Maine Coons were the first cats ever to be exhibited at competitive cat shows

-

Maine coon cat shows predated the first formal cat show of 1871 in London. Desmond Morris in his book Cat World states that "Maine Coon shows had been taking place regularly before either of these". He is referring to both the first formal cat show of 1871 in London and the first North American formal cat show usually given as May 8th 1895 in New York. 

"Maine Cat" - winner of America's first cat show in 1895. Picture in public domain.
"Maine Cat" - winner of America's first cat show in 1895. Picture in public domain. The early Maine Coon show cats look like today's moggies.

Therefore, Maine Coons were the first cats ever to be exhibited at competitive cat shows unless the same thing was happening in England with British Shorthairs and there are no reports of that. The Maine Coon cat shows took place regularly from the early 1860s. Farmers in New England held an annual cat show at the Skowhegan Fair. He states that Maine Coon cats were brought from all over the region to compete for the title of "Main State Champion Coon Cat". As I recall, they were called "Maine cats" at that time.

When the bigger cat shows started Maine Coons had an advantage because they had already been shown at cat shows for the past 30 years. They were extremely popular and highly successful in the early days of cat shows. In fact, the winner of the first American cat show in New York was a Maine Coon. As the shows became more popular the exotic Siamese and Persians began to appear and they took over the cat show scene in the words of Desmond Morris.

Sadly, at that time, Maine Coons became less popular and gradually vanished. The problem was familiarity with the breed. It is hard to imagine that Maine Coons, so popular today, were for a while unpopular in the early 20th century. The recently arrived overseas breeds attracted attention and they were regarded as rare novelties and more appealing. 

Perhaps, a factor to the waning popularity of the Maine Coon at that time was because this breed was a farm cat, a working cat, and they looked very different to today's Maine Coons. They were more normal and less exotic both in terms of overall appearance and size.

Location: Skowhegan, ME 04976, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Please share your Maine Coon experiences.

Popular posts from this blog

The extreme Maine Coon face

-
Image
This is an example of extreme breeding. This is a Maine Coon but this cat is an extreme and rare example of this breed. This is not the way they look normally. This face is almost like an aggressive robot with the piercing eyes and the huge muzzle.  Or like a lion's head. The head looks enormous and very heavy. It looks unreal. But it also looks very impressive.  And purchasers like impressive-looking domestic cats. But this not the face of a Maine Coon that wins cat show competitions as it does not fit the breed standard as accurately as the more moderate winners (see below).  In fact, the CFA standard is clear in that the cat should have a balanced appearance although this cat was not bred under the CFA breed standard as I understand it (see below).  Click here for more on the kind of MC which wins at shows . Maine Coon selectively breed to have an extreme face. Image in the public domain. And the Maine Coon is meant to be a large cat, the largest domestic cat breed and there
Read more

Eerie picture of a Maine Coon sitting like a human on a chest of drawers

-
Image
This is a slightly scary picture according to those who've seen it. One social media user said it was the devil and "If I walked into a room and saw that, I would assume some shit is about to go down". There is a ghostly stillness and sinister feeling about the image. 'Eerie' is a better description. This attractive cat appears to be completely at ease and comfortable sitting on top of a chest of bedroom drawers. The lighting from below (deliberate?) enhances the eerie effect. It seems possible that this is a photo-edited image but if so, it has been done with great skill. However, I don't think this is Photoshopped. Rethink: to be honest, the more I look at the picture, the more I feel that this is a photo-edited image. It is just too unnatural to be real. Although some domestic cats get themselves into some very strange positions. Maine Coon calmly sitting just like a human on a chest of drawers. Picture source unclear. Image deemed to be in the public d
Read more

Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes

-
Image
Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes. Photo: Instagram. OMG, this is a Maine Coon with an amazing face. His full name is "Richie du Mont d’Even". I think he has a black smoke coat which has created this black face with the assistance of other genes (polygenetic influence?) and ears with piercing, diamond eyes. This is a very special cat. Richie looked very interesting but relatively plain as a kitten. Image: Instagram. His paws are balls of fluff. He has a mane that goes over his head like a halo. He's angelic and other-worldly. The lynx tips on the end of his ears are smoky grey which makes them stand out. They are a bit like the opposite to the black lynx tips of the wild caracal.  He lives in France with his human: Adriana Piraino. He was born on 7th November 2020. He is still very young. They say Maine Coons reach adulthood at around the age of 4. He is going to be enormous as well. Richie with Adriana. Photo: Instagram Richie was bred b
Read more

5 Maine Coon transformations from kitten to adult (video)

-
Image
Maine Coon kitten and his adult self. Photo: Robert Silka. This is a series of photographs by the very famous Maine Coon photographer: robert_sijka. I think he presents his photographs too dark as there is not enough information in the photographs for my liking but he takes great photographs of great Maine Coon cats. In this series he photographs a kitten and their adult version. Each individual cat is a wonderful example of the Maine Coon breed. I can count five examples. In my experience, these Google Blogger videos only work if you click the centre play button and then, immediately afterwards, the play button bottom-left! It sounds bad but the short video is worth watching.
Read more

