In this Issue - The Egyptian Mau Club

In this Issue
Muse’s Diary
Maus International - AIME
Household Plants – Friend or Foe?
Details of our 1st
Championship Show
Spotlight Article
– Smoke Maus
2011 AGM
Including....
Judge Promotions
Have your say...
“Dear Ghaniyah”
Plus lots more...
1
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Taliah
Our FIRST UK & Imperial Grand Champion female made up to UK at the Supreme 2010
Specializing in the beautiful Bronze
GenieMau
Maumagic
Maumagic
Elegant - Enigmatic – Intelligent
We breed for Health, Temperament and
Type in our Loving Home.
Kittens for show, Breeding and Pets
The UK’s FIRST Imperial
Bronze Mau
Imperial Grand Champion
Natango Ghaniyah of
Geniemau
For more Info: Please contact Jean Lamb
0191 3712729 or mobile No 07891 486687
Or contact our website2 www.geniemau.com
Maugazine
© July 2011
The Maugazine is owned solely by The Egyptian Mau Club
Editor/Design/Layout:
Assistant Editor/Proof:
Advertising:
Dear Ghaniyah:
Muse’s Diary:
Georgina Anderson-Keeble
Michèle Codd
Jean Lamb/Clive Wicks
Jean Lamb
Jo Higgins
Contents:
Chairman’s Message
Plants – Friends or Foe
Spot the Mau
Maus International-: - AIME
Muse’s Diary – a wicked take on the world
In the Spotlight - Smoke Maus
Outside vs Inside – Making a Bid For Freedom
By the Fireside
Dear Ghaniyah – put your problems to Lady G!
Our Championship Show
4 Star Day at the Supreme
Hetti & Abi – a reader’s story
Our Facebook Page
The London Pet Show
An interview with Sandra Woodley - our new Probationer Judge
AGM News & Trophy Winners
Contributors:
Joan Alexander, Bob Anderson-Keeble, Lady Dusha Bateson, Dr Melissa
Bateson, Patrick Le Coustumer, Michèle Codd, Virna Verrecchia-Gosti,
Mike the Mauie, Janet Williams, Sandra Woodley.
3
Hello
And Welcome to the New Look Egyptian Mau Newsletter – now renamed
as the “Maugazine”. We hope you like it. As you’ll see we’re now smaller
in size, A5 rather than A4, to make it easier for you to carry with you in
your handbag to ‘dip in and read’ or leave out on your coffee table for
visitors to remark on!! This issue has been timed to coincide with this
year’s Show Schedule, advertising our FIRST Championship Show on the 1st
October – make that a definite date for your diary! We hope to see you all
there – a word of warning though – enter your cat early to avoid
disappointment!
We’ve got an interesting mix of articles in this issue - including which
house plants are safe in your home, a spotlight on Smoke Maus, plus an
interview with our new Probationer Judge Sandra Woodley and the old
favourite, should you let your feline friends outside in the garden or not?
This past year has been an interesting one for our breed, seeing our first 3
UK Grand cats at the Supreme, our first Bronze Imperial Grand Champion
Female and more cats and kittens on the show bench than ever, although
we fell short of having enough entries country wide to even think of
applying for a colour split in the breed classes.
As you’ll see from our Committee Contacts page at the back of this issue,
there’s also been a change or two with our members. Anne and Brian
Gregory have stepped down from the committee after 11 years during
which our breed progressed from its inauguration in the UK onto
Championship Status. Michèle Codd takes over as our new Secretary and
we have two new co-opted members – Yvonne Davison makes a welcome
return and joining us for the first time is Helen Wicks.
I would personally like to say a HUGE big thank you to Michèle Codd for
her wonderful work and tireless efforts as my assistant editor and proofer,
without her, you wouldn’t be holding this in your hands now!!
4
Chairman’s report
This year’s Annual General Meeting of the Egyptian Mau Club marked the end of an era
with the retirement from our Committee of Anne and Brian Gregory. I first met Anne at
the National Cat Club Show in London in late 1998. I had just returned from two years in
America, my Egyptian Maus were all in quarantine, and I had taken a display to the
National to try and drum up support for the breed. That day we had the inaugural
meeting of the Egyptian Mau Club. Anne was one of the Governing Council judges who
had responded positively to my initial approach and became one of the founding
members of the club at that meeting. She and Brian have been with us ever since, Anne
taking over as our Chairman when Celia Leighton (our first Chairman) retired, and more
recently as Secretary when my work commitments became too great. She has also been a
very effective Secretary to our Breed Advisory Committee since its creation. Anne and
Brian’s immense experience of the cat fancy and extraordinary support for the breed will
be sorely missed by the club Committee and BAC. However, they remain members of the
club and I’m sure will continue to the support the breed via other routes. I personally owe
a huge debt of gratitude to Anne and Brian for the central role they have played in
helping me to realise the dream I had back in 1996 of introducing Egyptian Maus to the
UK. I hope all Club members will join me in thanking Anne and Brian for what they have
done for the Maus.
The forthcoming year will be a busy one for the breed. We have our first Championship
show rapidly approaching, and I strongly urge as many club members as possible to
support the show either by entering their cats, helping on show day or, if you are not able
to attend, sponsoring classes. We all need to pull together to make this historic event for
the Club a success. A second major challenge for the coming year is the creation of our
Breeding Policy and a revision of our Registration Policy. Governing Council are very
rightly concerned that the limited gene pools of some of our smaller breeds will result in
problems associated with inbreeding, and are requiring all breeds to identify appropriate
outcrosses. Given that the Mau is a natural breed not created from the mixing of other
pedigree breeds I feel very strongly that accepting another breed as an outcross would be
a mistake. The Committee has had some initial discussion about this and so far the
general feeling is that we would do better to investigate mechanisms for allowing the
introduction of street cats imported from Egypt that are of Egyptian Mau type to be
allowable in our pedigrees. Other registries such as the Cat Fanciers’ Association already
have policies in place for registration and acceptance of Egyptian imports, and I think we
should work towards changing our Registration Policy to allow such imports in GCCF. We
intend to have a revised Registration Policy ready for endorsement by the Club at next
year’s AGM.
I will finish by wishing all Club members a successful year. I hope to see as many of you as
possible at the Club show and at next year’s AGM.
Melissa Bateson.
5
Plants–friend
or foe?
We are both a nation of animal lovers and,
thanks to a host of recent television
Primula Obconica
programmes such as Life, the Inside Out Show
and good old favourite Gardeners World, our
homes, offices and shops have been transformed into lush tropical visions
of the natural world. Plants not only look attractive and smell heavenly,
but they can bring with them a wonderful sense of peace, and a oneness
with nature. They will grow almost anywhere; even the smallest garden or
window ledge of the most amateur gardener can, with a little
encouragement, sprout life.
Sometimes our two passions can live hand in hand with each other, but at
other times they can be deadly; there are some plants so toxic that they
are not safe to grow or even be handled by the most experienced
gardeners, while others such as pitfall, flypaper, snap, bladder and lobsterpot traps ensnare and kill their prey for their nutrients, and that’s before
you even start to think about the borderline carnivores! So is there a
solution?
Just recently my in-laws decided, for reasons best known to themselves, to
present us with a lovely primula (Primula Obconica) in a pot – clearly
meant to be kept as a houseplant! Now having six house cats, keeping
plants is not something we generally indulge in any more. We used to; in
the days when we had household pets, who went outside, and spent their
days sleeping under the nearest bush; but after we had our first Mau, and
he developed a taste for the cacti we so loved, and became violently ill as
result, we quickly reconciled ourselves to living in a plant free state. Plants
live outside in the garden, we and the cats inside. Simple.
But now we had a plant. True we could have taken it outside and planted
it where it could have taken its chances along with everything else, what
6
with the winter weather and various insects etc, or we could put it
somewhere where the cats don’t go. Seeking out high window ledges,
hanging baskets, the tops of tall cabinets etc, are, as I’m sure you’d agree
no good with a Mau or two in the house – those are their natural
playground anyway. So the
plant was shut in my office
– which is a no cat zone
unless I’m in there working
too - while I went on the
internet to try and find if
the Primula was a Friend or
Foe.
So I, like hundreds of others
typed in “Plants that are
safe for Cats” and received Denderah de Belenus sampling an Orchid
– a “Safe” plant!
21,400 results in a little under
point 22 of a second. Sorted I thought in my ignorance, I just need to read
down and find Primula on the list. A veritable host of Latin names jumped
out at me – none of which matched the wrapping round my plant. So I
thought I’d try another site. This one was full of colloquial names, but only
had a handful of plants listed, so I went onto a third site. Bingo! The
primula was mentioned as a foe.... but there I started to notice something
rather worrying, and pulled up a fourth site just to be sure... and yes there
were some plants listed in the friend section of one list that were listed in
the foe section of another or missed out altogether!!
Whilst in general most sites seemed to agree that all types of Lilies are
dangerous for cats and that most types of herbs are safe, confusion seems
to reign over the humble spider plant! The Spider Plant or chlorophytum
