Your Maine Coon Guide

  The guy who made the video and posted it to YouTube said: "This handsome fella visits mum daily for tickles, petting and attention. It's become a daily routine for him." So, this Maine Coon is an indoor/outdoor cat which is unusual as he is stupendous. I mean that he looks special, in which case he is a candidate for theft. But he does look as if he is guarding the house. Stupendous Maine Coon allowed outside without supervision. Screenshot. Although we are not told, it seems that the video was made in England. This sort of extreme-bred Maine Coon is quite rare in the UK. I'd be fearful of losing him if let outside. But there you are. Some people either don't see the danger or are insistent that their cat, no matter how special and valuable, is allowed outside at their own volition.

The reason why this red tabby Maine Coon spills all the water out of the dog's bowl is because he is bored. They need stimulation and challenges. I have to use a lot of guesswork in answering this question. But my guess is that this Maine Coon is a full-time indoor domestic cat which will predispose him to boredom.  Full-time indoor cats require more input from their caregivers for obvious reasons. And if they don't get it, they are liable to become bored. In order to self-stimulate they knock over things to see how they fall. Or they chuck the water out of a bowl to see what happens. They want movement. They want to create a fake prey animal to be caught. Maine Coon spills all the water out of the dog's bowl for fun. Why? Boredom, I'd say. In short, they need to be played with actively and with purpose and commitment. The only person really qualified to do that is the cat's caregiver. It's almost certain that nearly every cat owner does not play with their c...

This is a great timelapse showing a newborn Maine Coon growing up to adulthood and then rapidly regressing to newborn again. It looks strange and interesting. A good idea from Warren Photographic. Warren used morphing software apparently and Freya, the Maine Coon, was filmed over 10 months. Freya does not look a Maine Coon! She looks more like a good-sized, moggy tabby. There are no Maine Coon features such as large lynx-tipped ears and square, pronounced muzzle. It is no big deal as the video's success is the timelapse but I think Warren has been told something which is not true. Or Freya is a poor example of the Maine Coon cat breed. No criticism meant. I am simply commenting.

This is an unusual-looking Maine Coon. It looks like a black smoke coat but the white spotting gene has created the white ruff (like a lion's mane) and the blaze down the middle of the face. The muzzle is very large in line with the modern trend for European Maine Coons. Maine Coon with an unusual coat and pattern. Photo: Pinterest.

Is it okay for Maine Coons to eat cicadas? Screenshot. Sure thing. Cicadas are insects and insects are on the domestic cat's menu. In fact, they are quite a popular part of the domestic cat's diet. So, it is fine. The reason why I asked the question because here is a video of a couple of Maine Coons messing around with a cicada while thinking about eating it. I don't think they do. They are quite big insects. There is a faint possibility that a domestic cat with a sensitive stomach (a Siamese?) might irritate their stomach if the ate one. The Maine Coon is not known to be predisposed to having a sensitive stomach unlike the Siamese. It is said that Siamese cats or Siamese crosses are genetically at higher risk for developing food allergies. But unlike commercially prepared pet foods, insects are natural foods. I'd have thought that insects were less likely to prompt an allergic reaction than pet food. Note : This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are d...

In summary European Maine Coons tend to be bred more often to extreme, with larger ears and pronounced lynx tipped ears and large lion-like, chiselled muzzles compared to their American cousins. Plus, they might be more feral looking. I have also heard that TICA prefer more wild looking Maine Coons compared to the CFA more delicate or refined features and coat. TICA is an international cat association. The CFA is an American association. American Maine Coon. Photo: Helmi Flick European Maine Coon by Eurocoons based in Kansas , USA. Photo by them. European and American Maine Coons are the same breed. There are some differences. There has to be otherwise you wouldn't describe them as European and American Maine Coons. Also, it is worth noting that some American breeders in America breed European Maine Coons. The European Maine Coon is not only bred in Europe. American breeders appear to be importing Maine Coon foundation cats from Europe to start their own breeding lines. My ...

This is a cat from Eurocoons in Kansas, USA. They breed European Maine Coons. Their foundation cats come from Ukraine. Ukraine is affiliated with Russia as I see it and the Russians breed amazing Maine Coons so the pedigree is there and their cats do looks awesome. They feed them raw food with love. You can check them out for yourself because I don't know them and I can't speak for them. All I can do is repeat what they say on their websites. They are very ambitious judging by the number of websites they have. And they've deliberately focused on the European Maine Coon on the basis that it is different to the American Maine Coon. This is their 'Quiet Arya'. He looks very placid being held aloft. His coat is amazing. His face is tortoiseshell and his body looks smokey with mittens on the toes. A great looking and unusual looking cat. Note: European Maine Coons are the same breed as American Maine Coons. It is that the interpretation of the breed standard is slightly ...

