Posted on

Egyptian Mau

Cat of the Month ~ August 2015

Mau

A young Egyptian Mau
monacocattery.com

It has been proven that it was in Ancient Egypt where the feline we call the Egyptian Mau originated. Their ancestors are strongly and frequently depicted in the artworks of the Ancient Egyptians. Many of their pictures are still intact today and they show heavily spotted cats bearing the distinctive ‘mascara’ marking and coat barring seen on today’s Mau. Indeed recent findings in research studies lead by feline geneticist Leslie Lyons, PhD has confirmed that cats first originated in Egypt. There is archaeological and genetic evidence to show that cats first originated in the famous ‘fertile crescent’.

The Egyptian Mau breed has five unique physical features that should be apparent at a glance.

  • One is the brow line and characteristic eye set that gives the breed a somewhat sad and anxious look.
  • The eye color of the Mau is described as “gooseberry green”.
  • A flap of skin extending from the posterior end of the ribcage to the hind leg gives the Mau a phenomenal leaping ability.
  • The Mau can run at very high speed also due to its extended skin flap on the hind leg.
  • Mau’s have a “tiptoe” graceful stance given by the hind legs being proportionally longer than the front legs.

It is said that the Egyptian Mau arrived in the USA in 1956 when Russian Princess Nathalie Troubetskoy, with help from Richard Gebhardt, imported three Maus from Italy: Two silver females, Baba and Liza, and a bronze male called ‘Jojo’. The Mau was granted recognition in The International Cat Association in 1979.

The Egyptian Mau has often been thought of as an aloof and shy breed. This may be true but when domesticated fully the Mau has a special affinity with its human family. It is a very close bond that is so different than with other breeds. A typical Mau will command attention and will not allow you to push it away, as it seems to require the fuss o fit’s immediate ‘keeper’. In addition the breed is intensely loyal (and yet still as aloof as a cat can be).

The Mau has been shown as having an extraordinary power of scent, hearing, and sight. It may well be for this reason they are so shy and sensitive a cat – easily frightened and upset by sudden loud, unpleasant noises. If a Mau is to be taken to shows then they must be introduced to the environment early so that they will accept the loud sounds and inspection handling of the ring.

The Mau is the only natural spotted breed of domestic cat, showing good contrast between the background color and pattern. The pattern is random with any size or shape of distinct spots. They have an “M” on the forehead, often referred to as the mark of the scarab, and a dorsal stripe travels the length of the spine to the tip of the tail. Legs, tail, neck and upper chest are barred with at least one broken necklace. The haunches and shoulders show a transition between spots and stripes.

The eyes are large and alert, shaped like a slightly rounded almond, with a slant towards the base of the ear. This eye set contributes to the characteristic “worried” look of the breed. The eye color of the Mau is gooseberry green. If you have never seen a gooseberry, a green grape comes close but isn’t quite the same.

Its head is a slightly rounded, wedge-shape of a medium length. The profile has a gentle concave rise from the bridge of the nose to the forehead, not to be dishy or arrow straight. The slightly flared ears are medium to large, alert, moderately pointed and broad at the base. The hair on the outer ear is very short and close-lying that results in an almost transparent look when combined with the delicate shell pink inner color.

The Egyptian Mau is a statuesque breed with a muscular, elegant body. It is a graceful feline athlete is hard and lithe. When standing, the Mau has a characteristic “tiptoe” stance, with hind legs longer than the front. The body rises gradually from the back of the prominent shoulder blades to the hips. The medium-length tail tapers slightly towards the dark tip. The hair displays a lustrous sheen on all three accepted colors: silver, bronze and smoke. Its coat is medium in length; in the smoke color the coat texture is silky and fine. In the silvers and bronzes the coat is dense and resilient to the touch.

Source: TICA

Posted on

The Missing Lynx

Flaviu the Lynx was reported missing from Dartmoor Zoological Park (near Plymouth) on July 7, triggering a search involving a police helicopter and a
drone. Tweny Five humane traps were set but all to no avail until …) He was finally caught last Saturday morning (July 30th) in a trap set by keepers.

