How long do Maine Coons live?

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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
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 is through inbreeding that you can fix desirable appearance characteristics. And when you do that i.e. you make your cat look beautiful as per the breed standard, you can bring into the cat's life some inherited recessive genetic diseases. It is a question of how inbred the cats are.

It is called inbreeding depression in the cat fancy (click for another page on signs of cat inbreeding). I think most people realise that inbreeding has a deleterious effect on health. It happens with humans as well. And, the breeders of Maine Coons are somewhat fixated with the idea of their appearance. In fact, all breeders breed for appearance but they try and find a fine balance between that objective and not affecting the health of the cat too much.

Maine Coons do inherit genetic diseases like most purebred cats. You can read about them by clicking on this link.

Perhaps, one factor which works against a shortened lifespan due to inbreeding is the fact that Maine Coons are nearly always very well cared for by their human caregivers. They are precious cats, well-loved and normally in good homes. With a high standard of care, their lifespans are maximised.

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