What is the weight range of the Maine Coon cat?

It is a useful question to ask because the answer might surprise you. I've mentioned it before, but the CFA, the leading cat association, do not insist through their breed standards that the Maine Coon cat should be big but TICA differ. The 'end product' is the choice of the breeders. The weight range of this popular breed reflects the cat association's breed standards.

Dr. Bruce Fogle DVM in his book THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE CAT states that the weight range is 4-10 kg (9-22 lbs). The lower weight applies to females which as you might expect are generally smaller than males. And it is a weight which is not untypical for a large number of non-purebred cats.

One website, 11pets, states that the average female weight is 11 pounds and the average male weight is 14.8 pounds. They also state that 25% of male Maine Coon cats weigh between 6 kg and 8 kg. And 30% of females way between 4 kg and 6 kg.

Another website states that the average weight of a Maine Coon cat varies between 8-25 lbs. The top end would be exceptional.

In my experience, the very big Maine Coon cats are created in Russia or by Russian breeders in other countries. That isn't exclusively the case but that tends to be what happens. In Britain, you will see more moderate sizes in my opinion.

And in America they do have breeders who breed what they describe as "European Maine Coons". They recognise that there is a difference between Maine Coon created in Europe and those that are created in America. And size is one difference. Another is extreme features.

Why are Maine Coon so heavy?

Maine Coons have a reputation for being the largest domestic cat breed. This is a result of breeders interpreting the breed standard in a way which suits them. Despite the fact, as mentioned, that the CFA breed standard does not state that the Maine Coon has to be large, but be a "solid, rugged" cat.

TICA, however, are more specific. They say that the torso should be "large, long, substantial". But what does 'large mean? Perhaps this explains why European breeders create larger cats. They will be affiliated to The International Cat Association (TICA) rather than the CFA. Or one of the European cat associations.

Of course, the word "large" is open to interpretation. The association breed standards don't state that this should be of a certain weight. They leave that to the breeders to decide.

And to produce stand out cats they tend to bring to extreme or at least that applies to some breeders. There are downsides because the inherited hip dysplasia sadly associated to this breed is exacerbated when the cat is bigger because they are heavier and weight is going to make a loose joint worse.

Which Maine Coon is the heaviest?!

We shouldn't really be asking that sort of question but the Internet tells me that the heaviest Maine Coon cat on record is Ludo who ways or weighed 34 pounds (is he still alive?). For comparison, the heaviest of the wild lynx cat species, the European lynx, weighs 30 pounds.  Pretty amazing that a Maine Coon has the same ball park weight.

In my opinion, the current world's biggest Maine Coon cat might be 'Kefir'. His size is astonishing. On March 3, 2022 he was two years old and weighed about 30 pounds at that time. As Maine Coon cats keep growing for the first four years of their lives, it is said, I expect him to beat Ludo at the end of the day!