comosum seems to be listed on various sites on both sides with joyful
abandon. And so listed in no particular order – just as I came to them - I
found the following for the three plants shown in this article. The
miniature rose, spider plant and primula.
www.gaylee.co.uk/Poisonous_plants1.html - here the Spider Plant is listed
as the 2nd most dangerous plant you can have in your house (up there with
7
the Lily) and joint with the Poinsettia, but neither the miniature rose, or
primula or even primrose is listed. www.moggies.co.uk/plants - this is the
poisons part of their site. The spider plant is not mentioned nor is the
rose, but the primrose is! www.moggies.co.uk/nontoxic - lists the spider
plant as being safe but doesn’t mention the miniature rose or primula.
And as most gardeners will tell you that while the primrose and primula
look the same, and are of the same family there are several distinct
differences.
www.safegardening.co.uk/Petsafeplants.html - Again the spider plant is
listed as safe but neither the rose nor primrose nor primula gets a
mention. www.paws-on-floors.co.uk/catplants.html - Again the spider
plant is listed as safe, and while you should avoid primroses, there is
nothing on the primula or roses themselves.
www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread,php?t=23213 – Has a very long
list of plants to avoid and seems very comprehensive. Spider plants are
safe, but yet again there is no mention of the primrose/primula or rose.
And last, but not least www.fabcats/owners/poisons/plants.html - Once
again the good old spider plant is not listed! Roses are not listed either –
but at last hurrah! The Primula Obconica is
mentioned and it even goes so far as to say that
contact with it may cause skin irritation.
The moral of this tale; the primula will remain in my
office until the weather is warm enough for it to be
planted outside (with all our other plants).
Spider Plant
Our cats will remain safe from plant matter and, if
we feel the need to smell the roses, we’ll do so
outside and content ourselves with pictures of
flowers on the wall, TV or computer. Silk flowers
just get chewed...
.....and that’s a whole other tale!
Miniature Rose
8
Association Internationale du
Mau Egyptien
Written by Patrick Coustumer
The AIME was created in February 1998 by Mc Halleppe who became the
association's first President. She and a few other founder members
imported their first cat, a silver, from Switzerland; other cats soon joined
them from the States. During the first 10 years, until Mc Halleppe’s death,
she forged close links between the US and France and the AIME
concentrated on establishing healthy breeding stock with low inbreeding
co-efficients, to the extent that two Egyptian Mau type cats were
imported direct from Egypt and incorporated into the existing Swiss and
American breeding programme. Mc Halleppe’s death just ten years later
left the club in turmoil and put the future of the association at stake!
A new association meant new directions and goals!!
Under the patronage of a few dedicated members like Sandrine Maisnier
Dufour, Bernard Boucher and Chantal Poission-Petrovsky, the AIME
regrouped. With Sandrine as our new President we set about building
firmer foundations for the association, contacting old members and reestablishing old bloodlines.
This second reincarnation of the association under the guidance of
Sandrine and especially our current president Bernard, has led to many
new changes. We have a more open, friendly and constructive system
than under the first leadership. The new executive bureau will actively
approach our members for their opinion before decisions are made. We
also have an international feel, having made contact with other Egyptian
Mau associations/clubs worldwide, such as those in the US, Canada and
the United Kingdom as well as a few breeders across the EU, which allows
for a free exchange of information and ideas in our endeavour to improve,
understand and promote the breed as a whole! This new input has given
the association a wider and more productive view for the future of the
Mau not only in France, but internationally.
9
Becoming a member
of the AIME is on
reference/introducti
on at first.
The
association is not
looking
to
add
members but rather
to recruit people
who are interested
in the breed, who
will help to further
promote and cherish
it. Being part of the
AIME
is
like
belonging to a big
INT.CH.La marniere Eli-Ora of Amiel-Goshen
family.
The
with her first litter 6.4.2011
executive
bureau
and
existing
members will coach the new members, pass on information, guide them if
need be, and try to make sure that no one feels excluded!
It is roughly the same system for the breeders representing the
association. In France animals are included under the property laws, and
have no more rights than a car, or house for example. To protect our
Egyptian Maus, AIME has set up a charter that every breeder has to sign if
he wishes to be recognised by the association; for a period of a year they
are on probation and are required to undergo the coaching of a “mentor”,
who is already an established AIME breeder.
The advantages of this system are clear, by sharing its data base, helping
new breeders with their choice of sires for future litters, and homes for
their kittens; giving guidance should they wish to import new “blood” and
in helping them show their cats, the new breeders learn best practice,
have the confidence to progress, with a wealth of experience to back them
up. Dealing with the French bureaucratic system is an experience all by
itself!
10
Maus come in three colours!!
Where the AIME’s initial concentration was on the establishment of
healthy breeding lines little work was done in promoting the three colours
of these stunning cats, so historically, most have been silver. We are
hoping this is about to change however, with the input of new members
we are beginning to see a re-emergence of interest in the bronze and
black smoke.
This has been helped by the fact that in France, all EM’s belonging to
association members have to be DNA tested. In the future this
information will be added to the LOOF standard for our breed, but already
we are beginning to see a clearer picture of which colours our cats can
carry, and where they are also blood group tested, we know that most are
also blood group A. So order to provide genetic diversity, in the past year
alone, the association has enriched its genetic pool by the introduction of
3 imports from the US and one from Finland! (silver, bronze, smoke);
others will be added soon. We are in no doubt therefore, that within a
few years we will see the bronze and smoke colours well established in
France too!
But overall, the Egyptian Mau is not very well known in France and AIME
has realised that, unless the cats are exhibited in shows, the public at large
will not be able to get to know the breed. In the last 2 years, new owners
and members have been encouraged to be present at shows, where the
public is very much fascinated by this breed; judges in France too are
pleased to see them more often! We are therefore suggesting that
breeders show their future queens and sires, and attain the title of
Champion, before starting breeding!
Today’s AIME is opening itself to other members of the Egyptian Mau
family; a few of us came to visit the GCCF Supreme Show in Birmingham
last year to “test the ground” as we say! This was very important for us
all, as we realised that we have far more in common than we thought, for
although it was clear that there are differences between the two
standards, GCCF and LOOF, we felt from our time in England that these are
11
more due to misunderstanding and misinterpretation in the terms used by
each another, rather than any real divergence of the standards.
This was further highlighted when a GCCF judge Mrs Anne Gregory was
invited to judge at the Monaco Cat Show. The two days that she was with
us were very much appreciated. On the whole it appears to us that the
more we communicate, and get to know each other, the easier it will get!
AIME is very much involved with the LOOF standard and is encouraging
ongoing talks between the GCCF and LOOF.
The AIME is also hoping to forge even greater links with the Egyptian Mau
Club. As far as we’re aware, we’re the only two organisations in Europe
dedicated to the Egyptian Mau. Later on in the year, a few of us are
hoping to come to England along with the secretary of the LOOF. We are
intending to come to the Egyptian Mau Club’s first Championship Show on
the 1st of October. For us, this will be something of an event, allowing us
to taste the flavour of a GCCF show and further the relations of our clubs.
In Europe shows are usually two day events and it is common practice
between the LOOF, CFA, TICA, FIFe and WCF regulatory bodies for
example, for titles to be validated. As this isn’t the case between the GCCF
and any of the others this isn’t something that had been undertaken
lightly! I’m personally longing to see a joint show on the continent
between GCCF and LOOF, as it is commonly done between the other
standards!
We are very much
looking forward to
meet with you
later on this year
and keep our
fingers crossed in
the hope that
some of you will
visit our shows
soon!
Patrick Le Coustumer receiving INT.CH.La marniere Eli-Ora of Amiel-Goshen’s
award from Anne Gregory at the Monaco show January 2011
12
13
The Diary
of Muse
Sobekotep
Mwsheri, Muse or
Museli
to
her
human and feline
family,
is
a
precocious Silver
Egyptian
Mau.
Museli
is
very
prissy and very
spoilt. This is because her human mummy, Lauren, loves her a little
too much for her own good, and is not helped by the fact that she
has been very successful on the show circuit, which has given her a
very big opinion of herself and not a humble bone in her body.
Museli’s weekends were filled with shows, with the days in-between
spent preening, practising her very best worried expression in the mirror.
and boring her feline family with stories of her triumphs. Yes, she
certainly revelled in the days pre-show, watching her weight, power
walking round the house or power waddling as Sohbek called it while
