Your Maine Coon Guide

It is the serious expression of this giant domestic cat which caught my attention. He (he must be male with a face like that) looks distinctly bored. Very passive and accepting of the camera right in front of him.  Seriously serious solid grey (blue) Maine Coon with a lion's muzzle. In fact, the overall facial appearance is that of a lion. One of those exceptional MCs if I am not mistaken. Photo: Bored Panda. He is one of "those" extreme Maine Coons as I call them because he has a face which more closely resembles that of a lion than a domestic cat. Here is a portrait of a lion: Image: Pixers. There is only one way this MC looks like a lion and that is because he is meant to look like one. The breeder has selective bred over a considerable time probably to achieve this lion face appearance. I am not sure that it is a good idea. The appearance is certainly nowhere that of a MC show cat. 'Blue' is diluted black in the cat fancy as I am sure you know.

This is another interesting photo which compares the size of the largest cat breed with a regular-sized cat breed, the American Shorthair. It is remarkable really. The difference is vast although this huge domestic cat is a tad overweight if I am not mistaken. I don't want to criticise, but do I see a little bit of excess weight on this beautiful Maine Coon tabby with all the usual features including plenty of hairy tufts sticking out between the toes. Perhaps of all the cat breeds the American Shorthair is the definitive 'normal' cat breed. Nothing extreme about the cat at all. All very normal. The breeders say that Americal SH cats feel like a sack of oats which means heavy but pliable. It is just a label. These breeds have at least one thing in common: a square muzzle. Although the Maine Coon's muzzle is of a different order in terms of size. The experts refer to the American Shorthair as 'ASH' and the Maine Coon as 'MC'. Gloria Stephens, a past cat s...

A similarity, I'd say. Whatever, this Maine Coon has a great face.  It is the side whiskers which are unusual, and which give this cat his character. He has human face, and they are popular at the moment. And this boy has very strong lynx tipped ears. They are like a brush. His muzzle is very solid and very much a signature feature of the Maine Coon. The five defining features of the Maine Coon are in my view: Lynx tipped ears Pronounced and 'square' muzzle Large domestic cat Fur sticking out between the toes Ruff Maine Coon credit: Reddit.com. Lee Marvin is from onceuponatimeinawestern.com. And there is a bit of a trend to artificially breed Maine Coons with human faces as they are interesting and therefore popular. This is one example. A grumpy old man face which is often how they look when they are humanized. Or they are like Yoda from Star Wars. I think this baby is Russian bred. They do like their humanized Maine Coons. There is a large cat fancy in Russia. Shame that ...

The question in the title is one that is asked on the Internet. People search for an answer using Google. But this question should never be asked, NEVER. In asking the question the person is thinking about whether to de-claw or not. That means the person doesn't really know what declawing is and how barbaric it is.  Don't even dream about declawing a Maine Coon. Image: MikeB It means that the person doesn't know that it is the partial amputation of 10 toes. They don't know that 66% of declawing operations are botched leaving shards of bone in the paw pads causing perpetual discomfort at the very least and excruciating pain at the worst. They don't know about the complications of declawing . They don't know that when veterinarians declaw cats, they are in gross breach of their oath not to harm animals . And they don't know that cats are declawed almost exclusively for non-therapeutic reasons. They are almost never declawed for genuine medical reasons. And th...

The pet health insurance market is complicated. It's hard to know what to choose. Having thought about it, the starting point must be the inherited diseases of this popular cat breed which include spinal muscular atrophy, hip dysplasia, patellar luxation and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. And these diseases can start quite young. And they can be debilitating. Maine Coon pet health insurance discussed. Image: MikeB based in images in the public domain (believed). I wouldn't expect a Maine Coon cat to be involved in many accidents because they will normally be full-time indoor cats and if and when they go outside it will be under supervision. So, the pet health insurance is mainly about managing these inherited health conditions. Some pros and cons of pet health insurance . Four types There are four types of cat health insurance namely accident only, time-limited, maximum benefit and lifetime. Accident I will rule out accident only for the reason stated above.  Time limited "T...

This story is about exposing a prolific UK Maine Coon cat breeder as heartless, callous and cruel. This is the first in what I expect to be a series of pages on this story. RudyCats Maine Coon breeders accused of cruelty, fraud and cruelty. Image: MikeB from images on their site. I claim fair use as this is an educational website. Introduction A Maine Coon breeder or a small group of Maine Coon breeders (in the UK I believe) built a website called RudyCats Exposed to expose what they allege is the heartless malpractices of RudyCats (also 'Rudycats'), a prominent UK Maine Coon breeder.  Stay with this page rather than visiting their website at the moment as I summarise the detail of the above-mentioned site. It is very detailed and as such difficult to get a clear overview which is my intention on this page. Personally, I applaud them for their exposé as I think it is important to see behind the glossy veneer that cat breeders present to the world when the reality behind closed...

