This postage stamp featuring an Egyptian Mau is from Monaco and commemorates the 2011 international cat show.
“Mau” means “cat” in the Egyptian language from nearly 4000 years ago. The Eqyptian Mau is an ancient breed, and is believed to be descended from the African Wild Cat. It is the only breed that is naturally spotted, and the spots are only on the tip of their fur. These kitties are built for speed – like a cheetah. They have long back legs and extra skin between their waist and hind legs that lets their back legs extend backwards more than other breeds. Some other traits of the Egyptian Mau is that they are medium size, have short hair, and have musical voices. Animal Planet has a short educational video on the Egyptian Mau.
Monaco
Monaco is officially named the Principality of Monaco. It’s a tiny piece of land (2 sq. km, or less than 1 sq. mile) on the southeast corner of France. It’s been held by the Grimaldi family since about 1300 A.D. and it’s the 3rd smallest country in the world. There are only about 30,000 people living in Monaco. I wonder how many cats they have.
Stamp Collecting
Part of the fun in collecting stamps is that you can use them to learn about many things. It could be about the subject of the stamp, a time in history, or the country the stamp came from. This stamp inspired me to learn more about the Egyptian Mau and to look up some basic information about Monaco. I’ll never have an Egyptian Mau and I’ll never go to Monaco, but now I know a little more about both. Another great thing about stamp collecting is that it doesn’t take much space and you can have hundreds of stamps without anyone calling you “The crazy stamp lady”.
Saturday PhotoHunt
I wasn’t going to participate in the Saturday PhotoHunt this week because I couldn’t find a photo I was hoping to use for the theme “Stuck”. But writing this entry, I realized it fit the theme. Stamps get stuck on envelopes!
Indulged Furries 
Great take on the “stuck” theme!
That was a good use for stuck!! We loved it!
Your TX furiends,
MOL great take on the theme. Sometimes we get “stuck” too when trying to find a good photo for the week.
The Florida Furkids
ps…..you should post your link on the Cat Blogosphere to get lots of cat visitors!
Mowzers! We’re stuck on your story!
My goodness….such an interesting post!!! [first of all, I like the idea of a postage stamp and the association of it being ‘stuck’]….then, learning about this cat breed was most enjoyable to read! As I love cats, both wild and domestic I found this very fascinating. Now I would like to have one of my very own.
That works well for the theme and an interesting post.
A great post for the theme 🙂
Purr-fect for the theme 8)
This is so cool! But they need a Hammy and a Rumble stamp.
I want to know – where’s the stamp with ME on it???
I think I have one….it will be in a future post.