Your Maine Coon Guide

The 'experts' advise that Maine Coons develop slowly. You will see this all over the Internet. They say that a Maine Coon becomes fully developed at about four years of age. To that you have to add the fact that individual cats develop at different rates so there is some fluidity in that four-year guideline. Young Maine Coon yet to grow his ruff. Photo: Pinterest and in the public domain. However, it is pretty clear that young Maine Coons, perhaps below two years of age, normally or often have not fully developed their coat. One Maine Coon cat owner, Lisa Smith (on Quora.com), says that her two sibling male Maine Coons started to develop their ruffs after the age of two. One of the brothers had no ruff at all at two years old. She also says that they were getting stockier and heavier boned at two years old. Further, they started to grow what cat breeders call britches a.k.a. pantaloons on their hind legs . So it looks like it isn't just the ruff which can take time to de...

Here is another Maine Coon tortie snap, crackle and pop portrait of a mother and child 👌. Robert Sijka photograph of tortoiseshell Maine Coon and kitten. I say 'snap, crackle and pop' because the tortoiseshell pattern and colours produce this highly textured feel to the photo. It is almost as if you can touch the fur. I took the liberty to enhance the image a bit for the internet. I did this because when good quality digital photos are uploaded to a website, some of the quality goes missing normally. You lose some detail and sharpness. This is because built in software can lower the definition to reduce the file size to ensure that the image loads faster. I also feel that you have to make sure that you keep the images bright so they can be 'read' more clearly. Visitors want to see the subject matter. I have many pages of tortoiseshell cats. Below are a couple if you are interested: Male Tortoiseshell Cat Acts like a Masculinized Female Rather Than a true Male Rare m...

Milo, a Maine Coon, and 2 Malamutes have adjusted in their own ways to a different way of life because a new baby has been introduced into their home and the family. The humans call the family their 'pack'. They are referring to a pack of dogs or wolves and I guess that when you introduce a baby into the home there is a potential to disturb the pack which is why the leaders (alpha dogs) i.e. the humans, are happy that it has worked out well. "Milo, the cat, he was petrified." Milo, the Maine Coon, was the last to get on board. He was initially fearful of the new baby whereas Nikko was very keen to get involved. He was inquisitive and keen to sniff and look at the new baby. The other Malamute (I've forgotten their name) was also pretty keen. Firstly, having read some horrendous stories of dogs attacking babies, I'm always a little bit edgy when I see large dogs around small babies but these parents are very organised and I am sure that they know what they ar...

They are the largest! People like big. Big is best. They are the most glamorous. Big is glamorous. They are the most standout pure domestic cat after the F1 Savannah cats but Savannahs are wildcat hybrids. They are not registered purebred cats. Maine Coons can have fantastic faces that sometimes look like humans. Their fur is shaggy and natural. They come in  a huge range of colours and patterns. They have loyal and charming characters when well-bred and properly socialised. Their ears are large and prominent with ear tufts sticking out the top making them look even bigger (lynx-tipped ears). They have the mot impressive tails of all the breeds: glamorously plumed. They are America's purebred cat and as such represent America, a big and bold cat for a big and bold country. They have sweet, small voices the sounds of which are juxtaposed against the big bold body conformation. They are part of the history of America and particularly the east coast as the foundation cats come from th...

The CFA breed standard for the Maine Coon states: COAT: heavy and shaggy; shorter on the shoulders and longer on the stomach and britches. Frontal ruff desirable. Texture silky with coat falling smoothly. Anyone who is involved with purebred cats knows the requirement for shaggy fur when breeding Maine Coons.  This picture illustrates the concept of 'shaggy coat! 👌 I am kidding a bit because perhaps the breeder overdid it! This fur is a handful for the cat to keep in order. Too much. The human will be called upon to assist. Maine Coon gets 10/10 for the shaggy coat requirement of the breed standard. Photo: Reddit. I wonder if this cat would lose marks for an 'unruly coat' rather than a shaggy one. The breed standard does no specify an unruly coat. He also has those old-fashioned facial human whiskers sticking our of the side of his face. His expression is priceless. Astonishment at the photographer. He is perplexed but cooperative (just).

Are there Maine Coon cats in Australia ? Yes, there are many Maine Coon cats in Australia because: There are about 25 registered Maine Coon breeders in Australia ( see complete list below ) and; Maine Coon breeders in North America, Europe and Russia export internationally using airfreight.  There is no barrier in shipping purebred cats over vast distances using air travel. Breeders tend to use a shipping business for a professional service . The cats can be in the passenger section and there might be a supervisor in attendance to keep an eye on cat health. It depends what you are paying the breeder who organises the shipping. 'Feniks Maine Coons' - recently bred kittens for sale I expect. However, Australian citizens who want to adopt a Maine Coon from an Australian cattery will have no difficulties in finding a breeder. You will find a wide variety in appearance and quality, I'd expect. The Maine Coons that we see featured online in some videos for example are usual...

