With such exotic names as Egyptian Mau, Havana Brown, and Japanese Bobtail, you would think we were talking about those areas of the globe in which the breeds originated.  Not true!   According to Lee Harper’s and Joyce L. White’s, Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cats, cats have been domesticated for only half as long as dogs.  The oldest archeological evidence of domestication was on the Greek island of Cyprus, yet there are no wild cats native to this island.  A human hand had to have been involved in bringing the cat there.  Cats are pictured in a fifth dynasty Egyptian tomb wearing collars, and the Egyptian Mau is representative of these first truly domesticated cats.  However, the Egyptian Mau as it is known in the US today was brought here by an exiled Russian princess.  The Havana Brown is named for its cigar-like color, and the Japanese bobtail is believed to have journeyed from China or Korea at least a thousand years ago.  So much for naming breeds for location!

The Egyptian Mau is a medium 7-9 pounds.

Appearance:  With coats of silver, bronze or smoke, the Egyptian Mau is the only breed of cat whose spots are a natural occurrence and not a human-engineered hybridization, states Harper and White.  They should have a rounded, wedge-shaped head, a strong chin, and light green,”gooseberry green”-colored eyes.  With their hind legs proportionately longer, Egyptian Maus looks like they are standing on their tiptoes.

Profile:  Maus are the fastest breed of domestic cat.  Harper and White claim these cats “have been clocked running over 30mph.”  With this great speed comes great intelligence.  They will “learn to open cupboards and drawers, especially ones containing food and toys.”  Drawn in by their exotic looks, their owners will discover that this cat truly bonds with its people and wants to be part of the family.    The Egyptian Mau enjoys playing fetch but when the game is over, the toy goes with the cat.  They are extremely possessive of their toys and can growl if they feel you are trying to take something from them.

History:  The original Egyptian Maus are pictured in ancient tombs.  “Mau” is the Egyptian word for cat.  The official breed was developed in the 1900s by Italian, Swiss and French breeders.   Princess Troubetskoy, exiled during WWII in Rome, came across the breed which at that point was almost extinct.  When she moved to the US in 1956, she took three Egyptian Maus with her and it is from these original three that is the basis for the US Mau stock.  Some inbreeding and outcrossing was necessary to continue the line, according to Harper and White, but it is still a rather rare breed even today. 

The Havana Brown is also a solid medium weight cat, at 8-10 pounds. 

Appearance:  The luscious chocolate brown of the Havana Brown comes from generations of selective breeding.  Siamese in looks, their heads are longer than they are wide with a square muzzle.  The eyes are acceptable in any shade of green, but the deeper the green, the better, according to Harper and White.  Another breed whose back legs are longer than the front, the Havana Brown is athletic in appearance. 

Profile:  Unlike their Siamese relatives, the Havana Browns are more agreeable cats in general and not nearly as loud.  Gentle and affectionate, they bond with their owners.  They, too, enjoy a game of fetch and like to hide their toys.  According to James Richards’, Complete Guide to Cats, Havana Browns are “much subtler than Siamese, often sneaking up onto their owners’ laps unnoticed.” 

History: The Havana Brown originated in Siam.  Harper and Lee state that the people of Siam “believed the burnished-brown felines protected them from evil.”  The late 1800s brought the brown cats to England.  The brown coloring was popular until the 1920s when the Siamese Cat Club decided that only blue-eyed Siamese would be accepted, thus the brown-colored cats died out.  In the early 1950s, British cat fanciers started to breed for the brown color and by crossing a seal point Siamese with a black Siamese, both with the brown gene in their background, produced the first registered solid brown kitten.  Despite the name of Havana, these cats have never been associated with Cuba.  Their name comes from the popular brown Cuban cigar, according to Richards, or it may have come from a breed of brown rabbit that was previously named for the cigar.

The Japanese Bobtail is also a medium cat of 7-9 pounds

Appearance:  Probably the most distinctive feature is this breeds’ bobbed tail.  Harper and White state that the tail is caused by a recessive gene, and “unlike the Manx and other cat breeds, where genetic disorders are common to tailless or stumpy tails, none of these problems exist with the Japanese Bobtail.”  Their tails can be between one and three inches and are covered by a fan of “thick fur that resembles a rabbit’s tail,” writes Richards.  Japanese Bobtails are accepted in all the color variations except for Siamese-pointed or agouti patterns.  Eye color is equally varied with blue, copper, green or odd-eyed occurring.  Japanese Bobtails also show the hind legs being longer than the front. 

Profile:  Japanese Bobtails are another breed of cat who loves human companionship.  These cats, according to Harper and White, are intelligent and talkative; “their soft voices are capable of almost an entire scale of tones, some say they sing.”  This breed also likes to play fetch and carry things around in their mouths.  They are active and get along well with other animals and especially children.

History:  The Japanese Bobtail became known at the “street cats” of Japan when in 1602, Japanese authorities “decreed that all cats should be set free to help with rodents threatening the silkworms.”  Harper and White also state that buying or selling cats became illegal so the cats spent their time on farms and in the streets.  Ironically, in Kaempfer’s Japan, according to Harper and White, in 1701, he wrote, “There is only one breed of cat that is kept.  Its short tail looks like it has been bent and broken.  It has no mind to hunt for rats and mice but just wants to be carried and stroked by women.”  It wasn’t until 1968 that the Japanese Bobtail made it to the US.

Works Cited
Richards, James.  Complete Guide to Cats.
Harper, Lee, and Joyce L. White.  The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cats.