Are Maine Coon cats lap cats? Yes, and no.

-

One top Maine Coon website states that statistically only 30.4% of Maine Coon cat owners claim that their cats are lap cats. They don't state where that information comes from. But it means that about a third of Maine Coon cats would like to jump on your lap and cuddle up. That sounds about right to me although it'll be guesswork. In fact, I would expect about 25% to be lap cats.

Another person who claims to know about Maine Coon cats, states that they are not usually lap cats.

Another website states that male Maine Coon cats are more likely to be lap cats than females.

Huge Maine Coon lap cat in which the lap is too small
Huge Maine Coon lap cat in which the lap is too small! Image: Pinterest.

Different answers

You will find different answers to the question in the title on the Internet. I know that you want a nice solid answer, but I am afraid there isn't one because no one's done a good survey.

Individuals

And each individual Maine Coon will have their own character anyway. Some like to jump on a lap while others don't.

Show judge should know

A person I can trust, Gloria Stephens who is a past cat show judge and Maine Coon owner, says that Maine Coons are people orientated. However, they are not over-dependent.

They don't demand attention all the time. And they do not necessarily want to be held. But they like to be close to their human caregiver. And some form a strong attachment to their female owners.

All that points to the fact that some Maine Coons like to be on their owner's lap.

RELATED: 40 facts about the Maine Coon cat.

Too hot!

A factor against a Maine Coon cat being a lap cat is their coat. It is a coat designed for cold winters. They are likely not to feel the cold as much as a cat with a thin single coat such as the Siamese or Oriental Shorthair.

Because Maine Coon cats are likely to be warmer than some other cats, they don't need to be warmed up quite so much. Cats like to go on to their owner's lap to warm up. It is one of the main reasons for jumping up and settling down.

This, I feel, might be a major factor against Maine Coons being lap cats.

In fact, the number one cat Association in America, Cat Fanciers' Association, state in their breed standard that this is "originally a working cat, the Maine Coon is solid, rugged, and can endure a harsh climate". That says it all. They don't need, as I say, the warmth of a lap and they may actually become too hot and dislike it.

Affectionate cat

You will quickly learn whether your Maine Coon cat is a lap cat. If they are not, it does not mean that they will not show you affection. They will show it in other ways. They love the company of their human guardians like all well cared for domestic cats.

Maine Coons are affectionate pets, and they may demand attention from time to time. They value companionship.

Can a breed be known as lap cats?

Is it fair to say that any cat breed can be known for being lap cats? I don't think that you can say that. In that case the Maine Coon is no different from other cat breeds. It is down to the individual cat as usual.

Size compatibility!

There is another point worth making: if you live with a particularly large Maine Coon cats and there are quite a few large Maine Coon cats around, they may find your lap too small! And you might find them too big squeezing onto your lap! 

There is certainly a question of size compatibility. I know that my cat sits on my lap perfectly, but he is quite a small cat. The Maine Coon is the biggest domestic cat breed as we all know and often, they are the longest cat breed.

And if the owner is a nice woman with quite a small lap, I can foresee a problem of her Maine Coon cat becoming comfortable as a lap cat!

Training a cat to be a lap cat

An interesting topic is whether you can teach your cat to be a lap cat. You can certainly train your cat to be a lap cat using positive reinforcement and clicker training.

What you would do is give your cat a treat if and when they jump onto your lap and if they settle down then you give them another food treat. If they won't jump up, you might tempt them with a treat and give it to them when they have jumped up. And then you could gently encourage them to settle down and then give them another treat.

If you do this over a long enough time they will learn to jump up onto your lap. However, they might not stay a very long time because they might become too hot. It is remarkable how hot cats can become on a person's lap.

RELATED: Cat ‘training is logical’ – informal and formal training.

Ways to stop your cat getting too hot!

My cat sometimes he gets too hot and jumps off after about 15 minutes. If you think that is a reason why your Maine Coon is not a lap cat you might put something on your lap as a barrier between you and your cat. It might be some bedding which your cat sleeps on or some bedding which you sleep on, and which smells of you.