They (the experts) say that the Maine Coon is a big cat with a tiny voice. They're the biggest domestic cat . So is it true that they have tiny voices? 'Sean Coonery' has a pretty standard voice but if anything quieter and less demanding than normal. He is undemonstrative in character and voice. Screenshot. I visited YouTube and viewed as many Maine Coon talking videos that I could find. I have 2 observations about the Maine Coon (MC) voice. Firstly, they are not hugely talkative. No more so than any other domestic cat and perhaps quieter than normal; Secondly, and importantly, their voice is low key and sweet. It is not loud and demanding like the sounds made by the Siamese. It is a shy voice. I would not call it a tiny voice but a sweet, respectful and undemanding voice. A very pleasant sound. I agree that there is this slightly strange juxtaposition of the smallish voice coming from a huge domestic cat.  Note : This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are ...

Here is a clowder of Coons. The phrase has a certain ring to it which is why I chose the title. There is no doubt in my mind, although I've not been told, that these are siblings. It looks certain. They all have the classic Maine Coon face, which includes a strong muzzle and those large, lynx-tipped ears. They are ginger tabbies. Ginger tabby cats are nearly always males because the O gene which gives them their coat is sex-linked. RELATED:  Orange, red, yellow, ginger or marmalade cats Clowder of Coons. Photo: Pinterest. These are siblings I am sure. The origin of the word "clowder" should be mentioned in this short note. I'm told that it comes from the early 19th century. The origin is in the word "clutter" and it is probably related to the word "clot". It seems that clutter came out of  'cludder'. The Free Dictionary states: Clowder, Cludder, Clutter - kendle or kindle of cats, 1801; a group of cats. Sometimes words evolve because they ...

The ear tufts are very similar to those of the caracal ; very long and floppy. Ear tufts (lynx-tipped ears) are a vital part of the Maine Coon image. It is one of the breed's distinguishing features. Breeders work on them to make sure they are pronounced. These ear tufts bend under their own weight. It is neat and the ultimate sign of great lynx-tipped ears 😎. This is a tortoiseshell Maine Coon and therefore with 99% certainty we can say that the gender is female. All tortoiseshells are feminine. Male torties act like masculized females . RELATED: Tortoiseshell cats . Big Floppa Tortie Maine Coon. Photo: Pinterest and therefore deemed in the public domain. RELATED: Black tortoiseshell The coat is nicely shaggy. There is not much of a ruff. The muzzle is nice and square and strong. That works well. The eyes match the coat; nice touch. Even the ear flap on the left matches the coat as the light from behind the cat passes through the thin construction to highlight the blood vessels n...

For me, it is interesting to understand the process of shipping Maine Coon kittens worth about $1000 worldwide. It's quite common for breeders in the USA to ship worldwide but I guess most often they ship within the USA. But even then the flight is going to be 4-6 hours sometimes. Petra a Maine Coon kitten available for purchase from Calypso Coons. Photo: Calypso Coons. Calypso Coons My search brought up Calypso Coons. That is because they have an advert on Google which ranks top because they pay for that right. This tells me that they are investing in their business. They have some very beautiful Maine Coon kittens available at the time I am writing this. They are priced at US$950 each. They look very much in line with the breed standard. In other words they are recognisably Maine Coon cats because of their strong muzzles and large ears and general body conformation, shaggy fur and ruffs.  They have many satisfied customers 👌 I don't get paid for this 😇 . I am tempted, mysel...

This is another cracker of a Maine Coon kitten from Russia. There is the hint of a human face which adds a bit of glamour and glitter to this cat. Ginger tabbies always look good and if you believe it, they always have nice characters too (subject to being raised properly underfoot). The breeder is Viktoria Vyacheslavovna Terskaya who I believe is Russian or who lives in one of the former Russian satellite states. This is a typical European Maine Coon well bred in terms of appearance . I have no knowledge whatsoever of the cat's health. That's an important topic which is often overlooked. But Maine Coons have serious inherited health conditions to which adopters need to pay attention when buying. ASSOCIATED PAGE: 15 facts about hip dysplasia in Maine Coon cats Male ginger tabby Maine Coon kitten dazzles. Photo: Viktoria Vyacheslavovna Terskaya. I can see that the photographer has used ring flash for the photo. You see the reflection in the eyes. This lighting is soft and shadow...

It is a slightly flamboyant title but when I saw this cat I immediately thought of the warrior war paint of the native American. It is as if someone painted this prominent white line down the middle of this handsome Maine Coon's face. And their lynx-tipped ears are tipped in dusky white. The ruff is in white too so it looks like a genuine human ruff from the mid-16th century to the mid-17th century. All-in-all a cracking cat. This looks like a black smoke coat with the white spotting gene creating the 'blaze' down the face. I think this is a polygenetic coat. But I don't know a lot about cat genetics. ASSOCIATED PAGE:  Difference between European and American Maine Coons Maine Coon with warrior war paint. Picture in the public domain.