Flaviu was trapped 200 yards from Hemerdon Plantation, a woodland about a mile away from the zoo. Apparently our lynx savaged four lambs on Friday (well, we all gotta eat!).
Realising big cats returned to the scene of a kill, the four lamb carcasses were removed from the site and a 5 foot by 2 foot mesh trap baited with veal was set right, where the lambs were found. A keeper stated that captivity is the best place for an animal such as Flaviu …as it is likely she would have been shot if continuing to attack sheep in the region.

We are Glad to say that Flaviu is now safe and sound – but we hope she enjoyed her short lived freedom.

Have to pay a visit to see the lovely creature, hey Osc?

Flaviu the Lynx has gone absent without leave… well in fact he’s escaped! The two year old male Lynx is approximately the size of a large domestic cat and is described as grey/silver in colour. He apparently chewed and clawed his way through the wall of his enclosure just hours after arriving at Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon, last Wednesday.

When keepers realised Flaviu was gone, the zoo was evacuated and a police helicopter, tracker dogs and teams of officers and keepers spent the whole of last Thursday searching for the missing animal. Traps loaded with meat have been laid in the hope they will lure the cat back to be humanely caught and returned home. Local schools, landowners and farmers have been warned not to approach the animal.


Flaviu the Lynx just hours before he escaped
Photo: unknown

Experts said the lynx, which was raised in captivity, could still be near the zoo. George Hyde, the zoo’s operations manager, and the police tried to reassure people that the cat was unlikely to be a danger to humans. He said: “We are in a rural location, so the likelihood of the lynx coming into contact with people is very slim. The likelihood is that he is very scared, very anxious, and he will stay away from people.”

Hyde added that the lynx was fed before his journey from an animal park in Kent to Devon on Wednesday, so he is unlikely to be desperate for food. Asked if he was embarrassed to have lost a lynx, Hyde said: “It’s a challenge. Animal containment always poses the possibility that you will face a situation like this.”

Sgt Tracy Sharam, of Devon and Cornwall police, who is co-ordinating the search, said that although the lynx could already have ranged up to nine miles from the zoo, keepers had suggested it would most likely be hiding somewhere within a mile. She said: “Obviously, when you get a new cat to the house, it goes and hides for a while. It’s probably got the same sort of feelings.”


Flaviu with his mother
Photo: unknown

Keepers are planning to subdue the lynx with a tranquilliser dart once it is found before returning it to the zoo. Vets are being kept on standby in case the animal needs emergency treatment. “We don’t want to kill the animal at all – that’s not what we are looking at,” said Sharam.

Flaviu is a Carpathian lynx, also known as a Eurasian lynx which are native to the forests of Europe and Siberia where they feed on animals such as deer, hares, rabbits, rodents and grouse. The Eurasian lynx was once native to the British Isles, but was killed off around 700AD. The Lynx UK Trust is dedicated to reintroducing the predatory cat to the British countryside, but so far efforts have been blocked. Carpathian lynx are solitary and secretive animals. They are also a critically-endangered species.

Rick Minter, who has written about big cat sightings in the UK, said he thought Flaviu would have a good chance of surviving in the wild. “He will have no problem hunting for mice, rabbits, pigeons, pheasants,” he said. He also said “Flaviu would have a decent chance of finding some of his own kind already living wild. There have been sightings of lynx in the south-west of England”. It is thought the cat was spotted again by the police drone carrying a thermal imaging camera that had been assisting teams on the ground.

Lets hope that Flaviu stays free and finds cats of his own kind in the wilds of Dartmoor ….

