Your Maine Coon Guide

This is a short note because I don't have much information on this topic but I'm reliably told that, in New Zealand, enquiries for the purchase of Maine Coons increased from 15-20 per week to about 20 per day. This is very much in line with the information that I have about a surge in mainly dog but some cat adoptions in the UK over the period of the pandemic.  Large, loved Maine Coon. Photo: screenshot. In terms of the pandemic, in the UK, life has been back to normal, more or less, for quite a long time now which would have put a stop this dramatic increase in adoptions of cats and dogs. But, in New Zealand they are still in a lockdown which will be dropped if the rate of vaccination is more than 90%. I would expect, therefore, that this high level of enquiries to adopt a Maine Coon, which means purchasing one from a breeder, will continue. People just want company during extensive lockdowns. And they see these strange circumstances as an ideal opportunity to adopt a cat o...

The title is bold and confident. I am not that confident about this! But I think I know why Maine Coons have their strange name. Of all the cat breed names the Maine Coon is perhaps the strangest. The first half of it makes sense because this all-American cat hails, predominantly, from the state of Maine. That's fine but what about the 'Coon' part of the name? That's initially baffling. How Maine Coons got their name. These early 'coon cats' looked like standard large domestic cats. No selectively bred Maine Coon features per the breed standard. Just regular cats. Image in the public domain and I am thankful to Sarah Hartwell's website messybeast.com. They used to call the early Maine Coons 'coon cats' in lower case, no capitalization. The Lowell Sun (a local newspaper, I presume) on November 25, 1893 reported on 'coon cats'. Here is the report, verbatim: "A correspondent of Science tells of seeing in a private house in Chicago recent...

A Reddit.com user (u/missandei86) appears to have recently adopted a young Maine Coon cat. He's a handsome blue Maine Coon cat with golden eyes. His human caregiver also says that he has a great personality and is super affectionate. He is also loud and he begs for food. 6-month-old male Maine Coon scratches everything and sucks the tip of his tail. What can the owner do? Photo: u/missandei86. I get the distinct impression, from the description, that this Maine Coon is feeling insecure. This accounts for the begging for food and constant vocalisations with his owner. And when a cat scratches a lot, they deposit scent on the objects that they scratch which is reassuring to them. And if a cat is sucking the tip of the tail this looks to me like a cat that has been weaned too early .  He is sucking his tail for reassurance. It's a bit like a boy who still sucks his thumb although he is too old to do it. Boys and girls who do this do it because they feel anxious. And I think thi...

Yes, Maine Coons can be black. The cat associations allow them to be in all colors and divisions of the traditional category. Most early Maine Coons were brown tabbies. Patterns and colors have been added over the years to an extensive range. I have a page on the full list! Click here to see it if you wish . In the meantime, here are two black Maine Coons. Black Maine Coon. Photo copyright Helmi Flick. Black Maine Coon. Photo in the public domain.

This is a little, respectful reminder, as it is no longer news, about the very tragic story of Cygnus, the Maine Coon who held the Guinness World Record for the longest tail on a domestic cat. He lived with the then tallest domestic cat Acturus who was a Savannah cat. I think he was an F1 Savannah cat. But they lived in the same home with Lauren and Will Powers in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Cygnus's tail measured 44.6 cm or 17.58 inches. Cygnus. Photo: Guinness World Records. Their home caught fire on Sunday, November 12, 2017. Will and Lauren managed to escape but they both risked their lives, we are told, to find their cats before being forced to vacate the property. They left the doors and windows open hoping that their cats and two others, Yuki and Sirius, would find a way out. Will and Lauren. Screenshot from YouTube video. The fire occurred about one month after this video was published on YouTube. When the fire was put out, they searched for their beloved cats Cygnus and Ac...

One of those Yoda Maine Coons have surfaced again on Twitter. They are amazing. Wise beyond their years.  Yoda Maine Coon. Montage by MikeB from images in the public domain. There is nothing more to say except that Yoda Maine Coon is a human creation as is Yoda. The cat was created through artificial selection as opposed to natural selection (Darwin's theory). And Yoda was created by Stuart Freeborn for Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic.

It sort of brings it hope to you, the difference in size of the Maine Coon and regular domestic cats, when they are looking out of the window together. Neat photo. Picture of a Maine Coon looking out of the window. Photo: Pinterest Size is not all, however. Did you know that the Maine Coon is predisposed to suffering from hip dysplasia and that hip dysplasia in Maine Coons could be much reduced if they were selectively bred smaller ? The larger the body mass of the cat the more likely it is that they will have the disease. That's something they don't tell you when afficionados drool over humungous Maine Coons bred in Russia. Apparently 37% of Maine Coons will end up suffering from hip dysplasia according to a study. Click on the link above to see facts about this disease and Maine Coon cats.