This ginger-and-white Maine Coon is all ears and paws surrounding a strong muzzle. Well, that is what I see when I look at the photo. It is an unusual Maine Coon photo. It is like two very tall ears with a ton of 'ear furnishings' (hair in cat fancy language) at one end and large paws at the other. In the middle is cat face with an exaggerated muzzle. Every part of this young, male Maine Coon that makes him a member of this cat breed has been exaggerated through careful artificial selection (selective breeding).  Maine Coon is all ears and paws with a strong square muzzle in-between. Photo: Pinterest. The breeder has taken the breed standard, highlighted the bits which distinguishes this cat from the others and said, 'Let's makes those elements stronger and more noticeable'. And they've succeeded. The ginger gene ' O ' is sex-linked, so I know that this is a male cat. There are some female ginger tabbies (all gingers are tabbies) but they are sterile....

I'm going to refer to what I think is a rare inherited condition in Maine Coon cats. I'm referring to it because Sarah Hartwell in her website messybeast.com refers to it and her website is a good authority. Merosin muscular dystrophy apparently can affect all domestic cats including Maine Coons and Siamese cats. The symptoms are progressive hind-limb weakness from 2-5 months old. Maine Coon kitten. This kitten did  not have merosin muscular dystrophy. Photo: Helmi Flick. Online, there is a study concerning a follow-up to a Persian-mixed cat that suffered from merosin deficient muscular dystrophy. It began at six months of age and progressed over the next three years. The cat had difficulty walking at eight months of age and died at the age of five years and three months. The cause of death was acute respiratory disorder. This individual was born in an inbred colony. A related cat showed similar clinical signs. The study confirms that it is rare as only a few cases of this...

Maine Coons have tufty toes! It is part of their appearance and desirable. The breed standard mentions them and therefore Maine Coons have to have them ! But, interestingly, a mother and cat owner on the mumsnet.com website did raise a question about these fluffy appendages. She asked whether you should trim tufts of fur which stick out between the toes of a Maine coon cat in order to stop the fur picking up bits of poo from the cat litter.  It's a worthy question and I guess sometimes bits of dirt and detritus might get trapped within these tufts of fur but they should not be trimmed. I don't believe that any part of the domestic cat, whether they are a moggy or a purebred, pedigree cat, should be altered unless it is for a vital medical reason and only if it is in the interests of the cat. For instance, it might be necessary to give a Maine Coon a lion cut for medical reasons. It would be rare. Fortunately, the mother who asked the question got the same answer from ano...

Orange cats seem to feature in films more than other types of domestic cat . Is it because they have good, balanced characters? I am discussing the possibility of a link between coat type and color and character. A big call. A longshot. But possible. I discussed it in another post - click here if it interests you .  So, we love orange cats. They are undoubtedly one of the more popular cat coat types. And that is one reason why this Maine Coon is so damned attractive. What a combination: the size and presence of the Maine Coon, the world's largest domestic cat breed , and the orange tabby coat ( the friendliest cats? ) A mightily beautiful orange Maine Coon. Photo: Pinterest. I think this sort of domestic cat is the most desirable. You would be hard pressed to adopt a better cat but the best ones to adopt are the unadoptable, elderly, black rescue cats languishing in a shelter somewhere . A bit about the orange cat Cat breeders tend to refer to orange as red. The general public r...

Absolutely not; a purebred, pedigree Maine Coon cannot have short hair because the cat associations' breed standards always insist that the coat is "heavy and shaggy". I'm referring to the Cat Fanciers' Association's breed standard in this instance but they'll all be very similar. The CFA standard goes on to state that the coat should be "shorter on the shoulders and longer on the stomach and britches. Frontal ruff desirable. Texture silky with coat falling smoothly." Decent-looking Maine Coon complying more or less with the breed standard. Although the ruff could be more prominent. The coat is very shaggy which is desired. It is like a shag pile carpet! Photo in public domain. In the 'general section' of the breed standard it states that a distinctive characteristic of this cat breed is its "smooth, shaggy coat". A shorthaired cat cannot have a heavy, shaggy coat. The two are incompatible. Therefore, Maine Coons can't h...

