muwa', etc.). Of course, if the word 'mau' was inspired by the Ancient Egyptian 'mw', this could only have occurred after the discovery of the rosetta stone before which transcription of hieroglyphics was not possible. It thus seems most probable that the name 'mau' was coined relatively recently by the original American (or possibly European) developers and marketers of the breed, inspired by the advances in Egyptology and in allusion to its purported origins, as opposed to the word somehow surviving in Egypt thousands of years despite language evolution and replacement. How many English speakers still use the original Brythonic words to describe their cats (despite those languages having died out much more recently)? 86.83.56.115 Leo(talk) 02:18, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Price fluctuations in sales of cats
Short of having a reliable pedigree (for the sake of reference), it is probably difficult describing the relative value of one cat over another. But I may as well ask the question anyway - what prices have the Egyptian Mau line commanded since the cat was first documented? Are prices higher for the Egyptian Mau outside the United States than within it?

Since owners are usually interested in improving their cat's line, is it true that the value of a particular line increases with time, as the cat's lineage is improved?

Why are we talking about other cat breeds?
I fail to see any reason for talking about the Ocicat and Bengal in the initial introduction to the Egyptian Mau. This is not an article on spotted cat breeds in general, but on the Egyptian Mau itself. The topics concerning other spotted domesticated cats should be delegated to a later subsection in the article, if not another article in general. Please rework this!--Satcat27 (talk) 05:35, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Mau's Sensitivity to Anesthesia: Rumor?
I took my 8mo Mau into the vet today to get neutered and I put down in the comment section that his breed is sensitive to anesthesia; something that you commonly find when researching Maus. My vet gave me a phone call and said that he went through all his known medical journals and online vet resources and the general consensus in the medical community is that this sensitivity is just a rumor. Does anybody have any citations that can substantiate Mau's sensitivity to anesthesia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by SiegeX (talk • contribs) 18:08, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

EMRO Does Not Work With Egyptian Maus
An Egyptian Mau is a cat that has registration papers from a cat registry that certifies it as such. They have documented parentage, a record of which can be obtained through certified pedigrees. EMRO does not work with Egyptian Mau cats. EMRO works with Egyptian and KSA street cats. Under many importation policies, some these cats would be considered "Native Maus." However, many more would not qualify as they are in colors and hairlengths not allowed within the Egyptian Mau breed. It is misleading and borderline fradulent to call these cats Egyptian Maus. I will wait for someone to rework this, but if nobody steps up, I will do it myself. Satcat27 (talk) 17:14, 13 March 2010 (UTC)

Since nobody has stepped up to clarify the relationship between EMRO and the Egyptian Mau breed, I will rework this segment to accurately reflect the following details:

1) The only cats that can be called Egyptian Mau have registration papers from a reputable cat registry that verify it as such.

2) EMRO's cats are unregistered domestic felines, or street cats. These cats are of unknown parentage.

3) A small percentage of EMRO's cats may qualify for registration based on the Egyptian Mau import policy of various registration organizations. However, until the owners of these cats have completed all steps of the verification process, the cats in question cannot be called Egyptian Mau. Even when these are verified to meet the importation requirements, the cats and their offspring will require multiple generations of breeding back to the current Egyptian Mau gene pool before any offspring may be registered, shown, and sold as pedigreed Egyptian Mau cats.

Satcat27 (talk) 14:58, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Not the fastest breed of domestic cat
The book, "Do cats always land on their feet?" by Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori is used to cite the claim that "Maus have been clocked running at more than 30mph" but it actually states the following:- "The average domestic cat can run at a speed of around 30mph. Egyptian Maus are reportedly the fastest breed of domestic cat, capable of reaching 36mph".

How can this be sufficient research to be able to make such a wild claim on the Wiki article? That an Egyptian Mau has been clocked at 30mph? This myth needs to be ended. I have been trying to find evidence for many years to support or dispute this but as of yet have drawn a blank. It's too difficult to find evidence to support or disprove such an absurb claim as it is simply not repeated anywhere else in the world. I shall make contact with the authors of this book and ask them to clarify their claim.