They (some of the public) claim that Will Ferrell looks like a Maine Coon. I can see the resemblance, but he is nowhere near as close as Ron Perlman. I am not sure that Mr Perlman enjoys the award but there it is. Here is Mr Perlman looking like a Maine Coon. I think the reason why Mr Perlman is better at this is because he has a 'heavier' face which includes the mouth and the area around the mouth. The Maine Coon has a very strong muzzle and mouth as you can see. This is Ron's great strength in the Maine Coon look-a-like contest 😊😉. I don't think it will keep Mr Ferrell awake at night. Perlman has a very masculine face and the Maine Coon internet stars which care often extreme bred also have very masculine faces. All the celebrity Maine Coons are males because the motto is 'the bigger the better'.  You know the old adage that dog owners look like their dogs? Well, I don't think the same applies to cats. Perhaps one reason is because the dog is able to mak...

Please don't run off because this is about the boring law. It concerns cats and dogs and their theft which is of major importance to all cat and dog owners in the UK and elsewhere. Specifically, it is about a proposed law, the Kept Animals Bill, being debated in the UK Parliament.  It is at the report stage in the House of Commons and therefore it is progressing quite well. It was introduced by George Eustice of the Department of for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is "a Bill to make provision about the welfare of certain kept animals that are in, imported into, or exported from Great Britain. Maine Coon is unprotected by the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill in the UK! Image: MikeB Its intention is to improve welfare standards through a wide range of measures. Although the Bill introduces a raft of new laws regarding puppy smuggling, live exports, banning the keeping of primates as pets and livestock worrying together with an amendment to improve zoo regulations, o...

In earlier articles I have gone over what a genuine, purebred, pedigree Maine Coon cat and kitten should look like . They have a distinct look if they are purebred. The picture below shows you a good example. This is a tabby Maine Coon kitten for sale in England for £1,800 at the date of this post (Nov 22, 2022). The kitten is registered with the GCCF, which is the premier cat Association in the UK. Genuine Maine Coon kitten from England. Photo: Breeder based in Streatham, London. Below is a photograph of what a breeder tells us (on pets4homes.co.uk) is a male tabby Maine Coon adult cat as the father and a black Ragdoll cat as the mother. I have also published a photograph of one of their kittens. Photos: the breeder on pets4homes.co.uk who claims the parents are a Maine Coon father and Ragdoll mother. The first point to note is that the Ragdoll is a pointed cat, and you don't get solid black Ragdoll cats. So, this mother is a random bred cat in my view. And the offspring looks lik...

This article refers to the very early days of the Maine Coon Cat in the US state of Maine. I'm referring to that precise moment when longhaired cats in the state of Maine became purebred cats and show cats. The original longhaired cats of Maine at around the late 1800s had various names one of which was the Maine Angora. The description "Angora" meant at that time longhaired cats in general. And they were very popular as they are today. So, as I see it, the Maine Angora referred to longhaired cats from the state of Maine. Portland, Maine, USA in 1890. Photo in public domain (assessed). The Maine Angora was popular at this time in this state. Sometimes they were called the 'Maine Cat'. They were exhibited at local cat shows before the cat fancy took off. The "cat fancy" means the breeding and showing of purebred, pedigree cats essentially. So, the early cat shows were informal and local, and 'Maine Cats' were shown at them. And remarkably, an indu...

This is possibly an interesting philosophical point at least for some people. It's a brief discussion on whether the popularity of the Maine Coon cat is exclusively because they are the biggest domestic cat breed. Or is it a combination of reasons? And if being the biggest domestic cat breed is a major factor as to why this particular cat is very popular, what is behind that thought? Big Maine Coon family including the human. Image: Instagram. Bigger is better There is certainly a mentality in humankind (but not by all people) that bigger is better. And it probably comes from our origins, going back to when we were hunter gatherers and even before that when we were just emerging as bipedal, intelligent creatures at a time when the planet was entirely different and when lions inhabited Europe. Why is bigger better? When you're starving the more food that you have, the better. If there is a chance of you starving, then the more food you have stored in the pantry the better. And ...

This page tries to focus in on the likely cause of hair loss in a Maine Coon cat's tail as there are a number of potential causes. But you'll have to consider taking your cat to a vet. The good point is that hair loss is not normally an urgent matter which allows for some careful observation to try and diagnose the underlying cause before a possible vet visit. We all know that the Maine Coon tail should be 'plumed' in the words of the cat fancy. The breed standard describes it thus: 'long, wide at base, and tapering. Fur long and flowing'. It is a badge of this popular breed. If it loses it beauty, it's very noticeable and sometimes this happens. What might be the cause? The brilliant Maine Coon plumed tail. Source: Twitter and deemed to be in the public domain. Here is a long list of reasons for hair loss GENERALLY which has been taken from a page that was written for PoC many years ago (and republished more recently). One or two of these are irrelevant in...

