One thing guides the Maine Coon breed standard

There is one distinct aspect of the Maine Coon (MC) which guides the CFA administrators in drafting the breed standard and the same will apply to other cat associations but perhaps to varying extents. It is this: the breed has a very well-known history in Maine and other northeast coast US states. This is essentially a rugged and handsome barn cat. A farm cat at heart.

Maine Coon has a barn cat heritage. Image: MikeB.

Here is the CFA breed standard's introduction and it guides the whole standard. Although there have been many 'refinements' over the more than hundred years that the MC has been a show cat. The standard hints at the barn cat history throughout.

GENERAL: originally a working cat, the Maine Coon is solid, rugged, and can endure a harsh climate. A distinctive characteristic is its smooth, shaggy coat. A well-proportioned and balanced appearance with no part of the cat being exaggerated. Quality should never be sacrificed for size. With an essentially amiable disposition, it has adapted to varied environments.

The adjectives "solid' and "rugged" must underpin the appearance of this breed. The MC has to have that basic appearance but in a refined way due to many years of artificial breeding. 

The "smooth, shaggy" coat description initially seems contradictory. Smooth and shaggy at the same time? It is a bit contradictory, but you can see the original barn cat in the shaggy coat and the artificial breeding and refinement in the smooth coat. TICA prefers the shaggy look, and the CFA prefers the smooth look! It is a sliding scale.

Shagginess is linked to the natural life of a barn cat. It is a reflection of the history of this breed which is linked to the history of America and its colonisation by Europeans.

Perhaps this is why they call the MC "America's cat".

The "well-proportioned and balanced appearance" requirement of the breed standard is important too. What that phrase is saying is that the original MCs, hundreds of years ago, had a balanced appearance because they had been created through natural selection. At that time there had been no human interference.

Nature always creates the perfect or best physical appearance for survival. It will by default be balanced. Selective breeding (artificial breeding) can create an unnatural appearance because breeders in chasing plaudits and sales tend to breed to extreme which upsets the balanced appearance.

The CFA breed standard endeavours to prevent this to ensure that the cat looks like its forebears, natural and rugged.

The CFA emphasises this by saying that "quality should never be sacrificed for size". They want the MC to be a modern reflection of the original pre-show cat appearance and not a thumping great giant due to years of extreme breeding.

The "amiable disposition" requirement seems to be well adhered to judging by the behaviour of the MCs I see on the internet. They are very placid.