What colours do Maine Coon cats come in?

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, tortoiseshell and white, blue-cream and white, chinchilla silver, chinchilla blue silver, shaded blue silver, shell cameo, shaded cameo, shell cream, shaded cream, shell tortoiseshell, shaded tortoiseshell, shell blue-cream, shaded blue-cream, black smoke, blue smoke, cameo smoke, cream smoke, tortie smoke, blue-cream smoke, chinchilla silver and white, shaded silver and white, chinchilla blue silver and white, shaded blue silver and white, shell cameo and white, shaded cameo and white, shell cream and white, shaded cream and white, shell tortoiseshell and white, shaded tortoiseshell and white, shell calico, shaded calico, shell blue-cream and white, shaded blue-cream and white, shell dilute calico, shaded dilute calico, black smoke and white, blue smoke and white, cameo smoke and white, cream smoke and white, tortoiseshell smoke and white, blue-cream smoke and white, calico smoke, dilute calico smoke, OMCCC - other Maine Coon cat colours.

P.S. Gloria Stephens in her book Legacy of the Cat states that this cat breed is recognised in "all colours and divisions of the traditional category. Most early Maine Coons were brown tabbies. Over time, other patterns and colours have been added, including smoke and the dominant white."

In the UK, the premier cat association in that country, the GCCF - Governing Council of the Cat Fancy - states under coat colour and pattern the following: The Maine Coon is recognised in a variety of solid colours (including white in all eye colours); tortoiseshell, tabby colours (classic and mackerel patterns) with or without silver; shaded and smoke colours; bi-colour and parti-colour (e.g. solid/tabby/tortoiseshell/shaded/smoke colour and white).