Arabian mau
The Arabian Mau is a natural landrace from the deserts of the Arabian peninsula, descended from the free-living cats of the region and only formally recognised in the 2000s, largely through work in the United Arab Emirates.
It weighs 3 to 7 kilograms, and its build is a direct answer to the climate: a short coat with no undercoat, large upright ears that shed heat, long legs and a lean, muscular frame. Nothing about it was designed by a breeder. As with other landraces, the absence of a genetic bottleneck means it carries no concentrated inherited disease, and it is generally an exceptionally hardy, long-lived cat.
- Origin
- Arabian peninsula — a desert landrace
- Size
- 3–7 kg
- Lifespan
- 12–20 years
- Coat
- Short, with no undercoat
- Adaptation
- Large ears and a lean frame for shedding heat
- Health
- Broad natural gene pool; no known inherited conditions
Related: Egyptian mau
2 arabian mau photos, newest first
Living with a arabian mau
It has no undercoat, so it feels the cold. In a temperate climate provide warm sleeping places and do not expect a desert cat to be comfortable outdoors in winter.
Grooming is minimal — a weekly brush is plenty.
They are active, vocal and territorial, having been shaped by a life of finding their own food, and they need play, height and things to do. A bored Arabian Mau is a noisy one.
The large ears collect dust and want checking.
Health is generally very good and there is no breed-specific testing to ask about. Ordinary preventive care — neuter, vaccinate, microchip, dental checks, annual visits moving to twice yearly past ten — is the whole programme.
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual cats vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.
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