No part of a Maine Coon cat should be exaggerated

-
Image
It is interesting to read that the premier cat association, the CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) - the cat association which really dictates (with TICA) how Maine Coons should look - makes it clear that no part of the cat should be exaggerated, and the cat should be "well-proportioned and balanced".  In other words, any form of extreme appearance such as a particularly heavy muzzle or particularly large ears with extra-long lynx tips are not going to be seen as advantageous in terms of winning cat shows or in terms of having an ideal appearance. As soon as I read that no part of a Maine Coon should be exaggerated, I immediately thought of the extremely large, extreme-bred Maine Coon cats that often come from Russia. These cats have very heavy muzzles.  Lion-faced Maine Coon with exaggerated features. Image in public domain now. In fact, their heads look like the heads of lions. I get the impression that breeders have selectively bred their cats over years to look like male
Read more

Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6 weeks and 6-years-of-age

-
Image
This is a cross-post as the image is so damned good. It is amazing because the cat is amazing. To put the same cat at different stages of their life in the same photograph is a nice idea especially with this Maine Coon (MC) who has an amazingly heavy face. It is so mightily masculine to be almost unbelievable. He has a priceless expression on his face too. Very serious compared to the innocence of his face when he was 6 weeks old. He looks a bit coy when 6 weeks old and a slightly grumpy middle-aged man when 6 years old. Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6-weeks and 6-years-of-age. Image in pubic domain. No doubt he is huge too. You get a clear sense of that in the image. There is a serious and less impressive side to this image. It's the backstory that people don't really want to read about and discuss or in fact do anything about: heart ( HCM ) and joint disease. The bigger and heavier the MCs are the more predisposed to heart disease they are. Here is the posts on
Read more

Maine Coon the size of a girl (and how not to pick up a cat)

-
Image
The picture highlights the size of the big Maine Coons. In some ways it is a bit deceiving because I'm sure that this Maine Coon weighs a lot less than the girl. This is partly because the cat is covered with shaggy, long hair. Visualise what the cat would look like naked and he'd be quite a bit smaller 😉. There is also a perspective issue as the cat is nearer to the camera than the girl and the photo was taken with a wide-angle lens which magnifies the perspective effect. It is not meant to be a direct, precise, size comparison. It's just a nice picture which brings home to us the extraordinary size of these very large Maine Coons which have become so popular. Maine Coon the size of a girl. This is a silver tabby by the look of it. Photo: Pinterest. On a minor point, it has to be added that the girl is holding this cat in an entirely incorrect way. I've seen this before with Maine Coons and kids. Maine Coons appear to be very accepting of being mishandled like this
Read more

Should a Maine Coon cat be neutered later than regular cats because of their slow development?

-
Image
The general consensus is that Maine Coon cats take up to 4 years to become adults. And also, the general consensus by veterinarians is that neutering of male cats is best done when they are 6 or 7 months old. Puberty in regular male cats occurs between 4-7 months of age. Note: this is about male cats because the word 'neutering' applies to that gender. Females are spayed. Although, as you might know, the word "neutering" can also apply to general sterilisation. 6 months old male Maine Coon. Image: u/CZinvester on Reddit.com At puberty the male cat develops secondary sexual characteristics such as barbs on their penis and jowls (a chunky looking face). It is suggested that puberty in Maine Coon cats occurs a bit later than for regular cats because of their slow development and it might occur between 7-9 months of age. There is a certain degree of flexibility. You won't find a precise time. So, let's presume that if a Maine Coon cat is neutered at six months of
Read more

2 top Russian Maine Coon cat breeders which ship internationally

-
Image
I am writing this from the West; specifically, near London, UK. There will be quite a few people living in the West who'd like to adopt a Maine Coon cat and they would like to adopt one from a Russian breeder because they do have a certain style.  I sense, although I don't have hard evidence to support this feeling, that the top Russian breeders of Maine Coon cats might be superior to breeders from other countries.  I am putting aside Putin's invasion of Ukraine when writing this article. Some people might object to dealing in anyway with a Russian business on account of that barbaric and illegal invasion. We should remember that Russia has quite a strong cat fancy. They like their cats and they love their purebred cats particularly the Maine Coon. It is in fact a cat breed which is quite naturally suited to the Russian way of life and climate. There's lots of space in Russia with a relatively low population and therefore there are going to be houses with large grounds
Read more

Difference between Maine Coon and Turkish Angora

-
Image
The montage on this page comparing, visually, the Maine Coon and the Turkish Angora tells us that there is not a huge difference in appearance. Although, it must be said, that the appearance of the Maine Coon and the Turkish Angora can vary considerably dependent upon the breeder and where the breeder lives. This makes it more complicated to answer the question in the title. Maine Coon compared to the Turkish Angora. Image: MikeB from images in public domain. This variation in appearance comes about because the guidelines i.e. the breed standards, allow the breeders some discretion as to how they follow the guidelines. And sometimes they breed the cats to extreme.  So for the Maine Coon you will see quite normal looking cats which are not that dissimilar from regular moggies (as you see in the photo above) to extreme-bred Russian Maine Coons with huge muzzles and magnificent ears. There is even one breeder from Russia living in China who breeds Maine Coons to look like people and th
Read more