sniggering with Kyrie, his consort.
Museli’s father, Sohbek or ‘Fang Features’ as she called him, were due
an outing together to a show. Museli couldn’t wait. “I don’t know why
Mummy and Grandma bother taking Fang Features,” she said to Auntie
Tula and Kyrie. “After all he’s hardly going to get Best of Breed if I am
there is he? Such a waste of money, which you will have to agree, once
I’ve read you my show reports, and then his,” she gloated.
“Now then,” said Aunt Tula, “I hardly feel you are being fair!”
“Me neither,” said Kyrie. “I agree with Grandma, he’s magnificent,”
she sighed, gazing adoringly at her mate.
Museli’s sides heaved with laughter at this. “Oh Kyrie,” she chortled.
“Not being a show cat yourself, you would think that. Now buff my sides
with the silk scarf until you can see your face in my coat.”
14
Show day dawned and Museli and Sohbek were taken to the show.
Museli revelled in the attention she got, whilst Sohbek lay indolently in
his pen.
Full of excitement,
however, Museli kept up a
running commentary. “Ooh!” she
squealed in glee. “The Open Class
Judge is heading this way, she
really didn’t like you last time out
and you haven’t improved at all.”
The Judge got Museli out, Museli
was ready to impress, but the
Judge’s steward put Museli back
after just a few moments. She
was stunned, how could this be?
Muse on Show day!
Disbelieving, Museli moved to the
front of the pen and looked aghast,
Fang Features was in the Judge’s
arms, with his paws winsomely round
her neck.
“What a big handsome boy,” said
the judge.
“And what a sweetie,” said the
steward. “Look he’s cuddling you.”
Sohbek turned his head quickly to
the side, winked at Museli and stuck
out his tongue.
Museli couldn’t believe her ears
Sohbek gloating his BoB just visible
when
she
heard
grandma
squealing down her phone to granddad that Fang Features had won Best
of Breed instead of her. She wondered if she had heard right and looked
so worried that the next Judge commented. “This Mau’s taking the
worried expression to the extreme!”
To cap it all, at that moment, Grandma and mummy’s friend Cat Show
Tony, came into view. Museli had been on the receiving end of Cat Show
Tony’s tongue a few times. “I can see why,” said Cat Show Tony. “She is a
bit of a porker.”
Sohbek’s glee knew no bound’s he lay in his pen, laughing and kicking
his catnip carrot. “Can’t wait to get home to the girls,” he said. “It will be
me reading my show reports this time.”
15
Muse made a very humble return home. “My dears,” she said to Auntie
Tula and Kyrie. “I’ve decided it’s time to retire from the show circuit. I
am going to have a new career;
I’m going to be a yummy mummy!”
“Like I was,” said Kyrie happily.
“No my dear,” Museli chortled.
“Nothing like you at all - after all,
I’ve got style and charisma and I
will have a proper consort, one you
have to pay a lot of money for, not
a freebie like Fang Features!”
On Friday morning Grandma
sat down in the kitchen to read the
show report, with Sohbek glancing
Kyrie playing with her heart!
over her shoulder. “Oh dear,”
whispered Grandma to Sohbek. “It seems the judge meant Museli to have
Best of Breed, not you. She must have written the wrong pen number on
the slip.”
Sohbek was appalled. If Muse found out she would have a field day!
He would never hear the end of it. Grandma looked at Sohbek and
winked, bending to kiss him on his head. “We’ll let this be our little
secret,” she said as she destroyed the evidence. “After all you are
magnificent and did deserve it.”
Fang Features let out a sigh of
relief and went in to the lounge.
“Did I ever tell you about the time
when I got Best of Breed over
Muse?” he started.
“No,” said Aunt Tula and Kyrie.
“We are all ears...”
Muse shut her ears stuffing her
face full of prawns, whilst chanting
in her head what a yummy mummy
she would be, for she and Lauren
had reached an understanding. She
would turn her back on the Show World and be unleashed instead on
Yummy Mummy Dom; that would show them! all!...
16
Smoke
Egyptian
Maus
Gr Pr Accio Severus Smoke
By Virna Verreccia-Gosti
My husband has always loved dogs. When he did his military service, he
was a dog handler in Berlin, and just after we married, we adopted two
dogs, a West Highland White Terrier and a Rottweiler. I loved our dogs but
what I really wanted was a cat.
- Honey! What do you think about having a cat?
- No way! I cannot bear cats!!!
(Hmm! Well, it will be a little bit more complicated than I expected...)
It took me several years to broach the subject again. I tried just days
before my birthday and persuaded him to visit a cat show, already
knowing the one I wanted to visit. It takes place in the Pavillon Baltard
and is the biggest cat show in France. We looked around for hours until I
eventually saw him standing in front of a cage looking at a cat with good
degree of interest. Curious and delighted I moved closer and saw a
strikingly unusual silver spotted coat, and a pair of sparkling green eyes.
Immediately captivated, I just knew I had to find out more, my own
fascination growing as the breeder explained the historical legacy of the
Egyptian Mau. From that day on, I knew I would have one, no matter how
long it would take...Five years later (yes, I am really patient!), I decided to
revive the debate again.
17
- Honey! What about having a cat?
- You are making my head spin with your obsession!!! Ok, but only an
Egyptian Mau!
(YES! I did it!)
I began to look for a kitten to adopt. Of course, I wanted a silver one with
clear pattern and high contrast; exactly the same I saw in Pavillon Baltard,
for to my mind all Egyptian Maus were silver. After two weeks of
research, I had a first appointment with an Egyptian Mau breeder and
immediately fell in love with a 5 week old cutie! "Djehouty, you will be
mine,” I whispered to the kit. And so a couple of days later I went back for
a second visit, and in doing so caught sight of a black Smoke Mau and my
life changed; for on that day, I knew I would be dedicated to this rare
colour.
Silver Egyptian Maus are the most prevalent, the most familiar colour of
Maus, seen in books and on websites; they are flashy and eye catching.
Bronze Maus have a hint of the wild cat about them, but it is left to the
Black Smoke to add an air of sultry mystery. It is not uncommon for people
to see a Smoke Mau and do exactly that I did, that is to say, change their
minds about the colour of Mau that they want. Why? Because they are
elegant and unique. The silver colour flashes through openings in the fur
when the cat moves and, like the midnight shadows of a full moon, the
spots on a Smoke Mau seem to float on a pale charcoal ground, giving the
cat’s
appearance
a
certain elegant
translucency.
Today, I have
three
silver
Egyptian Maus
and two Black
Smoke Egyptian
CFA Ch Conseulo Taharqa Star Cloud
Maus: Chai-lai
Renenet Jendayi, my Queen, coming from Finland and Ch Consuelo
Taharqa Star Cloud, my Stud coming from Colorado.
18
Let's speak about genetics
The Black Smoke Egyptian Mau is unique among cat breeds in that it is the
only smoke-coloured cat in which a visible pattern is desired and selected
for rather than discouraged.
The smoke colouring is produced by the combination of two sets of genes,
the agouti and the inhibitor. The agouti is a dominant gene that produces
a solid coloured cat when it’s recessive (aa). The inhibitor gene, also
known as the silver gene, is a dominant gene that produces a pale silver
undercoat when present (I). The fur of a cat possessing the inhibitor gene
is pale silver at the base and coloured at the tip. The colour of the base of
each hair shaft is “inhibited” or suppressed and shows as pale silver. The
inhibitor gene is what causes a solid coloured cat to be “smoked”.
Given the genetic definition of smoke, the Black Smoke Mau is a solid (aa),
non-agouti cat with a pale silver undercoat.
But the signature
characteristic of the Egyptian Mau breed is its spotted tabby pattern. Even
though the display of a pattern is selected against and discouraged in
smokes of all other cat breeds, Mau
breeders want to retain the visibility of
the distinctive spotted tabby even in
the Black Smoke Mau.
Some Mau breeders believe
that there may be other
genetic influences working to
create a more visible pattern
Taharqa’s silver
in the smoke Mau. One is
undercoat
& black
the amount of tipping (solid
nose
black colouring at the tip of
the hairs) on each hair. The hair shafts in the higher contrast, more clearly
spotted smoke Maus seem to have a wider pale silver base with the colour
pushed outward closer to the tips of the hair shafts especially in the
ground area of the pattern. It’s as if the ground area is pale silver with
colour only at the tips of the hairs, and the patterned areas, spots, bars,
and stripes, are “shaded” with at least half the length of the hair shaft
coloured.
19
Another
hypothesized
influence is the intensity of
the black colour itself.
This is apparent in silver as
well as smoke Maus. The
very high contrast silver
Maus have a pattern that
is an intense, deep black
colour that shows up
better against the lighter
ground colour. This same
intensity of black colouring
gives a lower contrast,
darker black smoke Mau as
this same intense black is
spread more evenly across
the cat in a smoke.
Santillo Safiya, a smoke showing excellent
contrast. Her son, UK & IGPR Santillo Feromeses
Mercury, is a particularly clean silver showing
excellent contrast between the agouti ground
and his spots.
Smokes can be used to increase the contrast of silvers, and silvers can be
used to increase the contrast of smokes, but the outcome depends
significantly on whether paler or darker silvers and smokes are used.
Darker smokes can easily increase the contrast in silvers, and paler silvers
can be quite useful in improving pattern contrast in smokes.
Some breeders and judges have theorized that a diet too rich in meat may
cause yellowing of the undercoat.
Unfortunately, today, many questions still remain unanswered because
the Black Smoke breeding is quite rare, thus we lack the experience and
have few studies on the subject.
 Black Smoke matings
 Genotypes –




