Your Maine Coon Guide

A study dated April 14, 2014 (quite a long time ago) which took place in Germany, concluded that "Maine Coons have a high susceptibility for gastrointestinal intussusception." Gastrointestinal intussusception in Maine Coons. Image: study. The study: Gastrointestinal intussusception in the Maine Coon: A review of 19 case. By J. VERSCHOOF, C. THIEL, M. HENRICH and M. KRAMER. They couldn't find any "predisposing factors" which might be behind this susceptibility. They recommended further research. So, what is gastrointestinal intussusception? It describes a condition when the bowel i.e. the intestines, telescopes in on itself. The outside wall of one section of the intestines become adjacent to and facing the inside wall of the intestines nearby. The most common sign of intussusception in cats is vomiting or diarrhoea which lasts for more than two days. And it can be accompanied by blood in the stools or vomit. There is a loss of appetite and signs of depression. P...

The video shows a Maine Coon (Gizmo) exasperating his owner because he refuses to go through a hole cut into a child gate and prefers to jump over it which he struggles to do. It is an amusing video on TikTok (@gizmos_best_life), which is at the base of the page. Maine Coon wants to go over a child gate rather than through the hole made for him. Screenshot. Anyway, that's the technical stuff out of the way but there is another technical question and that is why this Maine Coon does what he does. Why can't he go through the hole that his lady owner has built for him? It must have been quite troublesome to do it. And there is the gaping hole staring him in the face. "For some reason he tried climbing over the gate instead of going through the hole that we specifically cut out for the cats to use. I had to climb up to show him how to use it." - owner, Kayla. I have one suggestion and it's this. This cat has been trained to believe that the child gate is impassable...

NEWS AND COMMENT-SHAVINGTON, UK: Last November a Maine Coon breeder bought a property in a semi-rural area in a village in the middle of the England called Shavington. She appears to have erected 10 cat houses in the backyard without planning permission and then retrospectively applied for that permission. In other words, to be clear, she went ahead and constructed these cat houses in her backyard without checking with the council first but then applied retrospectively for approval. Note: I don't know if this is a woman or a man or a couple. I have described her as a female for the sake of convenience. The report does not name the person. Maine Coon breeder infuriates neighbours by building cat houses in her backyard without planning permission. Photo: Cheshire Live. The retrospective application may have come about because she may have received complaints from the neighbours. Whether that happened or not I don't know, but it is clear from the media reporting that the neighb...

NEWS ARCHIVE AND COMMENT-ESSEX, UK: This is one of those big cat sightings in Britain stories with a twist. A couple living in Essex, UK, were convinced that they saw a very large animal which looked like an African lion in an Essex field near Earl Hall Drive in St Osyth, near Clacton-on-Sea. The lion in Essex that was a Maine Coon. Pic as per credit. Teddy Bear the Maine Coon mistaken for a lion in Essex. Image: Screenshot from BBC video. The couple, Mr and Mrs Atkin, were on holiday in the area. They reported their sighting to Dave Mark on BBC Essex. Subsequently, Ginny Murphy, the owner of a Maine Coon cat called Teddy Bear came forward to say that she was convinced that she was the owner of the African lion! We know Maine Coons are big but this is ridiculous. She said that Teddy Bear regularly went hunting in the fields around St Osyth. The police were called to search for the African lion. They quickly called the search off. I wonder whether they called it off after they decided ...

These are my thoughts on Maine Coon cat names. The Maine Coon (MC) is an American cat. It developed, it is believed, as a cat breed over 400 years in Maine before it became formally recognised as a breed in 1950s. It was informally recognized in the 1860s being a farm cat and shown at farm livestock shows. Classy MC needing a classy name. Pic in the public domain. This is a gentle cat with a shaggy coat. The voice is quiet. The MC is independent but loyal and friendly. An all-American boy or girl in human terms. I guess the name should be built around this history and character. Boys are goofy and girls are more dignified. See personality . I'd start with names of well-known people from Maine that fit the character.: Males Howie - nice name for a Maine Coon boy. After Howie Carr a journalist, born in Portland, Maine. Nelson - named after the governor Nelson Dingley Jr. (lived 1832-1899). Joey - named after Joey Gamache. World Boxing Association Lightweight Champ...

The certain answer is, No. Sorry. Hypoallergenic means less likely to cause an allergic reaction in a person. There is nothing that supports the idea that Maine Coons are hypoallergenic. Maine Coon cats are not hypoallergenic. Photo in public domain. The truth is that no cat is going to be completely hypoallergenic because the allergen that causes the allergic reaction in some people is a protein called Fel D1 in the cat's saliva. It is deposited on the cat's fur when he or she grooms. It then dries and flies off into the atmosphere as cat dander. Siberian a better bet for hypoallergenic cat Cats that are said to be hypoallergenic to a degree are the wildcat hybrid, the Savannah cat (which incidentally is the Allerca cat called the Ashera GD ) and the Siberian cat. The Allerca is no longer in existence. And I don't believe that the Siberian is hypoallergenic although breeders would disagree. There is no reason why it should be. Breeders tend to promote cats for whatever ...

