The Traditionals
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Cartouche |
Yanni |
The Traditionals began with an exiled Russian princess by the name of Nathalie Troubetskoy. The princess, while living in exile in Rome, acquired a silver-spotted female kitten from a boy. This kitten was given to the boy by a member of the diplomatic corps from an embassy. Prior to giving the princess the kitten the boy had taken care of the kitten by keeping it in a shoe box. The princess gave her new kitten the name, Baba. The princess was fascinated by the tiny kitten and investigated its background further. She soon discovered that what she had was an Egyptian Mau. The Maus were nearly killed by troops during World War II in Europe. When the princess received her kitten nearly all the Maus were destroyed. The majority that survived the war were now located in Italy. The princess eventually moved to the United States and established a cattery by the name of Fatima. This cattery was her effort to preserve the breed of Egyptian Mau. By 1968 the breed was finally recognized by Cat Fanciers' Federation (CFF). In 1977 the Mau was recognized and shown in championship in the Cat Fanciers' Association(CFA). All traditional Maus are descendants of the Princesses' cats, Baba, Giorgio, and Jo-Jo.
The Traditionals tend to have more refined heads and less contrast to their coats. Some tend to be "cobby" in build in comparison to the Indian lines. The Traditionals are also very protective of their babies. If you come to visit, momma will be paying close attention to what you are doing to her kids.
It is difficult today to find many pure Traditionals. Most have been crossed with newer blood to increase the genetic pool. We really were fortunate to have acquired these two girls, and hopefully have just begun to reap their beautiful "rewards". See Trouble.
We have since placed both Cartouche and her daughter Yanni in loving pet homes.
The Egyptian Lines
The Egyptian lines are some of the recent imports from Egypt. In CFA they are the only cats we can use other than those registered. They can be used in programs but sometimes can not be shown until about 4 generations from the original importation cat. The reasoning behind this is that type may not be set according to the breed standard and for temperament issues. In the past, these are cats taken off of the streets of Egypt which may have influenced some of the temperament issues early on. The more recent Maus being directly imported from Egypt into the United States are being socialized and raised from kittens. There are also set standards and very tight importation regulations. Mauraj is currently working on importing it's second Mau from Egypt. We work with an established organization that is decicated to the preservation of this breed. The Egyptian lines are extremely intelligent and don't always make good show cats. Maus develop tight bonds with owners and generally are not thrilled to have complete strangers fondling them in a noisy unfamiliar place.
Not all cats on the streets of Egypt are Egyptian Maus!!!!!!
There have been other importations from private homes in Egypt, however we do not work with those lines. Those bronzes were crossed with silvers and smokes. Those Maus are among silver breeders which we do not work with. Silver taints the bronze color.
MAURAJ MECCA'S LEGACY
INKYPAWS MENKAURE PROPHET OF MAURAJ
The Indian Lines
The Indian Lines were introduced by Jean Mill to use with the Traditional Mau's in 1980. The sole purpose for this introduction was to preserve the breed which was weakening due to inbreeding. Mrs. Mill introduced two rufous bronze cats (Toby & Tashi) from New Delhi, India, hence the name, "Indian Lines". Toby and Tashi are products of two cats that were brought to India from Egypt by a British couple. These two cats nearly doubled the gene pool and soon provided larger litters. Today most Egyptian Maus have the gorgeous Traditional head with the nice elegant body of the Indian lines. These same lines introduced by Jean Mill were also used to cross with the wild Asian Leopard cats to produce the Bengal. Due to this reason many Maus with Millwood lines will have the same glittered coats (both silver and bronze Maus can have this) as some Bengals. The glitter does not originate in the use of the wild Asian Leopard cat as is often misunderstood. Only Bengals with Millwood lines will have the glittered coat thanks to the influence of Millood Toby. There have been rumors in the past that Bengals were used in Mau programs. To my knowledge this is not true. Of course, many Maus have been used in Bengal programs, in fact the Indian and some Traditional lines were behind the creation of the Bengal breed.
Millwood Toby