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Breed guide · Cats
He chirrups at me every time I come through the door. I chirrup back.
Last updated 13 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
All over you at home, then gone the moment the doorbell rings.
What's going onMaus bond closely with their own people and can be shy with strangers. Ask visitors to ignore them, and let the cat decide when to say hello.
At home
A chirrup and a wagging tail every time you come through the door.
What's going onMany Maus chirrup and wag their tails when they are pleased to see you. It is their hello. If yours stops greeting you at the door, it is worth paying attention.
At home
Across the room and onto the highest shelf before you have put your bag down.
What's going onThey are lean and long-legged, with a loose flap of skin at the flank that lets them stretch at full speed. They need short, fast play and somewhere tall to land.
At home
They ignore the water bowl and drink from the tap, and you would never guess anything was wrong.
What's going onUrate crystals (tiny mineral crystals in the urine) are a known risk for Maus from their junior years. Getting water into them every day is the best thing you can do about it.
At home
No two spots alike, on a coat nobody designed.
What's going onNobody crossed a wild cat into the Mau for the look. The spots were already on the cats that came out of Egypt, and breeders kept them. The pattern is random, so it is theirs alone.
At home
An ambush from under the sofa, then gone again.
What's going onThey are hunting the only moving thing in the room. Short play sessions that end with something to catch, then food, usually stop the ankle attacks.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their energy
Built for: A fast, sensitive hunter.
In Dubai: A flat, where they need more play than many cats.
Their people
Built for: Attached to a few, and wary of surprises.
In Dubai: Doorbells and visitors, so more places to watch from.
Their water
Built for: A cat who drinks little on their own.
In Dubai: Air conditioning, and more water than they will drink by themselves.
A name from a tomb painting, and the needs of a cat.
Play, height and water, every day. The ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around what an Egyptian Mau is prone to at every age, starting with their teeth and bladder and later their heart, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They are built for speed, and a laser dot never lets them catch anything.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 2 years
Why
They are built for speed, and a laser dot never lets them catch anything.
What to do
Use a wand toy and make it run: fast along the floor, then up. Five to ten minutes, two or three times a day. Let them catch it at the end, then feed them.
Obesity is a risk in their mature years, and a clever, active cat gets bored with a bowl.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Obesity is a risk in their mature years, and a clever, active cat gets bored with a bowl.
What to do
Split the daily food into small meals, some in a puzzle feeder or hidden around the flat. Weigh the day's food, so the hunting food comes out of it, not on top of it.
A cat this fast will be over the rail after a bird before you can move.
Every age, most of all in the first two years
Why
A cat this fast will be over the rail after a bird before you can move.
What to do
Keep them off the balcony unless it is fully enclosed with cat netting, checked for gaps. Fit restrictors or screens on every window that opens. Never leave them out there alone.
Cats are solitary hunters at heart, and a sensitive cat is quick to stop using a tray they have to share.
Every age
Why
Cats are solitary hunters at heart, and a sensitive cat is quick to stop using a tray they have to share.
What to do
For each cat, a litter tray, a water bowl, a food bowl and a scratching post, plus one spare, in different rooms. Trays go somewhere quiet, away from food and water.
A cat who is wary of strangers needs somewhere to watch from and somewhere to go.
Every age
Why
A cat who is wary of strangers needs somewhere to watch from and somewhere to go.
What to do
A tall cat tree or cleared shelves they can climb, and a box or covered bed, in every room they use. When visitors come, leave the escape route open, and never pull them out of a hiding place.
Urate crystals are a risk from their junior years, and Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD, bladder and urinary problems) in their mature years.
Every age, most of all from 7 months
Why
Urate crystals are a risk from their junior years, and Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD, bladder and urinary problems) in their mature years.
What to do
Wet food every day. Two or three wide, shallow water bowls away from their food and tray. If they drink from the tap, try a fountain. Wash the bowls daily. Urinary health and hydration monitoring is in your plan in their junior and prime adult years.
Crystals and bladder trouble show up in the tray first.
Every age
Why
Crystals and bladder trouble show up in the tray first.
What to do
Scoop daily and notice the number and size of the clumps. Call your vet if they go more often than usual or pass blood. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day. A baseline urinalysis (a urine test) is in your plan in their junior years, so your vet knows their normal.
If the carrier only ever means the vet, a sensitive cat arrives frightened before the visit has started.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
If the carrier only ever means the vet, a sensitive cat arrives frightened before the visit has started.
What to do
Leave it out all the time, door open, with a blanket inside. Once a week, touch their paws, ears and mouth for a second, then give a treat. On the day, cover the carrier with a towel.
Dental disease is the first risk for a Mau from their junior years.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Dental disease is the first risk for a Mau from their junior years.
What to do
Lift their lip and look at the teeth and gums. Brush a few seconds at a time with cat toothpaste. Call your vet if they drop food or chew on one side. An annual dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) is in your plan from their junior years.
They hide illness, and a slow change in weight is often the first sign.
Every age
Why
They hide illness, and a slow change in weight is often the first sign.
What to do
Stand on the scales holding them, then without them, and take the difference. Notice where they sleep, whether they still jump up and whether they still greet you at the door. Call your vet about any steady loss or gain.
Three of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Egyptian Mau
Every Egyptian Mau is spotted, in bronze, silver or smoke. The spots are random, so the pattern on each cat is theirs alone.
Colours
Whatever the coat, the eyes are a striking gooseberry green, and the spots stand out against warm bronze, pale silver or the darker smoke.
The first six months
Their vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with a stool test and the vet listening to their chest. Start wet food, the carrier and short, gentle handling now, while everything is new.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Before they arrive, put up a tall cat tree, net the balcony and set out a few wide water bowls away from the food and tray. A box or covered bed in every room they use means a doorbell is never a crisis.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Urate crystals (tiny mineral crystals in the urine) are a known risk for Maus from their junior years, and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM, a thickened heart muscle) from their mature years. A baseline urine test and a first heart scan by their prime years tell their vet what normal looks like.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
He'll still chirrup at the door. If he goes quiet, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Ancient Egypt
Spotted cats appear in Egyptian tomb paintings, and "mau" was the Egyptian word for cat. The breed is named for them, though no unbroken line to those cats has been shown.
What they still carryThe name, and a coat that resembles the paintings.
The 1950s
Princess Nathalie Troubetzkoy, living in Italy, began breeding spotted cats from Egypt. In 1956 the princess took three to the United States: Baba, Liza and Liza's son Jojo.
What they still carryA very small founding population, later widened with imports.
1977
The Cat Fanciers' Association recognised the Egyptian Mau in 1977, and Britain's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy followed later.
What they still carryA pedigree that is still rare, so finding one can take patience.
2008
A genetic study placed the breed with the ordinary street cats of the Mediterranean, not as a separate ancient line.
What they still carryThe hardiness of a street cat, under a famous name.
Today
A pedigree from breeders, living indoors with a few chosen people.
What they still carryAn active, sensitive cat who bonds closely and watches strangers from a distance.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Egyptian Mau suits you, so might these.
Arabian MauThe same kind of cat: the Gulf's own natural breed, just as lean and athletic, and even better built for the heat
Turkish AngoraThe same kind of cat: another old, natural breed, slender, active and close to their people, in a long, silky coat
AbyssinianThe same athletic play and love of company, in a ticked coat instead of spots
SiameseA similar size, an easy short coat and the same ease in warm rooms, in a cat with far more to say