 'MC' stands for Maine Coon. Richie is currently the world's most celebrate MC. The reason is clear: he looks like something from Mars. He looks a bit like a black-faced lemur with bright, white fur. Everything about his appearance is remarkable. His coat is black smoke but his black face is a bonus. Black smoke coats are not unusual but combine it with Richie's black face and gold/diamond eyes plus the copious amounts of fur and you have a unique and outstanding appearance. His full name is Richie du Mont d’Even. He is referred to as the lemur or yeti cat by his caregiver. It is not just the black face and smoke coat; it is the quantity of it! Look at the mass of smokey fur surrounding the face. It is a great sea of thick, extra-long fur.  Grooming comes to mind. And I mean grooming by humans! I'd expect Richie's caregiver to groom him twice a day. He has to be groomed that regularly because he is photographed and videoed so much for his Instagram page which is...

The description: "ear furnishings" is a cat fancy phrase. It is a bit strange. It refers to the hair in the ear and on the tip of the ear flap (the external part of the ear called the pinna). Ear furnishings are frequently mentioned in breed standards where they demand that the ears of Maine Coons are 'well tufted'. Breed standards are guidelines set down by the various cat associations on the way the particular cat breed should look when being shown at cat shows - competitions about the appearance and secondarily the temperament of the cat. CFA breed standard for ears: EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed. Maine coon 'ear furnishings'! Maine Coon kitten with the tallest, biggest ears and lynx tips you'll see. Photo:  Cattery Marvel Forest in Russia. Russian breeders do tend to breed to extreme. The Maine Coon below is altogether different. They have great ear furnishings to and they are of a type that is typical of th...

In searching for some useful information about Maine Coons I bumped into a study about the birth of litters to Norwegian Forest cats and Maine Coon cats. This concerns the breeders of Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats. There's not much to tell but I'll pass on what I can. In this study there were among other breeders, eight Norwegian Forest cat breeders and five Maine Coon cat breeders. There were also seven Persian cat breeders. They were sent questionnaires. Information about Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest cats concerning births and litters. Montage by MikeB based on images in the public domain. They found that in Norwegian Forest cats the shorter the pregnancy length the larger the litter size. They also found that with this breed, kitten deaths between birth and weaning were on average at 14%.  I understand that to mean that 14% of the newborn kitten died between birth and between being weaned (8-10 weeks old). I find this interesting as it provides us with an insight...

All purebred cats have breed standards. The cat associations such as the CFA and TICA in the USA and the GCCF in the UK, have breed standards for all their registered cats. The Maine Coon is no exception. The breed standard is quite a short document and it allows some discretion for those reading it and applying it. A Maine Coon which complies with the CFA breed standard as he is a cat show winner. Image: Channan. Click this for the CFA Maine Coon breed standard . It is cat breeders and cat show judges who apply the breed standards. In essence, the breed standard is a document which sets out how the Maine Coon should look as decided on by the association administrators. But as mentioned, the document is not and probably cannot be too detailed or scientific.  This means that it is open to a certain amount of elasticity in its interpretation. This may be deliberate or it may simply be because it's impossible to be very precise when it comes to the creation of a purebred cat. However,...

We know that about 30% of Maine Coon cats have a genetic mutation which makes it likely that they will develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a thickening of the muscle walls of the heart. It leads to heart failure and other complications. It is an inherited disease in Maine Coon cats, one of several. It is a shame that this highly popular cat breed, which is increasing in popularity, has the stain of inherited diseases against its reputation. RELATED:  Gene mutation troponin-T (TNNT2) implicated in HCM in Maine Coon cats . HCM in cats. Note thickening of heart muscle and decrease in lumen size of the ventricle. Gif: CVCA. Mavacamten (MYK-461) is a drug which is about to emerge as a treatment for HCM in humans. In 2020 MyoKardia was purchased by Bristol-Myers Squib for $13.1billion. The price was based in part on this new drug which has been shown to improve heart function in 37% of humans suffering from HCM compared to 17% who improved taking a placebo. In 2014 MyoKardia with ...

I have just discovered that Nicolas Cage loves cats and that he currently lives with a Maine Coon cat called Merlin. This was disclosed in an interview while promoting his upcoming movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent . He was speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about his life and acting career. In the movie he will be playing himself. He said some really nice things about is Maine Coon. Here they are verbatim: "I think the key is to respect them. And to let them come to you. The hand is very important. When you pet them, that connection is the great reward. When they start purring, you know they genuinely appreciate you being there. Lately, Merlin and I have had some issues because I got a little Pomeranian and he’s not happy about that. But Merlin is an unusual cat. It’s not the same as the other relationships I’ve had with cats throughout the years. There’s a real, almost human level of affection emanating from him which is almost like a son. It’s pretty intense." ...

There are two ways to answer the question in the title. You can answer the question while referencing the breed standard or you can answer the question as a layperson, in general terms. I'll do them separately and I refer to the breed standard in the first answer. CFA breed standard The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) breed standard for the Maine Coon tells the world exactly how the Maine Coon should look if they want to win competitions. These are the models for all Maine Coons. The breed standard covers all aspects of the anatomy of the cat but I will focus on body shape because this is where I can contextualise the answer. Standard-sized MC. Photo in public domain. The CFA is quite clear: the body should be muscular, broad chested and further, this cat should be medium-to-large in size. This cat should be solid and rugged being able to endure a harsh climate. The mood music of that description is that the Maine Coon should be a solid, large cat. Therefore, under the breed st...