Maine Coon with a hint of tiger

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This Maine Coon's appearance has a hint of the tiger. The coat reminds me of the tiger's and the relaxed way the cat is lounging adds to the impression. The face is definitely tigerish. This is a super-looking Maine Coon with a grey, striped tabby coat. A very relaxed and confident face. There is a cat breed which is designed to look like a tiger and you may have heard of it. It is the Toyger a.k.a. the toy tiger. The appearance of the Maine Coon is protected by the cat associations because breeders cannot outcross their Maine Coon cats. Outcrossing means breeding with cats of a different breed or random bred cats. This tends to dilute the appearance and takes the appearance away from the breed standard but it is incorporated into breeding to ensure the health of the cat.

The tiger and the Maine Coon are almost identical in all respects except for their size and differences in appearance.

You probably know by now that the original Maine Coons were barn cats in the 1800s in Maine. Maine Coons were exhibited in cat shows as early as the 1860s in the US but they weren't referred to as Maine Coon cats at that time. In the first cat show of America, a Maine Coon won it. The cat was a brown tabby owned by Mrs EN Baker.

Today's top cat show winning Maine Coons are a long way away in terms of appearance to those living on farms or in a semi-wild condition back in the 1850s. They're much larger, longer and more sculptured than the original cats. The original cats were standard medium-long-haired random bread cats, really. They were perhaps large but none as large as the modern version. In Russia and in continental Europe they breed them to look like people! Or they have massive muzzles which make them look incredibly impressive but a little bit odd. Selective breeding has taken this cat away from its regular appearance to something different or outstanding or impressive depending upon your point of view.

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