"Giant Maine Coon cat ATTACKS groomer". The title to this video, with one section in capitals for emphasis, is misleading. It gives the impression that this affable and remarkably tolerant Maine Coon is aggressive and difficult. The true picture is far from it. He accepts a lot of human activity which domestic cats really don't like. Professional groomers do things to cats which they inherently don't understand and dislike. Let's remind ourselves that domestic cats, in an ideal world, do not need grooming by people. They are well able to do it themselves. Tolerant Maine Coon accepts a lot of things that they dislike or hate at a professional grooming parlour. Screenshot. The trouble with the Maine Coon cat in general is that their fur is long and it can become matted. Matting can be irritating to a cat and it can create health problems. Removing matting can also create health problems if it is done by the owner and they use scissors! You just have to be incredibly...

Positively NO, it is genetically impossible for a domestic cat to mate with a raccoon to produce a hybrid described as the Maine Coon. I guess that you knew that already but just in case. It is a question hardly worth asking.  Jan Horlick's "Just Blue" Maine Coon, photographed against our "Charcoal" background at TICA's Evergreen Cat Fanciers cat show, Ferndale, WA, October 2015. Photo: Helmi Flick. However, for quite a long time in the 19th century and perhaps early 20th-century, many people did believe that the Maine Coon was the product of a raccoon mating with a domestic cat. Sarah Hartwell on her website messybeast.com has an example. It comes from 1900 and the author is Helen Winslow. She said: "There is in this country a variety known as the 'coon cat,' which is handsome, especially in the solid black. Its native home is in Maine, and it is thought by many to have originated with the ordinary cat and the raccoon. It grows somewhat larg...

I believe that the question is asking whether Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest cats are related genetically. In other words, do they have the same foundation cats? Do they come from the same place? That I think sums up the question in the title. It is a question that pops up from time to time because they look very similar in terms of size, coat type and overall appearance. Although there are dissimilarities due to selective breeding e.g. the squarer muzzle of the Maine Coon. And this is my first point: the selective breeding (artificial selection versus natural selection) of the various cat breeds has disconnected them from their place of origin . Comparing 3 similar breeds. See a page on this by clicking here . It's as if through selective breeding ground zero in terms of their history begins with the breeders. It does not begin with Maine Coon cats living in the state of Maine as barn cats in 1650. And the Norwegian Forest cat's history does not really begin with the mogg...

The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) states in their breed standard that the paws of a Maine Coon should be 'well-tufted'. I wanted to confirm because this picture of a Maine Coon has the kind of paws that the breed standard demands as they are very well-tufted; the fur sticks out between the toes in a haphazard way. Well-tufted paws of the Maine Coon. Photo: Pinterest. The breed standard demands paws that are well-tufted. LEGS and FEET: legs substantial, wide set, of medium length, and in proportion to the body. Forelegs are straight. Back legs are straight when viewed from behind. Paws large, round, well-tufted. Five toes in front; four in back.

I think that it is useful to compare a CFA grand champion (the latest), a male tabby cat, whose name is GC ABIZAQ MARQUIS OF CONYERS CAT, and another Maine Coon which I consider to be bred to an extreme. The extreme breeding has produced this enormous muzzle. Essentially, with extreme breeding you take the basic anatomical elements or features of the cat and enlarge them to make them more outstanding. And one of the important features of the Maine Coon is the muzzle which should be quite noticeably square. Another feature are the ears. You can see them very big with huge lynx tips. Comparison: CFA Grand Champion Maine Coon 2019-20 and an example of extreme breeding. The photo of the champion is by Larry Johson (believed). The extreme bred cat photo is in the public domain. The CFA grand champion looks quite petite and genteel compared to this huge lion-faced alien creature on the right-hand side in the photograph. But they are both Maine Coons. I'm not sure who bred the extreme ...

The classic response to the question in the title is that ultimately, the Maine Coon cat is from Europe. At that time, in the 1600s, they weren't Maine Coon cats but longhaired European cats. They were brought over on ships with European settlers starting around the 1600s. The ships landed in Maine and down the eastern seaboard including it seems New York state. Silver tabby Maine Coon kittens. Photo: Helmi Flick. Over the intervening 400 years or so these longhaired cats became farm and barn cats and then they became the first show cats in the middle of the 1800s. In order to become show cats, they were then selectively bred. The winning cat of the first formal American cat show at Madison Square Garden , New York, was a Maine Coon tabby cat. Also, during mid-late 1800s breeders selectively bred the cats which was the beginning of the journey to them losing their connection with their origins. So, when you ask where Maine Coon cats come from, I think the best answer now is to s...

