Male Maine Coon loves my female Maine Coon and he defended her by attacking me, the owner

Image: MikeB

The words of the title come from social media. It is written in the first person. I'll recite the story in the third person.

This is a story about a woman who lives with two Maine Coon cats. One is a female tortoiseshell who has 'catitude'. I think you know what I mean by that. Tortoiseshell cats are known to have a certain personality which is independent-minded. They know their own mind and will do their own thing. It is a slightly obstreperous attitude but I think a very nice one as well.

And the other Maine Coon cat that this woman lives with is a male. If he gets too close to his female 'friend' (love) she attacks him but he never fights back. He just sits up on his hind legs with his front legs up in the air as if about to box. He is a sweet boy in the long tradition of sweet boy Maine Coons!

And I think he loves and accepts her cantankerous personality. He may even like her character.

On one occasion the woman was leaving her home to take the female tortoiseshell to her veterinarian. The cat was crying in the carrier which is not unusual as she was desperate to get out.

The male Maine Coon took the crying under the circumstances as a hostile attack on his female loved one and attacked the owner from behind.

He bit through her trousers (pants in America) and left his fang marks on her ankles.

He then growled at the woman as if to say, "Let her go immediately!"

The woman took this is a sure sign that he wanted to protect her because he loved her.

It also, indirectly, sheds some light on the relationship between human and domestic cat. The male Maine Coon was able to see the woman, the loving person who cares for him every day, as a hostile creature about to take his female love away from him. 

He was able to put away any affection that he had for his human caregiver and companion in the interest of protecting the female he cared for more. That's how I interpret the event.

Of course, it is largely irrelevant that the two cats are Maine Coons. It could be any couple of domestic cats.

The Maine Coon cat is known to be pretty placid and calm and almost retiring so this male cat behaviour probably was due to a very close connection between himself and the female despite the rather unusual nature of the relationship.