Should Maine Coons have pointed ears?

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In this instance the word 'pointed' means the ears physically ending in a point and not pointed in the sense of being a colourpoint cat (i.e. Siamese type coat)! And on that basis:

Yes, Maine Coon cats (MC) should have pointed ears and this is accentuated by the lynx tips i.e. the hair tufts that project from the tip of their ears. How do I know? You simply have to go to the breed standard which will vary slightly between cat associations but looking at the number one American cat association and the biggest cat association in the world, the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), the breed standard for the ears is very clear and as follows:

EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed. Set: approximately one ear’s width apart at the base; not flared.

Pointed ears of Maine Coon
Pointed ears of Maine Coon. Image: MikeB

Notice the phrase "tapering to appear pointed". This implies that the ears do not actually end up at the top as a point which makes sense because cats' ears don't do that anyway. The tips of cat's ears are always rounded to a certain extent but the overall impression, on my interpretation, is that the ears of MCs should be large and triangular being wide at the base and tapering to an apparent quite sharp point at the top and that point is elongated with those beautiful tufts of hair which vary in length depending upon how the individual cat was selectively bred.

For comparison, The International Cat Association (TICA), a competitor to the CFA, state the following for their breed standard on this cat breed:

EARS: Large, wide at base with outer base set just slightly farther back then inner base.... Moderately pointed ears appear taller due to lynx tips. "

Once again, the ears are referred to as being pointed but in this case to a moderate extent. I think that the overall intention is to create ears which are triangular as stated and large and impressive to be in tune with the large size of the cat.

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