 AA II
 Aa II
 AA Ii
 Aa Ii
pure silver
silver carrying black smoke
silver carrying black smoke
silver carrying black smoke and bronze
20





 A ii
 Aa ii
 aa II
 aa Ii
 aa ii
pure bronze
bronze carrying black smoke
pure black smoke
black smoke carrying bronze
black
*these are only statistics as we
currently lack greater experience.
S
I
L
V
E
R
aa II
BLACK SMOKE
aa II
aa Ii
silver
silver
½ silver
½ silver
½ smoke
½ smoke
¾ silver
silver
¼ bronze
3/8 silver
½ silver
3/8 smoke
½ smoke
1/8 bronze
1/8 noir
½ silver
silver
½ bronze
¼ silver
½ silver
¼ bronze
½ smoke
¼ smoke
¼ noir
smoke
smoke
aa Ii
smoke
¾ smoke
¼ noir
aa ii
smoke
½ smoke
½ noir
AA II
Aa II
AA Ii
Aa Ii
B
R
O
N
Z
E
S
M
O
K
E
N
O
I
R
AA ii
Aa ii
I am very grateful to Constance Carroll, Consuelo Cattery, who helped me a lot with
genetics and to Didier Hallépée, who authorized me to use some parts of his book, "Le Mau
Egyptien", Editions Carrefour du Net, 2009, especially regarding the % of
bronze/smoke/silver/black coming from a smoke mating.
21
Showing
A Smoke
By Bob
Mau Anderson-Keeble
To give an idea of the rarity of this
colour among an already rare
breed, you only have to look at
the Egyptian Maus that were
present at the Supreme in 2010.
There were 25 Maus present, a
figure which includes both those
in competition and on Club Row.
Pollystar Kanika
That is an excellent number for a
breed with just 172 cats registered in 2009 with the GCCF. Of course
some of our best show cats were missing from our line-up that day as
they’re breeding queens that were either pregnant or nursing kits, but the
demographic of the 25 cats there on the day holds true.
Of the 25 cats there were representatives of all three recognised colours Bronze (78 30), Silver (78 30s) and Smoke (78 36). They can be broken
down as follows:Silvers 76% or 19 cats, Bronze 16% or 4 cats and Smoke 8% or 2 cats; of
those 2 cats, we’ve already established that there was one colour of each
on Club Row, so therefore out of all the Egyptian Maus in competition at
the Supreme 2010 there was only ONE smoke!
Why so few? The answer to that question comes back to genetics yet
again and the infrequency of smoke Maus born. Our breeding queen is
Silver; her parents were a Silver male and a Smoke female. The first time
she was mated it was to a Silver stud, with silver parents (but carrying the
smoke gene). We had a litter of 3 – one was Smoke. The second time she
was mated it was to a Silver stud who had a Smoke mum (and was proven
22
to throw Smoke kits) and we had 3 Silvers! So, from our own experience
even with the smoke gene present in both parents the odds are at least 1
in 6. Then of course it’s necessary to ensure those Smokes which are born
are of sufficient quality to be bred from or shown and that is where the
Standard of Points is so important, but that again is only half the battle!
These beautiful cats don’t photograph particularly well! In real life, a very
good example is stunning but in picture form, most people looking for a
kitten appear to be enthralled by their showy Silver counterpart. So, even
when a good showing/breeding quality Smoke is produced, there is often
little interest in such a difficult colour to show. Naturally, everyone who
shows their cats wants to win.
So what’s the answer? In the short term breeders/owners should be
encouraged to show the Smokes (of show quality) we do have and allow
the general public visiting shows to see just how beautiful these intriguing
cats are. Currently there are 3 Premier Smoke Maus in the UK and just 1
Grand Premier.
Put into context, there were 4 Imperial Silver Maus, as well as 2 Grands
and 3 Champions at the Supreme.
The long term goal is going to be pretty much the same. To breed more
and then show them,
so that owners, future
breeders, exhibitors
and judges get used to
seeing these elegant
and unique Smoke
cats on the show
bench and in their
homes.
Meskhenet Miyoko
It really is that simple!
The Egyptian Mau club announced in their 11 th News letter last year that
they were looking into the idea of wanting to start to split the Maus at a
23
show by "colour". This is going to take a huge effort by every
breeder/owner to get the numbers of Maus that we need at each
Championship show as well as the correct proportion of colours within
that number. Our first goal is to show the Silvers in one class and the
Bronze and Smoke Maus in an "AOC" Class. In order to do that we’re going
to need to have sufficient numbers to have a minimum of 8 cats at every
show 2 Silver and 2 Smoke or Bronze cats in both Adult and Neuter
classes. To give an idea of the problem; at a recent show there were 6
Maus entered. Three Neuters, 2 kittens and 1 adult – 5 out of the 6 were
Silver and just one was Smoke; additionally, kittens do not count in the
equation as Show Managers are at liberty to split kitten classes at will.
Smoke Maus
Points to remember

Maus are the only Smoke cats
where the ghost tabby
markings have to have
sufficient contrast for their
spots to be plainly visible.

The texture of a Smoke Mau’s fur will be softer than the resilience
found on a Silver or Bronze.

Smoke Maus have black whiskers and nose leather whereas Silver
and Bronze Maus have a brick red nose leather.

The smoke gene is recessive so even if both parents carry the
smoke gene there is no guarantee you will get a Smoke kitten!

Smoke Maus bred to Smoke Maus only produce Smoke Maus.