 Maine Coon hip dysplasia is more severe when it affects both hips. I have no knowledge about the health of this stupendous cat. The picture is here to illustrate the page only. Photo: in public domain. This has to be short because I am reading off the summary to a study called Demographics of Hip Dysplasia in the Maine Coon cat . The Researchers had access to the complete hip dysplasia registry collected by the Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals through April 2015. The registry contained information on 2,732 cats of which 99.1% were Maine coon cats i.e. 2,708. They found that hip dysplasia is more severe in bilateral than in unilateral cases. This means when both hips are affected the severity of the disease is worse. They also found that the disease becomes more severe with increasing age. Finally, the overall incidence as per this registry was 24.9% of Maine Coon cats. To put that another way, 24.9% of Maine Coons had hip dysplasia in this registry. The number was slightly hi...

Royal Canin Maine Coon adult cat food has been formulated to deal with the known inherited health problems of Maine Coons namely a predisposition towards HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and a predisposition towards joint disease namely hip dysplasia and patellar luxation.  This cat food ostensibly contains ingredients to encourage a strong heart function. These ingredients are taurine, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It seems that these ingredients which are types of omega-3 fats encourage a healthy heart and good blood circulation.  They are found mainly in fish and fish oil. But please see a veterinarian about this. Apparently a study found that EPA is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. That applies to people but the same will apply to cats including Maine Coon cats but this is the field of qualified veterinarians. This food also contains glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate, two ingredients which support strong bones and...

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...

Compared with Maine Coon cats without HCM, Maine Coon cats with echocardiographic evidence of HCM were found to be older, more likely to be neutered, heavier and more obese and had longer humeri. These are the findings of a study which I found interesting. I'm going to try and pick out the interesting bits and write about them in layperson's terms. If you're interested you can read the study yourself by clicking on this link . MC of 2 halves. She has a facial blaze (sharp demarcation). Photo: Pinterest. What the scientist did was do compare Maine Coons with HCM and those without HCM. We know that this is an inherited condition in Maine coon cats. But it seems to me that they were looking at other factors which they describe as "environmental modifiers of genetic predisposition to HCM". In other words Maine coon cats inherit HCM but are there any other environmental factors with influences how HCM progresses in Maine coon cats? This is my interpretation. For the...

CFA breed standard for ears: EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed. Set: approximately one ear’s width apart at the base; not flared. Well, yes, it is the hallmark of the Maine Coon that their ears should be large and well-tufted. That and the muzzle distinguishes them from the common cat! 😏 No cat is a common cat but you'll take my point. The ears and muzzle are what makes them what they are plus their size and shaggy coat. And this smoky beauty has those ears. Breeders focus on them. They mould the appearance genetically. I must say I am not a great fan of selective breeding (artificial selection as opposed to natural selection). It is humans playing God. I prefer leaving nature alone as nature knows best.  Humans can go wrong if they think they are better and bigger than nature. Look at climate change. Nature is telling humankind to get a grip and to stop destroying the planet. Global warming is like a Maine Coon slapping down a person who...

Maine Coon brothers are affectionate towards each other. Screenshot. The breeder, ETOMA Maine Coon Cattery calls them love brothers. They are a sibling red tabbies. Very handome and very affectionate towards each other. One grooms the other with committment among the forest of whiskers and 'ear furnishings' dangling in front of him. I wonder if they will stay friendly as they advance to adulthood. As they become independent they become independent-minded. I am unsure. I have heard both sides of the coin: some say siblings lose their friendliness towards each other while others say if you are going to adopt a couple of cats adopt siblings to ensure that they get along. Either way it is a nice little video from this cattery.  ASSOCIATED PAGE: Do cat siblings get along ? View this post on Instagram A post shared by E T O M A 🖤 Mainecoon (@mainecoon.pt) Note : This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them workin...

We know that the Maine Coon (MC) suffers from a high incidence of orthopaedic diseases of the hind limb (hip dysplasia, patellar luxation). Thirty-seven percent of MCs suffer from feline hip dysplasia (FHD) . The question posed by a group of scientists was whether this had something to do with the size of the breed and/or their gait (the way they walked). MCs have a longer stride length and paw contact area than standard domestic cats. Plus they are nearly always heavier. Heavy-set MC. Photo in public domain. They compared ground reaction force measurements in a population of domestic shorthair and Maine Coon cats. All the MCs evaluated were not lame. They evaluated parameters such as peak vertical force (PFz), vertical impulse (IFz), time to PFz (TPFz), step length (SL), paw contact area (PCA), stance phase duration (SPD) and symmetry index (SI) for the fore- and hind limbs. Complicated and precise stuff. Although the vertical force and vertical impulse were higher in MCs than for ...

I'm going to comment on this. These are my views only. I respect the views of others. The story comes from the AVMA Journals website under the heading "Animal Behaviour Case of the Month". It is a story about inappropriate feline behaviour and how they dealt with it. They treated this Maine Coon cat as a patient with a mental health problem (my words) it seems to me from the way that they proceeded. I disagreed immediately with that method of proceeding. What happened is that the owners of a Maine Coon found the animal as a stray. The cat was neutered and about 4.5 years old. The cat was doing quite well and was fairly passive to the point where the woman of the house took the cat on the leash into the backyard. This proves that the cat was pliable and well behaved. While outside the cat saw an intruding cat. The woman picked up her Maine Coon to take him into the house. The cat redirected his aggression at the intruding cat onto the woman and bit her hand. The bite br...