Article Source: theguardian.com

Posted on

Jungle Cat

Cat of the Month ~ May 2015


a jungle cat just sits and ponders

Male Jungle Cat looking very dog like
at Pont-Scorff Zoo (Nr Lorient, France)
Photo: Pont-Scorff Zoo

The Jungle Cat or ‘Felis Chaus’ of Asia is known as the ‘reed cat’ or ‘swamp cat’ in Africa. This is probably a more accurate name for this feline, as it rarely strays into jungle regions.

Preferred habitat is anywhere where there is water. Lake margins or riversides which often border dense ground cover are an excellent environment in which to hunt and breed. However the extent of habitation is much wider than this; ranging from desert (where it is found near oases or along dry riverbeds) to grassland, shrubby woodland and dry deciduous forest, as well as cleared areas of forest. They have been observed from sea level up to altitudes of 8,000 ft or more. Jungle cats are distributed throughout Asia, Sri Lanka and India. They are also found in Egypt.

Jungle cats are tenacious and adaptable moving into regions reclaimed by humans , where irrigation and cultivation have been carried out. However the jungle cat is prone to loosing its habitat due to the very same human intervention.


a jungle cat on a log

Jungle Cat in motion
Photo: wildwings.co.uk

Similar in build to the Serval and the African Wildcat and once thought to be related to the Lynx, Jungle cats are actually a very close relative of the domestic cat. They have long legs and a sleek build but they can grow to quite a hefty 14 Kilograms in weight standing up to 40 cms tall with a length of almost 100 cms. Tails are short though at 20 to 30 cms, with faint rings, and bearing a black tip. A jungle cats coat can range through sandy-brown, reddish or gray, and is unpatterned except for some brown striping on the legs. The ears are tall and rounded and are reddish with short, wide tufts on the tips.

Jungle cats feed mainly on small mammals, principally rodents, (a study in India’s Sariska reserve estimated that jungle cats catch and eat three to five rodent per day). Birds rank second in importance, but in southern Russia waterfowl are the mainstay of jungle cat diet in the winter. With overwintering populations of waterfowl congregating in large numbers on unfrozen rivers and marshes, the jungle cat hunts among reed beds and along edges of wetlands, searching for injured or weakened birds. Other prey species are taken more opportunistically, including hares, nutria, lizards, snakes, frogs, insects, and fish.

Credits:

Posted on

Sirga the orphan lioness

Cat of the Month ~ January 2015

Sirga is one hefty Cat.
Photograph: Caters News Agency

Sirga the lioness was abandoned by her pride as a young cub and left to fend for herself in the wide wild African bush.

It was extremely lucky for the animal that she was rescued by the owners of the nearby Modisa wildlife sanctuary in Botswana, Africa. Today Sirga is a fully grown feline weighing in at over 110 pounds. She’s a beautiful brute of a lioness in fact.

Sirga with her two rescuers, Valentin and Mikkel
Photograph: Caters News Agency

By rescuing and looking after this cat, the owner of the sanctuary Valentin Gruener has forged an unbreakable bond with Sirga. Both Valentin and his fellow naturalist Mikkel Legarth are treated like fellow lions by Sirga. In return, the men help the Big cat to hunt for food and they get to receive the hugs of this most affectionate feline.

Mikkel, explains: “The pride had three cubs and two were killed before Sirga was abandoned without food. It happened on our land and we couldn’t standby and watch her die.”

“We didn’t want Sirga to become like other lions in captivity, constantly fed by streams of tourists. ”

“She only interacts with me and Valentin. “She hunts her own food, taking antelopes and she will let us be near her when she eats it which is remarkable.

“Sirga doesn’t mind people, but she doesn’t pay them any attention. Wild lions are scared of people, the problem comes if you release a lion that is used to people in the wild, that can cause problems.”

“With Sirga we want to release her to the wild eventually as a wild lion not as one that has met lots of people. That would be dangerous.”

Sirga as a cub
Photograph: Caters News Agency

Valentin and Mikkel are conservationists who live in the real hope of saving the lion population in the Botswana vicinity but as is the case in so many animal environments today, increased farming activity is bringing lions and man into more and more conflict.