Paws are black too but with a pink blush especially when wet. The
inside of the ears is a blacky grey.
24
Making a Bid
For Freedom
I first entered the world of the
cat fancy in 2002 as an exhibitor
with my two Burmese kittens
Sophie and Tara.
One of the first things that
surprised me was that almost
everyone I spoke to did not
allow their precious pedigrees
out of doors. This was quite a
Saba: a cat’s eye view of the world.
shock. Even worse, many folk
had the opinion that it is OK to
let their household pet out of doors. Talk about double standards....I
quickly became aware of a class system for cats. When I grew up, it was
unheard of to keep cats indoors (ah, but, we only had a household pet!)
I believe that there are some very good reasons for allowing your precious
pet(s) access to the great outdoors. Here goes:
Multi-cat households
In her book “Cat Counseller”, the renowned author Vicky Halls devotes an
entire chapter to the problem of cats sharing the same household with the
rather ominous introduction “I spend a lot of time telling people that
multi-cat households don’t work”.
If you allow your cats freedom to roam your garden, you are giving them
space to be on their own....to literally do their own thing...to chase their
25
own leaves and bugs...to climb a tree...to find a quiet spot for a snooze...to
follow their hunting instincts which are innate (and often unfulfilled) in
every cat (whether you like it or not!).
When they are ready to come in doors, they will be tired, satisfied and
content in each others’ company, making for a more harmonious
household.
My little Abyssinian, Kali, provides a good example. When she came to us,
as a kitten, in December 2010, she was openly aggressive towards the
other four pedigree cats. This did not go down well...she was hated by the
two Burmese and poor Jasmin, my Mau ran away from her in total fright.
Saba, the Bengal (pictured), simply expressed complete indifference.
Things did settle down after a bit but the real breakthrough came after she
was allowed out in the spring. She now races round the garden like a
lunatic, chases everything
(and
nothing)
and
encourages the others to
play with her...which they
do.
She comes indoors
simply too tired to be nasty.
Health and well being
In my view, this is another
important advantage.
Wikipedia
states
”the
Jasmin enjoys the sunshine and the daisies.
Egyptian Mau is the fastest
of domestic cats....Maus have
been clocked running over 36 mph” and goes on to say “the Egyptian Mau
loves an outdoor life...their innate intelligence allows them to avoid almost
all dangers.”
You might not believe this last sentence, (I am sceptical), but you must
surely agree that allowing your Maus outdoors gives them the chance to
test out these running skills and will give any cat superb exercise. Watch
them race across the lawn in pursuit of a butterfly (OK, it’s not that great
26
for the butterfly) or zoom up a tree. On a recent visit to a neighbour’s four
doors away, I was accompanied by 3 felines dashing through the open
front gardens, leaping over walls and running up and down trees. No
amount of toys can provide this level of natural exercise. My cats are
happy, healthy, fit and in great condition.
All cats are natural hunters. Cats are not humans, so don’t treat them like
children. Giving your feline the opportunity to catch and eat mice provides
not only great exercise and stimulation, but supplements their diet in a
most natural way. At the Wiltshire Cat Club show last year, the duty vet
thoroughly approved of Jasmin’s abilities as a mouser, stating that mice
provide “the best possible diet for cats”.
We know that Maus have a tendency to put on weight and, allowing them
out doors gives them the opportunity for hunting, stalking and running, all
of which result in a reduced risk of obesity. My Jasmin is a big girl, there’s
no doubt of that, but one has ever called her “fatty”.
It is a known fact that outdoor cats suffer fewer stress problems. Indoors,
a cat has a very small territory and may find it stressful when new people
or pets are introduced. If you are out of the house all day then your cat
may become bored, lonely and become over dependent on your company.
This is especially true if you own a single cat.
What do you think of it so far?
When I tell people that my cats are allowed out, the usual cry is “Oh,
aren’t you frightened they’ll be stolen?” This is a possibility, of course, but
statistically if your cat goes missing it is most likely that something else has
happened to it. This is indeed the biggest worry for the owner of an
outdoor cat.
I have not been without my share of tragedies and traumas. In 2006, one
fine summer’s evening, one of my two original Burmese, Sophie, went
AWOL and has never been seen since. A couple of years ago, Jasmin
suffered a deep cut on one of her back legs and had to be rushed to the
27
vets. Later that summer, Suki the Burmese had a rose thorn stuck in the
back of her top palate and was rushed to the emergency vets service.
I am lucky and live in small village surrounded by countryside. However, if
you live in a densely populated area with small gardens and busy roads,
then letting your cats outdoors doesn’t seem such a smart idea.
So what should you do?
There is no simple answer. There are many factors that will influence your
decision e.g. the immediate environment (urban or rural, busy roads or
quiet lanes?) and your own lifestyle (is there someone at home for large
parts of the day or is the house empty for most of the working week ?).
Here are a couple of compromise solutions:
Let your cats out in the morning, but lock them in before nightfall. Most
accidents occur after it gets dark.
Make your back garden secure with netting or rollers. Not necessarily a
cheap option, but one that provides peace of mind. Come on, give your
precious felines a taste of the good life!
Janet Williams April 2011
Kali spots
something
interesting
moving in
the border.
28
STARRSAILOR
EGYPTIAN MAUS
Home of
Imperial Grand Champion Adcinsh Sobekotep Mwsheri
Our Girls
“Muse”
& Meskhenet Miyoko.
We specialise in silver, reared
in the family home for
excellent temperament.
Kittens sometimes available to good homes
UK Gr Ch Adfursh Sohbek
Sohbek is at Open Stud to
suitable queens. Please ask
for terms and conditions.
We are Members of the
Egyptian Mau Club.
Contact Jo or Lauren on 01924 466274 or email
[email protected] www.starrsailormaus.co.uk
29
Silver & Smoke
Egyptian Maus
Home of
Accio Penelope Von
Honpuss
Two Breed Houses:
Honpuss – Sandra Woodley
(Burmese & Asians)
Accio – Robert &
Georgina Anderson-Keeble
(Egyptian Maus)
One joint venture
PHELAZI
Breeding for
Health
Type
Temperament
S Woodley
Merryfields
Church Rd, Farley Hill
Berkshire RG7 1TU
[email protected]
R & G Anderson-Keeble
9 Brenchley Road
Rainham, Gillingham
Kent ME8 6HD
[email protected]
01634 268579
07764 359 683
30
Hi Readers,
My name is Ghaniyah and I’m here to
answer your questions, give advice and
help if I can... so please put paw and pen
to paper and see if I can answer some of
the mysteries of life....
If you would like your questions
answered by Lady Ghaniyah, please send
your emails to:[email protected]
Dear Lady G
No one will take me seriously.
I'm a Superstar, born to enjoy the
finer things in life such as frozen
prawns and Tigga Towers, but no
one will listen. I get so mad, I
could stamp my paw only it would
ruin my manicure...
Please Help
M xx
Dear Frustrated of Kent
I can only sympathise with you. My
mum cuts my nails too!! Could it be
that you try and sharpen your claws on
her furniture or even the wall paper
instead of being a good little kitty and
using a scratching post? If you haven’t
got one of those, ask your mummy to buy
you one pronto!! These are relatively
inexpensive nowadays, and will help
you keep your claws in tip-top shape,
whilst avoiding making an unsightly
mess in your home.
Lady G
Dear M
Only you can know if you’re a true
superstar or not. If you truly
believe yin your heart that you are a
Superstar, then you should act
accordingly. You should perhaps
remember that what goes up will
come down sooner or later.
Lady G
Dear Lady G
I hate having my toe nails cut! No
matter how much I protest, my
mum will still insist on cutting
them. It’s really so infuriating as
the minute I get them to a nice
sharp point, out comes the
clippers and I’m left with blunted
stumps. Why does she do this?
Frustrated of Kent
31
Consuelo Stargazer at Tajjika
New US Import
Silver Boy, carrying Smoke
32
IsisKa Egyptian Maus
Breeder: James J. Ferguson, ORPINGTON, Kent
Member of the Egyptian Mau Club UK. Member and a UK Representative
of the French Egyptian Mau Club - Association Internationale du Mau
Egyptien (AIME).
Totally ethical breeder, with an
International Breeding Programme,
specialising in Silvers. Working closely
with AIME to bring new bloodlines into
the UK.
Breeding with quality bloodlines for breed standards, health and
temperament. Striving to reduce the in-breeding to as low as possible.
Website: www.isiska.co.uk
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 01689 873377 (home) - 0776 778 3450 (mobile)
Memphis Maus
Specialising in silver Egyptian Maus
Clive & Helen Wicks, members of the Egyptian Mau Club
Website: www.memphismaus.co.uk Email: [email protected]
Phone: 020 8313 1712 (H) or 07787 575257 (M)
33
The Egyptian Mau
Clubs’ FIRST
Championship Show
The Cats.
Egyptian Maus arrived in the UK in late 1998. The Egyptian Mau Club
had its inaugural meeting at the National Cat Club Show in December
1998 and to date remains the sole club dedicated to the development of
the breed in the United Kingdom within the GCCF. We have been
affiliated to the GCCF since 2003 and, following success at Preliminary
Status, the breed was promoted to Provisional Status from 1st June
2004, with breeders and exhibitors working hard to qualify sufficient cats
with three Intermediate Certificates to move towards the goal of
