Egyptian Mau

Magellan at 8 months...reacting to a Wiz Khalifa song. Lmao!

@Leslie, Magellan says bye bye!

1 kitten in a basket = Magellan ;-)

He loves using my arm and hands as his pillows

Sleeping in the sunshine...                                                             

Magellan...ready to pounce on the plant lol

History

The Egyptian Mau dates back over 3000 years. The Egyptian Mau is perhaps the oldest of all domestic cats and one of only two naturally spotted breeds still in existence (the other being the Bahraini Dilmun Cat). The Mau is most likely the descendant of the African Wild Cat (Felis lyica ocreata.) The domestication of the Mau occurred sometime between 4000 and 2000 BC.

The religious significance of the cat in Egypt predates recorded history. In the XIIth Dynasty (2800BC) the Egyptian Book of the Dead portrays the benevolent sun god, Ra, in the form of a spotted cat slaying the evil serpent of darkness.

The worship of the dual natured goddess, Bast, started out as a local cult and reached its zenith around 950BC when Bubastis, home of the cult of Bastet, became the capital of Egypt. The goddess Bast was depicted as a cat, representative of both the sun and the moon which reflects the life giving light and warmth of the sun in the darkness of night. She is also depicted as holding the serpent of darkness at bay with bloody tooth and claw and as such was referred to as the 'Tearer' or 'Renderer'.

Through the cult of Bast, the cat came to represent fertility, strength, and agility. It is most often depicted under the woman's chair in frescos and papyri. Paintings on the walls of the Pharaohs tombs often showed the spotted Mau’s on the laps and shoulders of their owners (much the same places you find them today). It is reported that family members showed their grief in losing a cat by shaving their eyebrows and the cats were prepared for burial in linens and fine jewels so that all could be rejoined in the afterlife. Tomb paintings depict the role of the family pet in ancient times. They are shown, bejeweled and pampered, on the laps and shoulders of their owners in domestic scenes. They are also shown as fishing and fowling companions in the papyrus marshes.

Legend has it that the Egyptians reverence for their Mau’s went so far as to cause them to lose a major battle with Cambyses II of Persia. According to legend, the Persians quickly realized that the Egyptians Achilles heel was their fanatical dedication to their cat and took many cats hostage. They then rode into battle holding the cats before them on their shields. Rather than risk killing or wounding the precious felines, the Egyptians surrendered the city of Pelusium.  The Mau was still held in reverence by the Egyptian people as late as Roman Times. In 1 BC the Sicilian historian Diodorus chronicles an incident where a Roman soldier stationed at Alexandra killed a cat. Although the Egyptians were in a delicate situation and would really have preferred not to antagonize the Romans at that point, there was no controlling the fury of the people. The soldier was seized by an angry mob and executed.

Further evidence of the high esteem given to the cat in Egyptian culture are the ornate and elaborate sarcophagi that were used for cats in tombs.  Mummies of cats complete with mummified mice included in their tomb for food, have been found in the hundreds of thousands, many have been found with fur intact. That fur was generally yellow (bronze in color) and exhibited spots, or in some cases, stripes and spots. Despite the spotted fur found on mummified cats, there do seem to be two "types of cats depicted in the ancient art work - spotted felines and a sandy colored cat. Both seem to have the moderate body type that we see today in the Egyptian Mau. There is some speculation that the little known and rather shy Jungle cat, Felis Chaus.., may have also been an ancestor of the Mau and/or the Aby. Although the theory is not widely accepted, there is significant evidence that suggests that both the Jungle cat and the African Wild Cat were held in captivity and it is likely that there was some inter-breeding between these two. (Felines and Pharaohs). Regardless of the actual origin, the cats that we find in the tombs do indeed bear a striking resemblance to our modern-day Maus, lending credence to the theory that the Egyptian Mau is indeed one of the oldest, if not the oldest, breed of domestic cat today.

The mau is long, graceful, and muscular with a stride like a cheetah. A unique flap of skin extends from the flank to the back knee, which allows for greater length of stride and agility. The Egyptian mau is the fastest breed of domestic cat, clocked at more than 30 miles per hour.

They are medium-sized cats, and usually weigh 10 to 14 pounds for adult males, and 6 to 10 pounds for adult females. The mau's head is a slightly rounded wedge shape, with a slight rise from the bridge of the nose to the forehead. The muzzle is neither short nor pointed. The alert ears are medium to large, pointed, broad at the base, and set with ample width between. The large, alert eyes are almond shaped and slightly slanted. Eye color is gooseberry green.

