The Nile Valley Egyptian is both the newest, and the oldest, domestic cat breed in the world. It consists entirely of rescued feral Egyptian cats and their descendants.

Registered with TICA (The International Cat Association) in September 2010 in their Experimental New Breed program, the Nile Valley Egyptian is a Natural Breed indigenous to the Nile Valley area of Egypt. Natural Breeds are created by cats living and breeding in a natural environment, without human intervention.

The Nile Valley is a natural laboratory. Surrounded on three sides by the Sahara Desert, and on the fourth by the Mediterranean Sea, it has been 5,000 years since the last time that it rained in north Africa, and natural animal migration could take place, either into, or out of, the Nile Valley.

According to two different genetic studies done in 2007 ( The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication, The Ascent of Cat Breeds: Genetic Evaluations of Breeds and Worldwide Random Bred Populations U.C.Davis study ), all domestic cats are descended from one of five feline "maternal Eves", all of which were members of the species felis sylvestris lybica, the African wild cat. No other wild feline species gave rise to the domestic cat, felis catus.

While it is possible that felines may have been domesticated as early as 10,000 years ago, we know from archaeological evidence that cats were domesticated in Egypt, and were kept as domestic pets 5,000 years ago. Historical evidence argues that at that time domestic cats were unknown anywhere else in the world, as they were highly prized by people around the world, and the only known source for them was Egypt. Ship captains, in particular, with their legendary problem with rodents on board ships, were so eager to acquire cats that when they found Egyptians would not sell them, they resorted to stealing them.

As a result, there is no evidence that any cats domesticated outside Egypt in previous centuries survived into historical Egyptian eras, certainly not in the Mediterranean Basin area.

The U.C.Davis study demonstrated that Egyptian ferals are their own distinct group, within the larger Mediterranean Basin group.

In Cairo, which is the same geographic area as the Bastet temple where Egyptian cats were first domesticated, we have discovered feral cats that look amazingly like the African wild cat, and unlike any breed outside Egypt. The existing evidence is that these are the surviving bloodlines, the direct descendents of those originally domesticated Egyptian cats, from the Bastet temple in Bubastis.

In addition, we find what appear to be "ordinary street cats", appearing to be the same as any cats running feral in any city of the world. These would be the surviving bloodlines of the cats that were exported from Egypt in the pre-Christian era, to be carried by humans around the world.

However, the current Egyptian government places no value on these Living Egyptian Artifacts, these survivors of 1,500 years of neglect and feral living. Their policy has been one of poisoning and shooting feral cats, and since 99% of all cats in Egypt are feral (and many of the cats kept as pets are imported from other countries), the Nile Valley Egyptian is now threatened in its own, and only, home.

A group of breeders and people who love cats have joined together with EMRO, a Cairo-based cat rescue shelter, in an effort to save as many of these ancient, unique, and precious cats as we can, the Feline Missing Link between the African wild cat and all domestic cats of today around the world. To that purpose, we are working to bring the Nile Valley Egyptian breed to full recognition by TICA, and hopefully eventually by all the cat registries.

We invite you to join us in this effort to save the only living Egyptian artifacts that still survive.

Egyptian government poisoning Egyptian cats

Animal People, June 2007
"Ten veterinary teams were reportedly to be dispatched daily with 10 kilograms of strychnine each to kill dogs, plus an undisclosed amount of the insecticide Temic, to kill cats. Al-Akhbar explained that the poisons would be placed in baits and distributed in places where dogs and cats congregate."
Animal People, Jan-Feb 2008
"Egypt responded with a nationally coordinated effort to poison Arvicanthus (cane rat) with zinc phosphide, which continues today, with effects rippling through the food chain. Cheaper than the anti-coagulant poisons used to kill rodents in more affluent parts of the world, zinc phosphate is also lethal to cats and dogs who ingest poisoned rodents. Adding to the stress on the cat and dog population is the habit of many Egyptian city governments and private property owners of attacking feral cats and street dogs with strychnine, also used as a rat poison."
Animal People, Jan-Feb, 2008
"The rudimentary Cairo animal control department has often poisoned and shot street dogs, as ANIMAL PEOPLE has exposed many times, most recently in June 2007, when Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak reportedly directed the Ministry of Agriculture to "apply humane inter'ational measures in dealing with stray animals, instead of shooting and poisoning," which Mubarak said "detracts from Egypt's status as a land of culture and center of tourism.' "
Animal People, April 2010:
"Behind the leadership dispute were differences of opinion among the EFAW member organizations about how Cairo animal control should be restructured to replace the traditional practice of poisoning street dogs and feral cats upon receipt of complaints."

GlobalPost report on EMRO's efforts to save Egyptian cats
EMRO: Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization

Origin of Domestic Cats

December 22nd, 2010, the NatGeo (National Geographic) Wild cable channel broadcast an episode of their series Explorer titled "Science of Cats". The program featured the work of Dr. Leslie A. Lyons (Associate Professor of Genetics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Population Health and Reproduction, U.C. Davis). Dr. Lyons explained a project in which genetic material gathered from both pedigreed cats and feral cats from around the world was analyzed in an effort to determine the group with the greatest genetic diversity. This group of cats would be the oldest group in existance, therefore, would pin-point the location of the origin of the modern domestic cat. Her conclusion was that the oldest group of cats in existance were the feral cats of Egypt; thus, she has scientifically proven that the legends are true that it was the ancient Egyptians who domesticated the modern domestic cat.