Championship Status for the Mau. Championship Status was achieved
on June 1st 2007, with the first Egyptian Mau to win a GCCF show outright
following in April 2008, and the first Imperial, an entire female, following
later on that same year. 2010 saw a trio of Maus take the top honours at
the Supreme, that of UK Grand, giving us one UK Imperial female, one UK
Imperial male neuter and one UK Grand male – while a stunning kitten
beat 9 other kittens to attain Best of Breed, going on to defeat a further 15
Best of Breed winners in the Foreign section to become Best of Variety
Foreign Kitten.
GCCF licensed shows.
Up until this year, there have been three levels of GCCF Show: Exemption
Shows, Sanction Shows & Championship Shows. Exemption Shows.
These are "fun" shows. Some are cat shows held in conjunction with
Agricultural shows, others are the "rehearsal" shows held by new Cat
Clubs, gaining them the experience to run Sanction and then
Championship shows. There are no official certificates to be awarded or,
no titles to be won, but a new Club must run three Exemption shows
before it is allowed to progress to the next stage.
Sanction Shows.
These shows really were rehearsals for Championship shows. Although no
Challenge, Premier or Intermediate Certificates were awarded, all the
same classes were provided and the rules were just as strict as for a
34
Championship show. A Club had to run three Sanction shows to the
satisfaction of the GCCF before being granted a licence to hold a
Championship show.
Championship Shows. These are the serious shows of the Cat Fancy. They
may be all-breed shows; or specialist shows with classes for a breed
section or sometimes for just a single breed. Each breed has its own Open
Classes. There are separate classes for Male Adults, Female Adults, Male
Neuters, Female Neuters and Kittens. Kitten classes are for kittens of a
minimum age of 14 weeks up to nine calendar months old when they
become adult. These kitten classes may be split by sex or age at larger
shows, or even both ways if there is a big entry. At specialist breed shows
kittens may also be split by colour. And as before at Sanction Stage, the
show can hold classes in the Household Pet Section, Non-Pedigree and Pet
Pedigree cats can compete for their GCCF titles.
Our Show.
The 1st October 2011
will see The Egyptian
Mau
Club’s
FIRST
Championship
show
held at The Greig Leisure
Centre, Kinwarton Rd,
Alcester, Warks B49
6AD, and will mark eight years of hard work by everyone at the club.
Our current Show Managers are Sean Farrell and Sue Barrett, and they’re
planning a whole host of surprises and goodies to celebrate this event.
They say “We are looking forward to our 1st Egyptian Mau Championship
Show and we are sure that members and fellow Mau owners will support
it and enter their cats, we really want it to be a celebration to mark the
good work done by everyone over the years to enable the club to achieve
championship status for its show. It will be great to see you all again. Do
please try to get your entries in early to avoid disappointment, as we
have finite space and may have to limit the number of entries.”
35
Not just 3 but a....
Star Day
for the Maus
The 34th Supreme show on Saturday 20th November 2010 was certainly a
day for Egyptian Mau owners to remember. Barely 3 years after our
young breed attained Championship status, three of our stunning cats
went on to take the highest certificate that the show world has to offer,
that of UK Grand; while a fourth, a young kitten (now Ch) Tiggermau
Twilight, went on to take Best of Variety Foreign Kitten.
The UK Grand
This title is only awarded at the Supreme Show, and takes two certificates
awarded by two different judges at two different (though not necessarily
consecutive) Supreme shows. Only cats who have already attained the
giddy heights of Grand Champion/Grand Premiers or Imperial Grand
Champion or Imperial Grand Premier title can enter.
And to make it even harder, the Maus also had to compete against 3 other
breeds: Tonkinese, Ocicat and Singapura.
UK & Gr Ch Adfursh Sobek
UK & Grand Champion Adfursh
Sobek was born on the 4th
October 2003. His breeder is
Mr Edward Winiewski. He’s
owned by Lauren Kennedy and
Jo Higgins, and lives in
Yorkshire. His previous claim
to fame includes becoming the
first GCCF Champion and Grand
Champion entire male in the
UK. Sobek is also the father of the first Imperial Grand Champion female
Mau – IGCH Adcinsh Sobekotep Mwsheri.
36
“What a really strong muscular boy. Strong masculine head lines, being a
rounded head with good nose line and broad muzzle. Wide set medium size ears.
Lovely gooseberry green eyes. Firm level chin. Really strong muscular body with
good length tail, rather tapered. Very good coat quality well silvered, spotting
over belly could be more defined. A really personable boy, wearing that typical
worried look.”
Mrs S Bullock
UK & IGC Oitamonsoon Taliah
UK & Imp Gr Ch Oitamonsoon
Taliah was born on the 27th
February 2006. Her breeder is
Amanda Galbraith. She is owned
by Andy and Leesa Knight and
lives in Durham.
Taliah gained her first UK
certificate last year as a Grand
Champion, and was made up to Imperial Grand Champion in September,
shortly before the Supreme Show. She has produced many stunning
kittens that will hopefully following her paw prints.
“A really spotty girl well developed. Very nice rounded wedge head lines with
broad at base medium cupped ears. Good nose line and full muzzle. Well
developed chin. Full straight set eyes of good shape. Strong muscular body with
good length broad tail, slightly tapered. Strong legs and oval paws. Quite silky
coat with lovely spotting and definition of markings. Wearing a nice worried look.
A very pleasing girl.”
Mrs S Bullock
UK & IGP
Santillo Feromeses
Mercury
UK & Imp Gr Pr Santillo
Feromeses Mercury was
born on the 10th July
2007. His breeder is Kay
Jater. He’s owned by Mr
& Mrs Anderson-Keeble
and lives in Kent.
37
Kneazle’s previous claim to fame includes appearing on TV for Tiger Aspect
Films, at his first Supreme show, being modelled into a soft toy for The Cat
Collection as well as being the first and to date only MALE Egyptian Mau to
reach the title of Imperial, which he did on his 3rd birthday.
“A rather large boy who obviously enjoys his food. Slightly rounded wedge of
medium length, profile shows gentle contour with slight rise at bridge of nose.
Eyes of correct colour and shape, ears broad at base and well set, long body
muscular with substance, good boning to limbs and in proportion to body. Tail
tapered and well ringed, coat close lying and lustrous. Good silver base and
charcoal spotting. Broken necklace. Good ticking. Of lovely temperament and
condition.”
Mrs G Denny
Ch Tiggermau Twilight
Ch Tiggermau Twilight was
born on the 15th April 2010.
Her breeder was Yvonne
Davidson. She was owned by
Mr & Mrs Munro and lived in
Newcastle.
Esme was just 7 months old at
the Supreme. There were 9
kittens in her open class,
including Esme - 3 boys and 6 girls and she beat all of them to obtain Best
of Breed which put her through to the next stage of the competition. And
then she beat all of the kittens in the entire Foreign section, a further 15
Best of Breed winners to become Best of Variety Foreign Kitten.
Esme died suddenly on the 18th May 2011 and Rest in peace baby Es.
“A very well grown well developed girl. Rounded wedge with well developed broad
muzzle. Good nose line and well developed chin. Medium to moderately large
ears, cupped. Full straight set eyes of gooseberry green colour. A really well
developed sturdy body with strong legs and neat rounded paws. Good length
broad slightly tapered tail. Coat of silky texture well silvered, spots still need to
develop fully. A really firm bodied well grown girl. Congratulations to go on and
win Best of Variety Foreign Kitten.”
Mrs S Bullock
It truly was a Four Star day for the Maus-wonder what next year will bring!
38
Reader's Story...by Joan Alexander
One is wonderful, two is chaos!
Hi, my name is Joan and I am a willing apprentice slave to two magnificent
Egyptian Maus; Hetty and Abi. I fell in love with the breed because of
their striking looks, huge green eyes, and silver fur which is, quite literally,
covered in spots, but with no practical experience of Maus, when I was
researching them, I relied heavily on breeder's lists and websites for
information. Would they be suitable and the right cat for us?
Hetty came first, and was everything we’d dreamed off; she was calm,
regal and beautiful. It was love at first sight for the three of us: Hetty,
David my husband and me. But it wasn’t long before we convinced
ourselves she was lonely and needed a companion; enter Abi. Imagine my
disappointment when 14 week old Abi hissed at me, preferring David as
her chosen one.
Assertive, demanding and superior, she dominated both of us from the
start. Her chosen slave played with her, nursed her and doted on her
every move whilst slave number two provided food, bed, toys and
ablutions. For David she was adorable, for me she was truculent and
waspish. She damaged curtains, plants, ornaments, cushions......
In contrast, Hetty remained her usual, gentle, amiable and playful self,
even when Abi hissed and spat at her. For those first few days we became
a house of two homes; Hetty and me in the lounge and David and his imp
in the conservatory.
Early attempts to assert my authority over Abi produced tail lashing
annoyance from her but perseverance paid off and I won my first battle.
Spurred on by my success, Hetty took up the gauntlet, pinning Abi to the
floor by her ears and subjecting her to the mother of all washes. My fire
39
cracker fell into line and my Maus became inseparable from that moment
on.
They signal to each other if mischief can be found and work as a team
trying to open drawers and doors. I find them watching me doing a task
and I know what to expect next - trouble with a capital “T”. They love bed