Maine Coon cats generally are not bred to be great with dogs if that is what you are looking for. However, if the Maine Coon (MC) breeder from whom you buy a cat has a dog or dogs and she makes sure that her MC kittens mix with the dogs and play with them and sleep with them etc. they will be good with dogs in their new homes. This is because they will be socialised to dogs.  Ernest and Hemingway I have a page on a Maine Coon called Earnest in a very close relationship with Pitbull Hemingway. Here is the picture and click this link for the video and story . Maine Coon loves his dog companion and vice versa. Screenshot. Socialised to dogs and vice versa And socialisation is the way to ensure that MCs get on with dogs. It all starts in the first precious weeks of live when kittens can learn that dogs are fine, and they will relate to them as other cats and as part of their family. So perhaps if you are thinking of buying a MC and you have a dog, you should ask your selected breeder ...

I think this is a reasonable question. It would certainly concern me if I lived with a Maine Coon. I'd be watching out for signs that my cat had developed HCM which is a well-known inherited disease to which this breed is predisposed. Does it generally worry Maine Coon caregivers? It can start when a cat is quite young. Blood test to check for HCM in Maine Coon. Image: MikeB from images in the public domain. Update 24 hours after publishing this page: it has been seen by 2 people!! No one gives a damn if their MC has HCM. That must be the message. There is no point in my writing these sorts of articles. So, you have possible signs that your cat has HCM. What to do? Only one thing: have some tests done at a good veterinarian who will do the following as I understand it: A physical check-up - listening to the heart and lungs and checking blood pressure. NT-proBNP – blood test that measures a heart stress hormone that can help detect heart disease. Electrocardiogram (ECG) – to measur...

This is a startling cat picture which juxtaposes Yulia Minina's red hair with the massive white head of her Maine Coon Kefir who is still regarded as a 'kitten' as he is 2 years old in the photo but weighs 27 pounds. There is a nice contrast in colour, but the head size is similar. It is extraordinary that a domestic cat has the same head size as a human. There is a cool match in the fiery eyes of Kefir and her hair. Yulia and Kefir - Photo by Yulia Minina via SWNS. It is just one of those standout cat photos. When she adopted him from a cat breeder in Russia (Yulia lives in Stary Oskol, Russia), she had no idea that Kefir would end up this size.  There is no doubt in my mind that he is the world's largest domestic cat even taking into account the F1 Savannahs. Read more about Kefir . An F2 Savannah in America is formally the tallest domestic cat to the shoulder , but I question whether it is accurate because this boy looks to me as if he'd beat 'Fenrir Antares ...

PKDef is a shortened version of "Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency". It is an inherited disease which is handed down from parent to offspring in a non-sex linked (autosomal) mutated recessive gene which affects the red blood cells to the point where they no longer function properly as they break down faster than they should.  It can lead to anaemia due to not enough red blood cells being present. It also occurs in humans.  People with this disease lead a healthy life.  DNA testing. Image: Pixabay. Carrier cats are clinically healthy but can pass the defective gene to their offspring.  Breeds affected are Abyssinian, Bengal, Egyptian Mau, LaPerm, Maine Coon , Norwegian Forest, Savannah, Siberian, Singapura, Somali, Toyger and Tonkinese according to Longford Vets in the UK.  Somalis and Abyssinians are the worst affected and a PKDef genetic test to diagnose autosomal-recessive pyruvate kinase deficiency is obligatory for the Asian, Bengal, Somali and Tonkin...

We are in an era of post-Covid and high inflation. Inflation has not affected every country equally with America doing better than many others and the UK doing rather badly with inflation at about 10%. But there is real pressure on family finances which is having a knock-on effect concerning cat and dog ownership. A rare Maine Coon x American Curl hybrid mix that was at a shelter. I bet they found a new home fast! Photo: Friends for Life Rescue Network on Instagram. We are told by a number of animal rescue organisations that they are experiencing fewer adoptions and more surrenders. This does not apply across the board but there is a trend. For example, Business Insider reports on the Casper Humane Society in Wyoming who told them that they have stopped listing animals waiting to be rehomed because it became "too overwhelming". I interpret that to mean that the list kept on growing with not enough people coming forward to adopt. Craig Cummings, the director of Casper Humane ...

A little bit of imagination is needed to see the hint of gargoyle in this majestic, tabby Maine Coon with the floppy ear furnishings, but it is there, and I have created a montage to help you. I hope I am not being disrespectful of the Maine Coon and of this individual cat. I am having a bit of fun and making a statement that breeders should not breed to extreme - please. Maine Coon with a hint of gargoyle. Image: MikeB based on (left) Amazon image and (right) Tomaso Gargoyle costing £109.99 on Wayfair.co.uk. So why is there a hint of gargoyle in this Maine Coon (if you agree with me)? It is all about extreme breeding which is what it says on the box. Breeders, through selective breeding, alter the anatomy of the Maine Coon to create 'extreme' more pronounced facial features. In essence without wishing to be unkind, the breeder distorts the cat's facial anatomy and exaggerates it. The gargoyle always has exaggerated features. That's what they are. And they are a bit gru...