Cat breed · Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Mau is a domestic cat breed developed from a naturally occurring short-haired population with distant ancestry from the early African wildcat. It is a landrace and formally recognized breed by a number of prominent cat registries, such as the World Cat Federation (WCF) and the Emirates Feline Federation (EFF). This cat is native to the Arabian Peninsula, which it has inhabited for over a millennium.
It is a medium-sized cat, having a body structure that is rather large and firm, not particularly slender, and with well-developed musculature. The legs are comparatively long, with oval paws.
The head appears round, but is slightly longer than broad. The nose is slightly concave when viewed in profile. The whisker pads are clearly pronounced, with a slight pinch. The chin is very firm. The eyes are slightly oval, large and slightly slanted. While it may have any of the eye colours typical of cats, the Arabian Mau usually has bright green eyes, and there is no relation between the eye and coat colours. The ears are large, slightly forward and sideward-placed, a little long, and high-set on the skull.
Grooming: Arabian Mau have short fur without an undercoat and as such, are not high shedders. They are very capable of keeping themselves neatly groomed, which enables easier caretaking by a handler or owner. While not always necessary, brushing will remove dead hairs and intensify the gloss of the coat.
History: The breed has been a landrace native to the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, for more than 1,000 years. As a desert cat, it is well adapted to the region's hot and arid environment.