It now appears that the Wiki article has been changed to state that that the Mau in fact has longer hind legs:-

This has now been added to support the Egyptian Mau MYTH regarding their running speed:- "The Egyptian Mau is the fastest of the domestic cats, with its longer hind legs, and unique flap of skin extending from the flank to the back knee, providing for greater agility and length of stride. Maus have been clocked running over 30 mph".

Once again I would wholly dispute the 'clocked' top speed of 30mph and also that it's longer hind legs are in fact a reason for this. The Mau MAY or MAY not actually have longer hind legs. I would say that they are no longer in the back legs than any other typical cat breed. This is simply another unsubstatiated claim by the auther of this article to prop up a silly myth about the Mau being the fastest cat. The auther has referenced a 20 year old book which makes a throwaway comment without any evidence to support. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.118.224.149 (talk) 13:17, 24 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Additional, reliable references, either in support of the claim or specifically refuting it, to clear up this long-standing quibble, would be very welcome. However, WP:V applies: the book is a reliable source. Meanwhile, if the colloquialism "clocked" in the article text needs to be changed to match more closely the source wording, that would be completely acceptable. --Old Moonraker (talk) 13:30, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Removing the term "clocked" would be a good start. Referencing a source which can provide evidence to support the claim would also be acceptable. This is impossible to do as this claim is not repeated anywhere else in the world, if so then please feel free to try and find it. Just because that comment comes out of a published book does not add any further credit. In fact I often wonder now whether the source referenced was actually written after the Wiki article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.118.224.149 (talk) 13:56, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Here are Italian Greyhounds running at a peak speed of 30 mph out the gate. These are cat sized dogs (10-15 lbs). NO CAT can run this fast. If you threw any cat out there, he might be able to avoid them and get off the track, but there is no way a cat could run with them. I have cats and greyhounds, and my Italian Greyhound in his heyday could do 30 mph from a standing start over 100 yards. This is a sight to behold. My cats could never even think of doing anything like that. I suggest you remove that totally unfounded myth of 36 mph.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sid-ez2pi0E   Msjayhawk (talk) 03:31, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

And here are whippets actually running 36 mph. I assume you can see how funny it is that you say a little cat can do this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IUxQw9YoLg Msjayhawk (talk) 03:40, 8 March 2013 (UTC)

Hmm, the book is a reliable source. And the scoffers have probably not ever seen an Egyptian Mau run. Although I am not an authoritative source, I have seen an Egyptian Mau run - several actually. They are freakishly fast. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.100.166.6 (talk) 00:44, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Removing information from a documented source because one does not believe it appears to be 180 degrees from accepted Wikipedia policy. No?

Someone (Gina Spadafori & Marty Becker) wrote a book and in that book they stated "the Egyptian Mau is the fastest breed of cat having being clocked at 36mph". There is no evidence to support this anywhere in the world. I invite you to find it if so. No-one is asking for that source to be removed. We are stating that just because 1 person in the entire world put it in a book they wrote does not in fact make it true. I have 2 Egyptian Maus and I have videoed them running on treadmills. They cannot run at 36mph. You sir are a fool for believing this. Attempting to try and prove this by stating that they are "freakishly fast" is again no proof whatsoever.
 * The assertion can be used if it meets the WP:Reliability test using a WP:RS. WP: Truth does not require factual accuracy.  And we can't use WP:OR. And opposing reliably sourced viewpoints can be put in. 7&amp;6=thirteen (☎) 19:18, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Egyptain Mau cats are NOT the fastest breed and cannot run at 36mph
I have contacted Gina Spadafori, the author of the book "Do cats always land on their feet?" which makes the claim about this breed being the fastest.

I invited her to defend the claim she made that "Egyptian Maus are reportedly the fastest breed of domestic cat, capable of reaching 36mph". I also drew her attention to these articles here on this WIKI talk page.

Her response is as follows:- "I have no interest in debating the ref. That book is 20 years old and my notes are long gone."

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EMRO notability?
Is a now defunct rescue organisation of cats in the country of origin of the breed really noteworthy enough for a paragraph in this article? Most of the text is about how the cats are moggies and not Egyptian Maus. I can't think of any other cat articles where rescue organisations are mentioned. Traumnovelle (talk) 08:57, 9 January 2024 (UTC)


 * Probably not. Thanks for cleaning up the cat breed articles btw. Happy editing, SilverTiger12 (talk) 19:41, 9 January 2024 (UTC)