I wanted to find out the prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in Maine Coons. I found a study which assessed 42 Maine Coons in Sweden who had no symptoms of heart disease (asymptomatic). I am not sure how representative these cats are to the general population in other countries but the information is probably useful to get a feel for the percentage of cats with the disease.  Grudge the Maine Coon cat actor in Star Trek Discovery. Photo: Twitter. Maine Coons are known to be predisposed to HCM as are Bengal cats, incidentally . I think these diseases are a hazard of selective breeding. They are perpetuated by breeders although I am sure they do their best to remove them from their breeding lines. ASSOCIATED PAGE:  Cat breeds prone to HCM The study is called: Prevalence of myocardial hypertrophy in a population of asymptomatic Swedish Maine coon cats . It is dated June 2008. The finding was that "Depending on the reference values used, the prevalence of HCM in this...

Patellar luxation can sometimes be found in Maine Coons and non-purebred cats but Maine Coons are at a higher risk for the condition (source: Harlingen Veterinary Clinic ). This increased risk is inherited genetically (source: Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats ). Pre and post op for patellar luxation in a cat or dog. X-ray: Animal Medical Center of Southern California. Okay, your Maine Coon is more likely than normal to have this disabling condition. The same is said about hip dysplasia which affects 37% of Maine Coons (a higher level of prevalence than for patellar luxation I believe). ASSOCIATED: Maine Coon Health Problems . Patellar luxation describes the knee cap of those cats affected sliding to the inside of the leg rather than remaining in a groove as it should. It causes mild to acute lameness. Maine Coons who have the condition try to pop the knee back in place by extending their limb. What can be done about it? I am sure that many caregivers consi...

Picture of a Maine Coon who looks like a middle-aged man. Picture: Reddit via Pinterest and therefore in my opinion it is now in the public domain. Great looking cat but does he suffer from hip dysplasia? We hear about that downside. I thought I would dig a bit deeper into feline hip dysplasia (FHD) in Maine Coons. It should interest people who adopt Maine Coons and those who love them (a lot of people do!). Hip dysplasia is a recognised inherited disease in this breed. A study " Demography, heritability and genetic correlation of feline hip dysplasia and response to selection in a health screening programme " found that 37.4% of Maine coon cats suffered from FHD. The study looked at 20 years of information from 5,038 registered Maine Coon cats. The disease can occur with patellar luxation  but the association is weak according to one study: Evaluation of the association between medial patellar luxation and hip dysplasia in cats . The higher the body mass of the cat the w...

This fella, an enormous tabby Maine Coon, is snoozing on a hard metallic shelf. It looks uncomfortable but it isn't to him. I think the video is nice as it gives us a really nice feeling what it is like to live with one of these massive Maine Coons. The video was made on his birthday. He is 2 years old (not fully grown) and weights 26 pounds which is about 2.5 times the average weight of a domestic cat (about 10 pounds) .  Note : This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it. You have to think of a different kind of food budget. Everything is bigger. Most litter trays are going to be too small and you have to get the litter tray size correct to make sure they like it . Big Maine Coon snoozing in an unlikely place (video). Screenshot. I'd hope that he's been leash trained. Although I doubt it but it is the only way you can let this sort of im...

How long do Maine Coons live? Google's artificial intelligence computer tells me that some people ask this question. There is not a lot one can say in response. Domestic cats in general live to the high teens in my opinion. Modern day medicine and general domestic cat care has extended the lifespan of domestic cats. I would argue that the average domestic cat lives to 15-20 years with around 16-17 years being the average. The point is this though: purebred cats, and Maine Coons are purebred cats, tend to have shorter life spans . On that basis, Maine Coons probably, on average, live to around 15 years. But you won't find statistics on this; hard data. Maine Coon kitten. Image in public domain. This is anecdotal and it is my opinion in any case. But the bottom line is that Maine Coons, being domestic cats, will live as long as any other domestic cat but perhaps slightly shorter. Why is this? It's because purebred cats are inbred. They are inbred automatically because it i...

The Snow Queen (Danish: Snedronningen ) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Gowns have been made from the story. This cat looks like a beautiful woman in a snow queen gown. She's the prettiest cat I've seen for a long time. Snow Queen Maine Coon. Photo: Twitter. Here is a pretty lady in a snow queen gown: Pretty woman in a snow queen gown. Photo: Joyce Young. I think the cat is more impressive than the woman :) Imagine living with a Maine Coon this beautiful. It would be impossible. Well, not really but I'd be constantly in awe of her. And she'd have to be captive; a full-time indoor cat. Imagine her wandering around outside whenever she wanted to. That would be impossible. Remember that white cats can be deaf. Around 50% are affected, as I recall are.  A researcher, George Strain concluded: "that out of 256 white cats from three studies, 12.1% were deaf in one ear (unilaterally deaf) and 37.9% were deaf in both ears (bilaterally dea...