Your cat will not get so hot, and he will enjoy mixing his body scent with yours.

Two reasons for being a lap cat

Cats are lap cats for two reasons: to be in contact with their human caregiver and to feel the warmth from their human caregiver. Domestic cats often like direct contact with their owner. It is reassuring for them.

My cat often stretches out his paw to touch my hand when he is on my lap when I am in bed working. This desire for direct contact is a major reason behind cat wishing to be on their owner's lap. The same applies to the famous Maine Coon.

Comments

Post a Comment

Please share your Maine Coon experiences.

Popular posts from this blog

The extreme Maine Coon face

-
Image
This is an example of extreme breeding. This is a Maine Coon but this cat is an extreme and rare example of this breed. This is not the way they look normally. This face is almost like an aggressive robot with the piercing eyes and the huge muzzle.  Or like a lion's head. The head looks enormous and very heavy. It looks unreal. But it also looks very impressive.  And purchasers like impressive-looking domestic cats. But this not the face of a Maine Coon that wins cat show competitions as it does not fit the breed standard as accurately as the more moderate winners (see below).  In fact, the CFA standard is clear in that the cat should have a balanced appearance although this cat was not bred under the CFA breed standard as I understand it (see below).  Click here for more on the kind of MC which wins at shows . Maine Coon selectively breed to have an extreme face. Image in the public domain. And the Maine Coon is meant to be a large cat, the largest domestic cat breed and there
Read more

Eerie picture of a Maine Coon sitting like a human on a chest of drawers

-
Image
This is a slightly scary picture according to those who've seen it. One social media user said it was the devil and "If I walked into a room and saw that, I would assume some shit is about to go down". There is a ghostly stillness and sinister feeling about the image. 'Eerie' is a better description. This attractive cat appears to be completely at ease and comfortable sitting on top of a chest of bedroom drawers. The lighting from below (deliberate?) enhances the eerie effect. It seems possible that this is a photo-edited image but if so, it has been done with great skill. However, I don't think this is Photoshopped. Rethink: to be honest, the more I look at the picture, the more I feel that this is a photo-edited image. It is just too unnatural to be real. Although some domestic cats get themselves into some very strange positions. Maine Coon calmly sitting just like a human on a chest of drawers. Picture source unclear. Image deemed to be in the public d
Read more

No part of a Maine Coon cat should be exaggerated

-
Image
It is interesting to read that the premier cat association, the CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) - the cat association which really dictates (with TICA) how Maine Coons should look - makes it clear that no part of the cat should be exaggerated, and the cat should be "well-proportioned and balanced".  In other words, any form of extreme appearance such as a particularly heavy muzzle or particularly large ears with extra-long lynx tips are not going to be seen as advantageous in terms of winning cat shows or in terms of having an ideal appearance. As soon as I read that no part of a Maine Coon should be exaggerated, I immediately thought of the extremely large, extreme-bred Maine Coon cats that often come from Russia. These cats have very heavy muzzles.  Lion-faced Maine Coon with exaggerated features. Image in public domain now. In fact, their heads look like the heads of lions. I get the impression that breeders have selectively bred their cats over years to look like male
Read more

Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes

-
Image
Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes. Photo: Instagram. OMG, this is a Maine Coon with an amazing face. His full name is "Richie du Mont d’Even". I think he has a black smoke coat which has created this black face with the assistance of other genes (polygenetic influence?) and ears with piercing, diamond eyes. This is a very special cat. Richie looked very interesting but relatively plain as a kitten. Image: Instagram. His paws are balls of fluff. He has a mane that goes over his head like a halo. He's angelic and other-worldly. The lynx tips on the end of his ears are smoky grey which makes them stand out. They are a bit like the opposite to the black lynx tips of the wild caracal.  He lives in France with his human: Adriana Piraino. He was born on 7th November 2020. He is still very young. They say Maine Coons reach adulthood at around the age of 4. He is going to be enormous as well. Richie with Adriana. Photo: Instagram Richie was bred b
Read more

Parisian Maine Coon 'crème et blanc'