This breed's most striking feature is the randomly placed, distinctive spotting. Considerable variety exists in placement and shape; the spots can be large or small, round or oblong, irregular or uniform, or in any combination. Regardless, the spots must be vivid and distinct with good contrast between the background and the color of the spots. The face bears tabby barring including mascara lines on the cheeks. The characteristic "M" on the forehead is sometimes described as a scarab beetle mark in reference to the most popular of the magical amulets worn by ancient Egyptians.The legs and tail also possess barring and the tail ends with a dark tip.

The coat is medium-short with a lustrous sheen. Three strikingly beautiful colors are universally accepted – silver spotted, a pale silver ground color with charcoal black spots; bronze spotted, a warm bronze ground color shading to tawny-buff on the sides with dark brown-black spots; and black smoke, a pale silver ground color with all hairs tipped in black with jet black spots. Blue silver, blue smoke, blue spotted, and blue solid, all dilute versions of black, also occasionally occur and can be registered with some associations but not shown for championship.

Like their alleged ancestors who tagged along on bird hunts with their Egyptian worshipers, maus love to stalk, be it catnip mice, rubber balls, or wiggling fingers. In fact, they adore all mock hunting games, particularly fetch. Toss a catnip mouse and your mau will run it down and trot it back to you, toy firmly gripped in powerful jaws and eyes gleaming with predatory triumph, for repeated throwing.  Maus are also fascinated by water – they love to dabble their toes and drink from the faucet, and some even enjoy splashing around like a dog. Maus are fiercely faithful, too, and become completely devoted to the humans who pay them homage. They generally don't talk to strangers, but with their chosen humans they are loving and loyal companions who want to be at your side and involved in every aspect of your life. When engaged in conversation with their human companions, maus wag their tails, tread with their feet, and make a variety of sounds called "chortling."

Magellan....with those eyes

 Magellan

Just to demonstrate how spirit works in these sorts of things, when I got Magellan I had no idea he was an Egyptian Mau. I responded to the ad below on Craigslist:

Free Kitten

Date: 2010-07-22, 1:44PM

Healthy, house-broken, weined and eating well, about 7 weeks old. Has had one shot already and the follow-up shot next week. 

Location: Carpentersville

Original URL: http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/pet/1857305497.html

I followed up with the owners, drove over an hour to pick Magellan up. He was actually one of five kittens available. When I arrived at the pick-up spot, the owner of the kittens opened a big duffle case filled with 5 little kittens all sleep on each other. She picked up one of them and handed it to me, this one was half sleep and was looking at me as if it did not want to be bothered.  At that moment, Magellan popped his little head up, jumped out the bag and onto my shoulder. He was meowing like crazy! I told the lady well I guess this one is mine. On the ride back to Chicago, Magellan would not sit still, he did not want to stay in his travel case. He explored the entire car which is how he earned his name : Magellan (thank you John John).  Once home Magellan immediately got familiar with Patches (my other guide) though Patches wanted nothing to do with him at first. Patches actually stopped talking to me for some time after I got Magellan! This lasted about two weeks, after that they were  BFF’s.

Some of Magellan’s characteristics:

• VERY TALKATIVE…he is ALWAYS talking about something- he interrupts conversations and responds to questions/greetings/etc
• Playful, he starts fights with Patches all the time
• Possessive- he wants me all to himself. He doesn’t like ANY of my male companions and he does not like anyone sleeping over. He will nudge Patches out of the way if Patches is sleeping under me.
• He doesn’t like strangers…at all. He is VERY protective of me…and rightfully so! HAH
• He rolls his eyes, smirks, and yells. If he doesn’t like you, he will roll his eyes and turn his back on you. If I wake up later than normal and miss his designated feeding time, he will YELL at me (cussing me out)
• He is PURR CRAZY…he LOVES being rubbed and will purr for hours. He stares at you directly and will lay on you with his head and eyes looking up at you (serious energy exchanges)
• What is really special is that Magellan hangs out when I am meditating or dancing, and loves certain mantras that I play.

I was bewildered when I learned that Magellan was an Egyptian Mau. Now I know why….these slight of hand things all add up. As my remix fam always says:  KNOW YOUR MAGICK!!!!!!!