Maine Coon. Photo: Shutterstock. This seems to be a torbie-and-white (patched tabbie). The answer depends on the cat association to which the cat is affiliated. For example, The International Cat Association (TICA) allows all colours: "COLOR: All" under the COAT/COLOR/PATTERN heading. All categories and divisions are permissible. By contrast the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) (their rival in the US) lists, item by item, the permissible colours. It is a very long list which I have presented poorly but completely! Brown tabby, brown patched tabby, silver tabby, silver patched tabby, red tabby, blue-silver tabby, blue-silver patched tabby, blue patched tabby, cream tabby, cream silver tabby, cameo tabby, brown tabby and white, brown patched tabby and white, silver patched tabby and white, red tabby and white, tabby and white, patched tabby and white, black and white, blue and white, red and white, cream and white, tortoiseshell, blue-cream, calico, dilute calico, tort...

No, not a CFA show because the CFA breed standard states: DISQUALIFY : delicate bone structure. Undershot chin, i.e. the front teeth (incisors) of the lower jaw overlapping or projecting beyond the front teeth of the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. Crossed eyes. Kinked tail. Incorrect number of toes . White buttons, white lockets, or white spots. Cats showing evidence of hybridization resulting in the colors chocolate, lavender, or the Himalayan pattern. But the answer depends where you live and whether you have a cat association registering cat breeds. I have taken the USA because it is the biggest marketplace for purebred cats. The answer depends on the cat associations management and what they allow. Update December 1st, 2022: I have discovered a study in which Jane Marr which states: " It is hope that by understand this trait the reader will see that the usual trait for polydactyly in cats is harmless and needs to have its rightful place on the show bench.... In summary...

You decide what this tweet means from this Maine Coon's caregiver, Jessica Price, because I don't have a clue. Please explain Jessica. I am interested. The sadness of the freshly scratched-up Maine Coon bather, who has scratches in places we don’t want to talk about from being in a shower stall with a panicking baby lynx. But what is clear is when a Maine Coon is wet, they lose all their glossy glamour. And the Maine Coon can be quite skinny below their medium-longhaired, natural-looking coat for which they are rightly famous. The huge Maine Coon that we see is no longer evident. Perhaps the worst part is the tail. The magnificent plumed tail looks like a frayed, wet dishcloth. Nice pic. She is female and relatively small compared to some Maine Coons I have seen. That's a good thing as the public is starting to believe that all Maine Coons are gargantuan. They're not . The breed standard doesn't even state that they have got to be large. CLICK FOR A MAINE COON QUIZ ...

The title says it. It comes from a tweet: He lives in Montreal and will only eat croissants made from imported French butter. Well, living in Montreal he has adopted a French person's taste. I guess his human caregiver eats imported French butter and he likes it! Butter contains fat and cats like fat. Simple. You can see the half-eaten croissant on the table behind him. The alternative story is that it is breakfast time and the croissant was eaten by a human and the same human photographed her cat and claimed he had eaten it as it makes a neat tweet :) . I'd go for that version although we all know that cats like butter and milk. The latter is not good for them as many domestic cats are lactose intolerant. They don't have the gut enzyme, lactase, to digest lactose. I have the same problem. In fact, I have stopped drinking all cow's milk even lactose-free milk. I use oak milk for cereal and even that causes bloat.

Woman mimics Maine Coon habit of playing with water. Screenshot. Maine Coons have a reputation for playing around with the water in their water bowl. Why do they do this? They must enjoy it. So why do they enjoy it? Entertainment is probably the answer. They do it to entertain themselves. Perhaps they can become a bit bored. There is also the connection with hunting prey in and around water. Small wild cats do this. We can expect some domestic cats to instinctively behave as if they are a wild cat hunting prey near streams. Domestic cats are barely domesticated. Or perhaps they are copying wild cats drinking from a stream by scooping water up in their paw. There seems to be a bit of wild cat personality in this form of behaviour. @ancikaanci7 🤣🤣🤣🤣 karma 🤣🤣🤣🤣 ##funny ##wtf ##omg ##cat ##mainecoon ##tiktokcats ##tiktok ##keruljonki ##nezdvegig ##macska ##vicces ##cica ♬ original sound - Intelligent living Note : This is a video from another website. Sometimes...

The young girl is holding this huge Maine Coon badly but that's beside the point because what is interesting is the size difference: none! Although I see a lot of youngsters holding cats like this. I don't know why their parents let them do it. It looks wrong and uncomfortable for the cat but they tolerate it well. All the large MCs I have seen are very placid. The cat appears to be a super silver tabby-and-white with the usual massive plumed tail. This child could not pick up this cat probably because of size and weight. How to pick up and carry a cat . Maine Coon competes with five-year-old girl for size. Photo: Pinterest. The introduction ('General') to the CFA breed standard for this cat breed makes no mention of size except to state that the 'quality should never be sacrificed for size'. So quality is more important than size. But size has become a symbol of quality among some breeders it seems. The two do overlap. A lot of admirers of the breed consider...