-
Image
PARIS: This is a handsome Parisian Maine Coon described by his human caretaker as: "My little lynx Jiyuu of Roswell Maine Coon crème et blanc 19 mois mâle". The translation is: his name is Jiyuu of Roswell. His coat is cream and white. He is 19 months old. Oh, and his is damned handsome. The photo is by his guardian: Lunatique- girl . Cream and white Maine Coon living in Paris, France. Photo: Lunatique Girl. It is a really nice Maine Coon photo of a really nice Maine Coon with an interesting coat colour. I think the main colour is more milk chocolate, cappuccino or fawn! Anyway, super-looking cat. Is he a cream tabby? I think so.
Read more

Maine Coon size versus dog size?

-
Image
People want to know how the size of the Maine Coon compares to the size of a dog. You probably realise that it is impossible to answer this question because dog size varies enormously. This is due to selective breeding over about 20 years or more. And, it has to be said, the size of the Maine Coon also varies considerably.  A Beagle versus a large Maine Coon comparing size. Image: MikeB based on images in the public domain. Here is another image comparing a Beagle and a standard Maine Coon from a YouTube video: Standard Maine Coon versus a Beagle comparing size. Screenshot. Small-to-medium-sized dog compared to a Maine Coon size. Image in public domain. This looks like a small Maine Coon. And here is a Golden Retriever and Maine Coon playing. This dog breed is quite large: People get the impression that all Maine Coons are always huge but they are not. Maine Coons can be a little larger than standard domestic cats (small female for instance) but in general they are considerably larg
Read more

Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6 weeks and 6-years-of-age

-
Image
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
Read more

5 Maine Coon transformations from kitten to adult (video)

-
Image
Maine Coon kitten and his adult self. Photo: Robert Silka. This is a series of photographs by the very famous Maine Coon photographer: robert_sijka. I think he presents his photographs too dark as there is not enough information in the photographs for my liking but he takes great photographs of great Maine Coon cats. In this series he photographs a kitten and their adult version. Each individual cat is a wonderful example of the Maine Coon breed. I can count five examples. In my experience, these Google Blogger videos only work if you click the centre play button and then, immediately afterwards, the play button bottom-left! It sounds bad but the short video is worth watching.
Read more

2 top Russian Maine Coon cat breeders which ship internationally

-
Image
I am writing this from the West; specifically, near London, UK. There will be quite a few people living in the West who'd like to adopt a Maine Coon cat and they would like to adopt one from a Russian breeder because they do have a certain style.  I sense, although I don't have hard evidence to support this feeling, that the top Russian breeders of Maine Coon cats might be superior to breeders from other countries.  I am putting aside Putin's invasion of Ukraine when writing this article. Some people might object to dealing in anyway with a Russian business on account of that barbaric and illegal invasion. We should remember that Russia has quite a strong cat fancy. They like their cats and they love their purebred cats particularly the Maine Coon. It is in fact a cat breed which is quite naturally suited to the Russian way of life and climate. There's lots of space in Russia with a relatively low population and therefore there are going to be houses with large grounds
Read more

Dwarf Maine Coon cat?

-
Image
No, you won't get a dwarf Maine Coon cat. There is no formal cat breed which is a dwarf Maine Coon (MC) although there are about a dozen dwarf cat breeds which is strange because most people haven't heard of them. It would be a travesty of the distinguished Maine Coon cat breed to create a dwarf version. But is there is someone online discussing a Maine Coon x Munchkin mix. Well, I hardly read it because I can't see the point. Note : One study on Google Scholar reports on a Maine Coon kitten in Germany born with inherited dwarfism called metaphyseal chondrodysplasia. This is very rare as I understand it. This individual cat was a dwarf Maine Coon. The cat also suffered from rickets and other health issues. This was unplanned and unwanted. Fairly normal-sized Maine Coon. Photo: copyright Helmi Flick. Think about it. The MC is known to have a large and distinguished bearing. They are meant to be outstanding in that way. It is their raison d'etre. To cut them down to a s
Read more