The men have begun the Modisa Wildlife Project to work with local farmers to find a way to keep lions and man in their respective domains, so that they can live together in mutual harmony. The plan is to relocate the lions which are coming into contact with farmers to one large protected area where they have enough wild prey to feed on.

Mikkel continues “If you release wild lions somewhere else, they will come straight back to where they were before because there is food there. “And if you just dump a pride of lions in the middle of a new territory they will disturb the prides that are already there. “In Botswana all lions are protected by the government. They are like swans being the property of the Crown in the UK. This also makes moving them a problem.

“What we have now are 10,000-hectare plots with 10 to 15 lions in fenced enclosure, they are wild lions but we do have to feed them. “The first time you walk up to a lion all your body is telling you this is not something you should be doing.”

Posted on

Lion Cub

Cat of the Month ~ October 2014


lion cub photo by sperka

Lion Cub at Play
Photograph: Christian Sperka

Christian Sperka was born in Germany in 1962 is a professional photographer and photography teacher based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Over the last 10 years, Christian has traveled the world ( living in Germany, Switzerland and the USA) photographing mainly animals in wild game preserves of South Africa, the jungles of Costa Rica, as well as zoos in Switzerland and across the United States. His work has been featured in wildlife magazines, books and promotional campaigns for Nashville Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo and Zurich Zoo in Switzerland.

In June 2010, Christian opened his Animal Art Photography gallery at the Arcade in Nashville. Since January 2011 he is the Offical Nashville Zoo Photographer and Photography Teacher.

Visit Christian Sperka’s Website to view photographs of animals of all kinds.

Posted on

Daisy the Carpathian Lynx

Cat of the Month ~ June 2014

Daisy the Carpathian Lynx

Photograph: Dudley Zoological Gardens

Our cat of the month for June is Daisy, a beautiful four year old Carpathian Lynx. Daisy lives at Dudley Zoological Gardens with two other adult Lynx, Dave and Chloe in a specially made compound they have there.

And why did we pick Daisy as our special feline … (and well you may ask Norman)…. it just so happens she’s recently become a proud mum of triplets (yes three bonny bounding cubs). So well done that Feline …and not forgettign Dave too of course. The triplets, who were born on May 23, have been cosying up with mum in the specially made dens but have within the last few days started to explore the surrounding undergrowth.

…proud Mum Daisy keeps a wary eye on the camera

Photograph: Dudley Zoological Gardens

Sixteen month-old male, Dave, transferred to Dudley from Salzburg Zoo in Austria in 2012, whilst our female, Daisy (when aged two) moved from Zoo Veszprem in Hungary in the autumn of 2012. Chloe, the third lynx of the trio is the long standing resident in Dudley but she had to be temporarily moved out of her usual enclosure to make way for the new guests. It’s taken them quite a while to get used to one another but now they get along just fine. See the footage of these lovely cats and thier keeper here

Daisy at play on her new rope scratching post

Photograph: Dudley Zoological Gardens

The transfer of these lynx is part of an ongoing European breeding programme for this rare subspecies of Eurasian lynx. And it looks like they struck feline gold this time!

Success … and they don’t get much cuter than this!

Photograph: Dudley Zoological Gardens
Posted on

Nebulung Cat needs a home

Hi reader, Do you live in or around New Jersey U.S.A?

Moggyblog Member Prudence has written in to ask for offers of a home for a beautiful Nebulung Cat (see Picture below). If you live in the New Jersey region and would love to look after a long haired cat, please contact Prudence on the email address give below.

… Here is the message from our reader

I am fostering a nebulung cat name Maggie in hopes in finding her a forever home with little success. I am reaching out to this network to find someone who would love a cat that snuggles and cuddles up. Attached is her picture.

Please contact: prudences@aol.com

Thank you.

Beautiful Maggie needs a home! ~~~ she’s sure to be lucky:-)

Photograph: Member, “prudencies”

Pudence, I wish you luck with this request. [Ed.]