(There may have been other people who domesticated the cat earlier, but none of those early bloodlines survived to the current day.)

From http://www.messybeast.com/cathistory.htm
"In 2007 studies published in Science journal of mitochondrial DNA from cats in the UK, US, Germany, Israel, Spain and France showed that at least 5 female ancestors from the Egyptian region gave rise to all the domestic cats alive today. Apart from accidental cross-breeding, European wildcats have not contributed to the domestic cat's ancestry. It also ruled out the Central Asian wildcat, the Southern African wildcat and the Chinese desert cat as ancestors."

"According to J A Baldwin, there was little question that European domesticated cats came out of Egypt between 3,000 BC and 2,000 BC (J A Baldwin, Anthropos 70:428-448, 1975). There are no confirmed records of domesticated cats from the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC). The earliest Ancient Egyptian evidence of the presence of cats dates from about 2500 BC and there was evidence of primitive domestication around 2000 BC, however the Egyptians also depicted many non-domestic species. There was little pictorial evidence to suggest that cats were fully domesticated until the New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (circa 1600 BC). More recent archaeological and genetic studies suggest domestication was under way before these dates.

Links

EMRO: Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization You can help save Egyptian ferals through adoption and sponsorship
Nefertari Meri-en-mut cattery (Switzerland) Breeding rescued Nile Valley Egyptians

TICA: The International Cat Association

NESMA: Native Egyptian Shirazi Mau Association
NESMA cattery Ancient Dreams (Germany)
NESMA cattery Cairo Cats Cattery (USA)

2007 U.C.Davis domestic cat genetic study "The Ascent of Cat Breeds: Genetic Evaluations of Breeds and Worldwide Random Bred Populations" Preliminary version
2007 U.C.Davis study final version

NVE Color Standard (proposed)

The Nile Valley Egyptian is a medium-sized short-haired cat, with long legs, a medium-length and -breadth muzzle, large ears, and an alert and intelligent demeanor. The tail may or may not be "fluffy", and there may be a suggestion of a "ruff" around the neck.

The Nile Valley Egyptian exists in 3 general color divisions: Standard, Agouti, and Lybica.

Standard is the same colors that you see on streets in cities around the world. These are the oldest genes that were exported from Egypt before the Christian Era, and are mutations that occurred naturally within the Nile Valley of Egypt. We see black, x-linked red, spotted white, and dilute colors such as blue-gray. We do not see Dominant White, Siamese, or other, more recent mutations; however, this may change with time as we learn more about this ancient breed.

Lybica represents the oldest genes of all, those of the African wild cat. All of these cats have distinct, high-contrast stripes in the middle third of all four legs, on the last half of the tail, and on the forehead, and many have an unbroken "necklace". The back, sides, upper third of all four legs, and first half of the tail, along with the sides of the face, form a completely separate pattern area, and is always consistant within itself. This area will have one (and only one) of a variety of markings, stripes, spots, broken stripes, elongated spots, and marbling, or even a solid color or agouti color. Markings such as stripes and spots may be distinct and high-contrast, but they may also be faded to varying degrees. Like lion cubs, kittens with distinct, high-contrast markings on the back, etc, may have those markings fade almost, or even completely, into obscurity with maturity, while the stripes on the middle of the legs, end of the tail, and forehead remain clear and distinct, resulting in a color pattern unknown anywhere else in the world.

Lybica colors tend to be "blended" instead of being distinct as seen in the Standard color division, i.e., colors may mimic the natural camouflage often seen in African wild cats, with red occuring particularly on the back of the ears and hind legs in otherwise gray, silver, or brown individuals. This reddish color is not the x-linked red of the Standard color division.

Show Your Support

The Nile Valley Egyptian is currently at Stage One of a five-stage process in achieving recognition as a Natural Breed with TICA, The Internation Cat Association.

You can help in this process and show your support for this most ancient of all breeds, simply by joining TICA. Members of TICA who email to let us know will be added to our list of supporters, which will help us fulfill the requirements for advancement.

TICA Home Page
TICA Online Membership Application

Who We Are

We are a group of people who are dedicated to saving and preserving the oldest living cat breed in the world. We consist of breeders, rescuers, friends, and supporters of the Egyptian feral cat and the Nile Valley Egyptian, an Experimental New Breed consisting entirely of rescued Egyptian ferals and their descendants.

NILE VALLEY EGYPTIAN ASSOCIATION: Egypt Chapter
Nile Valley Egyptian Association: Egypt was established in January 2011 under Swiss law.

Contacts:
R. Smith, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, current president
T. Fretz, Düdingen, Switzerland, current administrator
T. Wilson, Houston, Texas, USA, current breed officer

If you require any information kindly contact us at the email address at the top of this page.

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