DNA testing has shown that the cat breeds can be separated but only over the past 150 years or so. The point about this DNA testing is that it shows that extensive selective breeding by purebred cat breeders has taken the cat breeds away from their origins.  So, for example, the Persian is meant to come from Persia but none of the Persian cats in existence today have any connection to Persia, now Iran. Selective breeding has distanced the current breeds from their origins and this applies, I would argue, to the Maine Coon cat. Maine Coon from South America. Photo: Dani. You would have thought that all the current Maine Coon cats in America had their origins in the state of Maine in America. You would have thought that these cats had been brought over by European settlers in the 1600s to the state of Maine on the East Coast, become farm cats and then refined into show cats at the end of the 1800s. A DNA test should be able to establish that the current Maine Coon cats in America ...

It could be argued that a disadvantage in being the human caregiver of a magnificent Maine Coon cat is that you have to take steps to prevent the coat from matting. Such a dense, shaggy coat is great for outdoor cats in cold climates but in temperate climates it is not so much that the cat can become overheated but that the fur can become matted.   Thick Maine Coon coat can easily become matted if left unattended. Not for this stupendous Maine Coon, however. But proactive steps are easier, safer and more enjoyable for the cat. Photo: Pinterest. Matting is problematic and mats should be removed. If they aren't removed, they will become bigger as we've seen on the Internet with some incredible cases of extreme matting through neglect. Mats take up more and more hair and they start to pinch the skin which can cause irritation and even pain. They can also lead to infection an infestation of the skin. It is said that you rarely see long-haired cats in feral colonies. This, it is...

This is a very sad post on the Reddit.com website. The family said goodbye to their beloved female Maine Coon. They said that they lost their fight with kidney disease and that they were fighting for four years. Her death really hurts. Their commitment to their cat to extend her life indicates a deep love. It prompts me to quickly delve into the question as to whether there is any prevalence for kidney disease in the Maine Coon cat breed. Maine Coon succumbs to kidney disease after four-year battle. Photo by u/dotitu We have to be careful about researching information such as this on the Internet. You can be misled. One website, pethelpful.com says that polycystic kidney disease is prevalent in Maine Coons and yet a study by scientists also published online tells me that cystic renal disease occurs with a low prevalence in Maine Coons and is unrelated to PKD in Persians. Incidentally, there is a 35% chance of a Persian getting PKD which is incredible and terrible . Of course, PKD i...

Colourpoint cats are pointed cats. The classic colourpoint cat is the Siamese. So why aren't there any Maine Coons with the same sort of coat that the Siamese cat has? Well, there are, actually, some in existence but they crept into breeding lines by accident and they probably caused quite a lot of consternation because the purists don't want pointed Maine Coons in the cat fancy. That's my understanding of it.  This is a pointed Perian aka Himalayan. Photo: Pixabay. And the fact of the matter is that the breed standard both for the CFA and TICA does not allow colourpoint Maine coon cats. And the reason for this I think is obvious: the cat fancy has to ensure that each cat breed is clearly distinguishable from the other. If they overlapped too much, they would no longer be distinct, which would muddy or blur the list of cat breeds which they manage in their breed standards. Sarah Hartwell has a different reason but one which overlaps. She says that the reason why colourpo...

This is a screenshot from a video which explains the poor image quality but nonetheless it is a good image because it starkly demonstrates the size difference in a large Maine Coon (not all of them can be described as very large) and a standard black-and-white random-bred cat.  As usual, this sort of image catches my eye because it is worth a lot of words. Might it be fair to say that the major reason why Maine Coons are currently enjoying a surge in popularity is because people want to live with a big domestic cat? People like size. They like small or they like big and the biggest domestic cat breeder the Maine Coon . The smallest domestic cat breed, by the way, is the Singapura. However, the Singapura is not as extremely small as the Maine Coon can be extremely big. I hope you understand what I mean by that. Maine Coon plays with a standard moggy through a glass door. Screenshot. There are some misconceptions about the Maine Coon, however, when it comes to size. You take...

This is a cat photograph which caught my eye because it brings out that question about whether allowing domestic cats to sleep with babies is a good idea. In this example we have what I believe is a silver tabby Maine Coon living with the Reddit.com user u/breaker_h , who took the photograph. I have read quite a lot about cats and babies and recently I wrote an article about whether a Maine Coon jumping onto a pregnant woman is dangerous . Picture of silver tabby Maine Coon and baby's head. Credit as per para above the picture. My personal conclusion is that domestic cats can benefit the health of babies. Parents shouldn't be worried about cat sleeping near to babies provided they are supervised until you feel confident enough about the arrangement. Domestic cats like the smell of babies, that is obvious. They seem to instinctively realise that it is a little human even when they're very small. They don't treat babies as hostile aliens invading their space. I guess ...