making but floor cleaning is better. With a ceramic floor throughout the
bungalow, they can skid and slide at great speed, banging into furniture
and creating chaos. They trawl around looking for goodies to carry off to
their hiding places. A daily clearing under the bed produces a cache of toy
mice, scarves and papers... Hetty loves sheet paper!!
Hetty also adores her daily play in the garden whilst we potter about. To
see her sprinting down the path is an amazing sight, while for the moment
all Abi can do is watch as she is currently under house arrest since being
spayed.
And what trouble that’s been... returning from the vets, Abi looked so
proud of herself having dispatched her Buster collar and two stitches in
record time. So back to the vets we went..., another injection, another
collar and this time separation from Hetty until her wound is healed. A
more experienced slave might have been able to prevent a Mau from
decimating her stitches but, as I said at the start, I am an apprentice slave
to two Maus and my forty years of cat ownership count for nothing.
One thing is certain, my life
will never be the same
again. Long may the Chaos
factor reign!
Hetty & Abi spending a
quiet five minutes on the
sofa before dashing off for
another round of trouble...
40
Silver and Smoke
kittens sometimes
available to
permanent, loving
homes
Breeding for health and
temperament from our
lovely imports:
Mauïsha Shai-Nefer of
Starshadow
(78 36)
pictured above
Mauisha Nafrini of
Starshadow (78 30s)
opposite
Michèle Codd – Dirhams, Stainby
Grantham NG3 5QT
(01476) 861022 or 0779 249 5797 [email protected]
41
Come and find us at
[email protected]
Miss Rose &
Master Green
Our Egyptian Mau
Proving two’s company
facebook page
is free
to join,
so why not
Miss Rose &
drop in
Master Blue
and post
just chillin’
some of your
in the afternoon
favourite
pictures,
meet some old
friends and make
Master Green sleeping
some new ones?
by himself & below
We truly
all of Eli-Ora’s babies
are an
International
community!
Room for a
little one?
Yes Duc
Always!!!
Diamonds are better by
the half dozen!
42
Imperial Grand Champion
Ghaniyah the 1st Imperial
BRONZE Mau
Diamond with Smirnoff Nice
Best of friends as always!!
Cairo showing just how
“Lord of the Manor”
should behave....
Danny Boy
With
Rhianna May
Danny just
loves cuddles!!!
How NOT to
form a
Pyramid!!!
A baby Loki
Felix shows Kyzer his Supercat Impression
43
Introducing our new
Probationer Judge....
My name is Sandra Woodley and I
am a GCCF Judge.
Wow – how did that happen, it
certainly wasn’t part of the master
plan when I got my first pedigree
kitten, a brown Burmese, who was
to be just a pet.
However, her breeder insisted she
was show quality, so after many
years of showing dogs I thought why
not let’s give it a shot? I was very lucky as she was a lovely girl of very
good type and was consistently placed; I was hooked. At around 13
months she decided that showing wasn’t for her and I was told she
needed some babies. I took advice from experienced breeders on which
stud cat to use and she produced some stunning kittens (2 Grands and a
UK in her first litter) and a non-cat friend said I should become a judge!
It’s a very long and complicated process to become a GCCF judge, and
rightly so, as it is a great responsibility and GCCF judges are considered to
be the best. From my first stewarding engagement to awarding my first
Challenge Certificate, it took me 7 years, which is fairly fast, although
someone asked if I’d considered brain surgery as I could have qualified
quicker!
So you need perseverance, stamina and must really love the cats, plus the
ability to work your way through some really complex procedures. It all
starts with stewarding and helping on the table at shows, and progression
to the judging stage isn’t essential. You must choose a Breed Advisory
Council (BAC) to work with and this is normally for the breed that you
have.
Having worked through the stewarding section you can apply to become a
Probationer Judge (PJ) and, if your chosen BAC approves, you are
promoted and get invited to judge the kitten open classes for your breed
44
plus some miscellaneous ones too. This is when your friends seem not to
know you anymore – that is until you have completed your judging.
During the period as a PJ you work with full judges on both tutorials where
you learn as much as you can from them and on assessments where they
learn what you know. Normally three assessments are required and if you
feel ready you can apply to become a full judge. Again your application is
assessed and passed by the BAC and it is possible they will defer you and
ask you to gain more experience.
A word of warning, you need to be fit – you are on your feet all day and,
believe me, some of those cats are heavy! The next thing is you are
responsible for other people’s cats, and you need to be confident as some
don’t always like being shown and may grumble or even growl and hiss,
although others are calm and purr their little hearts out. If you are
nervous around strange cats then stewarding and judging isn’t for you. I
always handle the cats as I would want mine handled, that is gently, with
respect and never ever scruffed.
I qualified as a full judge on Burmese and Asians a few years ago and in
judging in the Foreign group found some other breeds that I liked. I have
judged a few Egyptian Maus over the years, but in 2009 I fell in love with a
gorgeous silver Mau kitten, so I am now a PJ on Devon Rexes, Singapuras
and of course Egyptian Maus and I hope to have my own silver spotty
kitten later this year.
Would I recommend becoming a
GCCF judge or steward? - a
resounding yes!!
Apart from
anything else, it saves you money as
although the shops are calling, on
show day you have a job to do!
From my perspective I have had the
honour to handle some stunning cats
and I have never regretted a minute
of it.
Sandra Woodley
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The Pet Show Came to London
Saturday 7th May and Sunday 8th May saw the Pet Show
come to London Olympia. There were animals and pets of every
description from cats and dogs to
fish, birds of prey and reptiles.
An estimated 16,000 people
poured into the two day event,
not only from all across the
Gr Pr Accio Severus Smoke
country, but from across the
world as many oversees clubs
were represented in such classes
as both feline and canine agility
and shows.
Visitors to the Egyptian Mau Club stall on Saturday saw the beautiful
Grand Champion Serekh
Cleopatra, utterly chilled out
and showing just how
striking Silver Maus can be.
She was joined by Champion
Chantina Amisi of Memphis,
a gorgeous pale bronze who
acted like a total queen
throughout the day by
claiming her right to all the
cushions in their superbly
luxurious pen. Clive and
Helen Wicks, who own
Gr Ch Serekh Cleopatra
46
Ch Chantina Amisi of Memphis
both cats, did us proud
with a fantastic display
of information on our
breed. Helen went to
bed that night with
little voice left after
talking to so many
interested visitors.
On Sunday the
stall was taken
over by
Bob
&
Georgina
Anderson-Keeble
alongside
their
Smoke Mau Grand
Premier
Accio
Severus
Smoke.
Following in Helen’s
footsteps, Georgina went
to bed that night having
talked herself hoarse
with the enthusiastic
response
the
Maus
received from all sides.
(She was also very
grateful to Steve Crow
for taking over the talking
for a couple of minutes
so she could have a quick
cup of tea!!)
Some of our amazing visitors
47
Just for fun!
In the nine squares below you will find Ocicat’s, Egyptian Maus and
Australian Mists. Can you work out which is which??? None of the cats
used are on the current show bench – just to make it that little bit harder.
Answers below.
48
By the Fireside
By Dusha Bateson
One of the first questions I ask of
a prospective new owner: will
your cat be an indoor cat or are
you going to let it go out? Both ways of life have their supporters. Where
you live is obviously important. A flat on the tenth floor or a garden fifty
metres from a dual carriageway will dictate an indoor life. If you live miles
from anywhere or in a very quiet urban neighbourhood then going out
may seem a reasonable possibility.
Roads are the most obvious hazard. There are few more miserable
happenings than having a much-loved pet run over; and beware the road
that sees only half a dozen cars a day – it can be just as dangerous as a
busy one.
Cats can be fiercely territorial. The outdoor pet may fight to protect its
patch or simply be attacked by the local feline bully. Such encounters may
lead to injuries or even to nasty infectious diseases. There is also the
possibility of theft, and the Mau is a very exotic looking creature!
The indoor cat spares you all
such worries and there are
other advantages. I have had
and known indoor cats and they
seem to me to interact more
closely with their owners and
with people generally. Maus,
particularly, seem to have
boundless energy for playing –
with people and toys, while
their outdoor counterparts disdain the catnip mouse or the feathered
49
wand. They, of course, have the real thing to chase and hunt; indoors is
for sleeping and eating.
I have also known cats that live happily indoors in city flats but then adapt
easily to the outdoor life when their owners take off to holiday homes in
the country. I suspect that consistency is important: in one environment
you are in, in the other you can go out. The place dictates the way of life.
Having said all this, each cat and each owner is an individual. One must
weigh up the risks and do what seems right. Also, remember the cat that
has never been out will not miss what it has never known.
A few other points for consideration
By Michèle Codd
PS If I may add a post script to
Dusha’s thoughtful view,
there are a few other issues
to be considered when
deciding whether or not to let
your cat out. A few that
spring to mind include:

Traffic - a dead cat was
lying on the verge outside our
house the day we moved in. We live in a hamlet, surrounded by
farms and fields, with a B road running through. I can only echo
Dusha’s words here.

FeLV/FIV, as well as less intractable diseases, such as ‘flu. The ‘flu
vaccination protects to an extent, but not 100%.

Calling female getting in kitten by local tom cat! Never say there
are no toms in your area; they come out of the woodwork for a queen
in season. And your queen can become receptive before you are
even aware that she’s calling. One Mau breeder has taken matters
50
into her own hands; she
neuters any male she can
catch, and tests them for
FeLV and FIV at the same
time. In the UK, this is
illegal, so please don’t do
it!

Fighting with the local
feline riff-raff. Cat bites
are always serious, as my
GP knows well, having
treated me with tetanus
jabs and antibiotics.

A local Burmese I know was caught in a rabbit snare and lost half
his tail as a result - so deep in the countryside is not totally safe.

Multiple dangers, including theft, if you live in a town or city. Or
even in the country; thieves do not stick to urban areas.
Ultimately, it’s the owner’s
decision – after all, the
breeder may prohibit new
owners letting their kitten
out, but once it has left
home, a breeder has little
real control over the way
the kitten is treated. The
ideal is perhaps an outside
run: one breeder I know has
a run the size of a large tennis court, with very high fencing, the top of the
fence angled inwards and floppy, so it doesn’t provide good purchase for
feline feet, and makes climbing over impossible. Her cats are very happy,
and even the stud cats are sometimes let out in the run, one at a time,
when everyone else is locked away. But it does compromise the garden’s
appearance, and was very costly, so may not be possible for all owners.
51
Below you will find what we hope is a list of useful contacts,
everything in fact from our main website, through to the GCCF’s
own website and that of the Feline Advisory Bureau.
The Egyptian Mau Website:
www.egyptianmaus.co.uk
The Egyptian Mau Facebook Page:
[email protected]
The Egyptian Mau Yahoo Page
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Egyptian_Mau_Chat_List
The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy
www.gccf.co.uk
The GCCF also has its own Facebook page too; just use the search
facility at the top of the page.
For daily updates on show reports and other GCCF news and notices
subscribe to the following address:
[email protected]
The GCCF Supreme Cat Show
www.supremecatshow.org
The Governing Council of the Cat Fancy’s Young Exhibitors’ Scheme
www.gccf-yes.co.uk
Feline Advisory Bureau
www.fabcats.org
52
AGM News
Our AGM was held on the 5th
June at Skillington.
Our
Chairman and President Melissa
opened the meeting, and
thanked everyone for coming.
There was no outstanding
business from our last AGM,
and there were no welfare
issues to report on.
Our
Anne receives her flowers from Melissa
Treasurer, Georgina, reported
that, despite the recession, a profit of £491 had been made in 2010, taking
us from a £200 deficit over expenditure in 2009, into a £200 profit in 2010.
This had been achieved by saving money on postage, signing up new
kitten owners as well as the sterling efforts of Clive, Helen, Jean and Peter
on our club stalls, and so consequently subscription rates remain
unchanged for the 2011/2012 period. Our membership for the year 2011
is currently at 119.
There have been rule changes. These have been made to reflect the
GCCF’s change in status, as well as updating rules in terms of the Club’s
name and object; and the means of publishing Club news. Additionally, to
save money it was agreed that a paper ballot should be held at the AGM,
rather than postal ballots of members.
There was good news on our Breeding Policy! Melissa said the first draft
will be complete in July and would be considered by the Egyptian Mau
Breed Advisory Committee at its next meeting. At the same time the BAC
will be looking into our Registration Policy as Melissa explained that, to
maintain the breed’s health, it was necessary to widen the gene pool; the
Egyptian Mau is a natural breed, not derived from other pedigree breeds,
so it was suggested that we could allow cats to be imported from Egypt,
under the same guidelines as CFA; this would include cats that looked like
Egyptian Maus, but were not pedigreed. A proposal would be brought to
the 2012 AGM for approval.
53
We also have a new Probationer Judge – Sandra Woodley – from October
2010. Jon Trotter has now been accepted as a Full Judge and is doing well.
The Club was successfully represented at the Foreign Seminar in February
2011.
Other News: Anne reminded breeders to check the GCCF suspension list
before taking queens to stud. Our GCCF delegate Jean Lamb remains, with
Clive Wicks elected as reserve. Last year’s show was successful, but we do
need a bumper turn out this year to celebrate our first Championship
Show on 1st October, and the advice from the show managers Sean and
Sue was to get your entries in EARLY!! Website issues; Sean reported on
the problems experienced with the current website. We are seeking a
new host though this may require a new domain name; the Committee
will look into the matter in the next few months.
Departures: Very sadly Anne and Brian Gregory have stepped down from
the Committee after seeing us through our first 11 years. Everyone was
very sorry to see them go and thanked them all for their hard work and
dedication. A complete list of our Committee members is elsewhere in
this publication.
Points Winners 2010-2011
Committee Cup
Overall best points breeder
Mrs K Jater
Tamyt Trophy
Silver Female Adult
UK & IMP GR CH Oitamonsoon Taliah
Owners Mr A & Mrs L Knight
Breeder Mrs A Galbraith
OVERALL BIS
IMP GR CH ADCINSH
SOBEKOTEP MWSHERI
Matrix Cup
Overall Best Point Winner
UK & IMP GR PR Santillo Feromeses Mercury
Owners Mr R & Mrs G Anderson-Keeble
Breeder Mrs K Jater
Emau Cup
Silver Male Adult
Acclaim Whitecrest Azizi
Owner Mrs J Whitehead
Breeder Mrs C Irvine
Robert Massey Silver Salver
BOB Silver Adult
IMP GR CH Adcinsh Sobekotep Mwsheri
Owners Mrs J Higgins & Miss L Kennedy
Breeder Mr E Wisneiwski
Mennefermau Trophy
Silver Kitten
Tiggermau Twilight
Owners Mr K C & Mrs A L Munroe
Breeder Mrs Y Davison
54
Big Spot Memorial Trophy
Silver Neuter
UK & IMP GR PR Santillo Feromeses Mercury
Owners Mr R & Mrs G Anderson-Keeble
Breeder Mrs K Jater
Starshadow Cup
BOB Silver Kitten
Accio Penelope Von Honpuss
Owners Mr R & Mrs G Anderson - Keeble
Breeders Mr R & Mrs G Anderson - Keeble
Namoona Trophy
Bronze Adult Male
Maunarch Pharoh of Ramah
Owner Mrs J Lamb
Breeder Mr D Pearce
Chantina Cup
BOB Bronze Adult
Maunarch Pharoh of Ramah
Owner Mrs J Lamb
Breeder Mr D Pearce
Panton Harrod Trophy
BOB Bronze Kitten
Geniemau Cairo
Owners Mr K & Mrs V Nice
Breeder Mrs J Lamb
Geniemau Trophy
Bronze Adult Female
IMP GR CH Nantango's Ghaniyah of Geniemau
Owner Mrs J Lamb
Breeder H Rose-Horn
Mennefermau Cup
Smoke Neuter
Gr PR Accio Severus Smoke
Owners Mr R & Mrs G Anderson-Keeble
Breeders Mr R & Mrs G Anderson-Keeble
Newkingdom Cup
Adult Smoke
Meskhenet Miyoko
Owners Mrs J Higgins & Miss L Kennedy
Breeder Mrs K A McRae
Show Trophy Winners October 2010
The Sprite Salver
Best Smoke Male
Jazzmausic Baraka
Owner Mrs P Burrows
Breeder Mrs P Burrows
Committee Cup
Overall Best in Show
IMP GR CH Adcinsh Sobekotep Mwsheri
Owners Jo Higgins & Lauren Kennedy
Breeder Mr E Wisneiwski
Tiggermau Trophy
Best in Show Neuter
UK & IMP GR PR Santillo Feromeses Mercury
Owners Mr R & Mrs G Anderson-Keeble
Breeder Mrs K Jater
Alice Trophy
Best Smoke Female
Newkingdom Nike
Owner Dr M Bateson
Breeder Dr M Bateson
Bateson Family Trophy
Best in Show Adult
IMP GR CH Adcinsh Sobekotep Mwsheri
Owners Mrs J Higgins & Miss L Kennedy
Breeder Mr E Wisneiwski
Maelstrom Slaver
BoB Smoke Neuter
Jazzmausic Baraka
Owner Mrs P Burrows
Breeder Mrs P Burrows
Orlando Memorial Trophy
Best Veteran Male (6 Years & Over)
UK & Gr CH Adfursh Sohbek
Owners Mrs J Higgins & Miss L Kennedy
Breeder Mr E Wisneiwski
Beaumaris Trophy
BIS Kitten
Geniemau Cairo
Owner Mr K & Mrs V Nice
Breeder Mrs J Lamb
55
Phoebe Trophy
Best Household Pet
Slinky Malinki
Owner Lesley Szwed
Breeder Sarah Walker
Hi-Tech cat – Low Tech gadget.
By Mike the Mauie
We all know that our Maus are very intelligent and playful cats giving us
hours of fun and enjoyment as we watch their curious antics, but have you
ever wished, just for once that you could watch a programme without
interruptions, or play one computer game without an enquiring
“meowww”? Well then, look no further. In the interests of a peaceful
couple of hours for my fellow Mau, I’d happily like to recommend the
following:Turbo-Track – fast and furious fun for the
Maus, just how they like it! Seriously I have
a couple of friends who have this toy and
their cats adore it – it’s a tad noisy though
so perhaps not right next to the TV!
Whirry
Flying
Thingy!
(Yes
really!!) – a little
battery operated gem, that will give your furry
friends hours of fun – just make sure you have
plenty of spare batteries ready.
A Laser Light Pen – this is just the thing if you
want to sit in your comfy armchair and watch the
cats’ race randomly around the room – endless
fun until they realise it’s easier to run off with the
pen in their teeth – we call it Laser Laughers, Mauees especially enjoy this
at night so dim the lights and let your pets chase the laser!!!
Nipper Fish, Balls and Mice - Nipper Fish, this little
cat nip gem from America, gives hours of fun as your
Maus will spend half the
evening rubbing it round
their faces. Roll-A-Ball –
these little balls with a
bell inside them have been known to cause absolute
chaos with the Maus. Toy Mice!!! How long do the tails stay on these?
56
YES!
The Governing Council of the Cat
Fancy’s Young Exhibitors’ Scheme
The Egyptian Mau Club is very
proud to announce our very
first Junior Member.
Yasmin Nice, 11, was given her
Egyptian Mau Prince Baraka, a
silver Mau, by her Gran and
Granddad Ken and Vicki.
Yasmin has also just joined GCCF
Young Exhibitors’ Scheme YES! as
she is keen to learn more about
her cats, their health and well
being, as well as how to show
them and may be even become a judge herself one day!
Yasmin went to the London Cat Club Show in June and second stewarded
for John Hansson, before joining in with the YES! First birthday meeting,
shown in the above picture. There were eight of the candidates present
in the afternoon, and after a warm welcome by Anne Gregory and a
discussion on the Novice Level of YES! the candidates then listened to a
presentation on Egyptian Maus by Georgina who was accompanied by her
smoke Mau Sev to the delight of the candidates! Afterwards there was
chocolate cake and fizzy drinks for everyone!!
For more pictures of the first birthday of YES! and to find out how you can
join or support them go to: - www.gccf-yes.co.uk
57
President & Chairman
Tel
Email
Hon Secretary
Tel
Email
Hon Treasurer/Mem Sec
Tel
Email
Merchandising
Tel
Email
Show Support
Tel
Email
Show Manager/Web
Tel
Email
Joint Show Manager
Tel
Email
Joint Trophies
Tel
Email
Joint Trophies
Tel
Email
: Melissa Bateson.
: 0191 233 1974
: [email protected]
: Michèle Codd.
: 01476 861022
: [email protected]
: Georgina Anderson-Keeble.
: 01634 268579
: [email protected]
: Jean Lamb.
: 0191 371 2729
: [email protected]
: Clive Wicks.
: 0208 313 1712
: [email protected]
: Sean Farrell.
: 01777 710380
: [email protected]
: Sue Barrett.
: 01777 710380
: [email protected]
: Jo Higgins.
: 01924 466274
: [email protected]
: Lauren Kennedy.
: 01924 466274
: [email protected]
Other Committee Members:
Peter Lamb. Co-opted: Yvonne Davison, Helen Wicks.
Welfare
: Jean Gillespie.
Tel
: 0191 584 1845
Email : [email protected]
Website: www.egyptianmaus.co.uk
UK Membership: Junior £2, Single £6, Joint £10 + £1 joining fee.
Overseas Members: Single £10, Joint £16 + £1 joining fee.
58
UK: (01376) 566847 International: +44 1376 566847
“My first love is the cats. I breed to produce
lovely kittens that other people are
going to love as much as I do.”
Breeder & Owner of Nicecat, Vicki Nice
At Stud:
Moonlight & Cairo
Terms & Conditions available on
request.
Kitten’s sometime available
In the first instance please call for
further information. All our kittens
leave home at 14 weeks, fully
inoculated and vaccinated.
We are proud to be a member of the Egyptian Mau Club
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