More thoughts on living with Maine Coon cats - 8 annoyances (Part 2)

This is a follow up to Part 1 (what else!). Click to see Part 1. This is about some annoying things that Maine Coons (MCs) do and the list only applies to this breed the owner says (she's wrong 😉). All domestic cats can be annoying sometimes. It is not a utopian world. A true cat lover and good cat caregiver won't complain about these feline foibles which sometimes grate. She does not either.

I have taken the liberty of using a video for this list and commented on it. Each person will have their own point of view. I accept that.

Note: this is a long article with 2 infographics. The article continues below the infographics.

Maine Coon cats annoyances begging for food. Screenshot.

Annoyance number 1

MCs wake you up at night! That sounds like all domestic cats to be honest. Some (rarely) domestic cats might not but the cat's circadian rhythm is almost opposite to that of the human so there's bound to be clash, Maine Coon or not. 

The lady in the video below tells us that their Maine Coon Molly has woken her and her husband up every night since they adopted her. The woman is annoyed by the fact that Molly sticks her head under the bedroom door and meows in the early hours to get noticed. 

She doesn't let Molly sleep on the bed apparently. You can see why. Therefore, Molly demands that she be allowed to sleep on the bed because domestic cats love it. She says that if she and her husband are lucky Molly will only meow once during the night. 

Comment: I've got a comment on this because I don't think that this lady has the right arrangement. I think she needs a compromise arrangement. She apparently locks Molly out of the bedroom. But if she could try and create a new rhythm or habit in which Molly is allowed into the bedroom but has a bed of our own which contains the smells and scents of her owners then she might use it. 

And she would then be allowed to be with them without disturbing them by incessantly meowing or spending the night on their bed. It's a compromise situation.

Annoyance number 2

Another annoying thing for this lady is that her Maine Coon cats beg for food. This might be a Maine Coon trait because although all domestic cats ask for food through meowing, not every cat begs for food which means they pester their owner as you can see in the video. 

That I agree can be a bit annoying but the answer is to give them the food as quickly as possible, isn't it? She believes that Maine Coon cats are obsessed with food. Do you think that this is true? 

Perhaps they might be bored because they are full-time indoor cats? Perhaps they get their fun by eating just like humans do? Perhaps the way to stop them begging for food is to entertain them more in other areas of their lives? 

She says that they beg for food pretty much all day and that she can't open a can of food without the cats going crazy. That does indeed sound annoying.

She allows them to graze on dry cat food which is grain free 24/7 and provides them with wet food 1-2 times per day. They are well fed cats!

Continue below the infographic please above feeding cats.

Here is an infographic on feeding:

Annoyance number 3

Another annoying thing when living with a Maine Coon cat is that they get poop stuck to their fur because it is shaggy and long. She says the poop gets stuck to various parts of their body including their feet and of course around their bottom and even on their belly and that this happens several times per week. 

The annoying thing here is that it is very hard to clean up. It also means that they transfer cat poop to other parts of the house which also means cleaning up other areas.

She says that as they get older this problem fades away a little bit because they learn to avoid getting poo stuck to their paws and belly. 

RELATED: The robotic cat litter box that looks like a cement mixer and is adored by users.

Incidentally, she has two very beautiful automated cat litter machines which look a bit like tumble dryers or washing machines! These machines filter the cat litter which precludes the need for a person to pick through it and take out the poop and urine.

The lady says that she thinks it is a Maine Coon "thing". Because the non-Maine Coon that they have, Annie, never steps in her poop. 

Comment: I'm not sure that that is a great research project! Not enough cats to make it really useful. I don't think myself that this is a Maine Coon thing at all. It will apply to any domestic cat and any cat with long fur is liable to get poop stuck to the fur especially around the rear end or on their paws.

Annoyance number 4

The next problem for this lady is that her three Maine Coon cats like to go onto the kitchen counter which is a no-no. 

Rather funny that because if a high point in the home is a no-no area for a domestic cat, then they are bound to want to jump up onto it. 

This is because they are both inquisitive and like to explore high places and climb to high places. My thought here is that she might be making a problem for herself. That's my personal view. I'm not being critical of because I understand her point of view and she is obviously a very genuine woman but I don't think she's playing this right. 

The problem with her Maine Coon cats is that they walk in their poop in the litter box and therefore it can be transferred to the kitchen counter which can cause contamination of food for human consumption. That I understand. 

There's no easy answer for this one. One possibility is training through "divine intervention" a topic which I discussed in another article which you might like to read about in the infographic below. 

You cannot punish a cat for jumping up onto the kitchen counter because for them it is normal and natural. They won't understand the concept of punishment so it will simply damage the relationship. She is also annoyed by the fact that sometimes they push crockery off the counter and break the items.

RELATED: Don't punish your cat.

Annoyance number 5

Another annoying thing for this woman is that her Maine Coon cats never leave her alone. She says that they sleep a lot but when they are awake, they never leave her alone. 

They follow her around the house wherever she goes. Comment: I think this also a product of the fact that they lack a natural outlet for their energies because they are confined to the home 24-7. 

They need a way to express their mojo to use a Jackson Galaxy word. They seek interactions with their human owner. That is the best they can achieve. Once again it highlights the added responsibilities of an owner of a Maine Coon cat that must be kept indoors full-time. 

Owners need to develop a strategy, an MO, which deals with enriching the environment and mentally stimulating their cat companions. She thinks that her cats are deliberately naughty to get her attention. 

Her cats do not like closed doors and she suspects that they can suffer from separation anxiety even when she's in a different room to the room that the cats are in. 

This might be true because their entire world is within the family home. There is nothing else in their world other than the four walls of the home and their human companions. 

They are bound to be a bit obsessive about being with their human companions because it is where their mental stimulation comes from.

She feels that she has to find a room where she can be alone and close the door to prevent her cats joining her so that she can get some space away from them. 

There is no doubt that this is quite a profound problem but I think the problem would go away if she leashed trained her cats and took them out for a walk outside. Or built a catio on her house which would allow them to entertain themselves watching the outdoors such as birds and other wildlife. This is called cat television.

Annoyance number 6

The sixth annoying thing for this woman is that her Maine Coons play with their food. This can cause a mess which can be annoying! 

She says that one of her cats takes some food in his mouth and then runs around the house and spits it out! That makes me smile but if you are living with a Maine Coon who does this then it certainly would not make you smile after a while.

He also takes the food in his mouth to a new area and stashes it there as if he is stashing a prey animal to come back to later. This is a form of wild cat behaviour.

Annoyance number 7

The seventh annoying thing that her Maine Coon cats do is to spill water and put toys in it. If the toys sit in the water for a long time and if the colour is not colourfast the colours bleed into the water she says. 

And if and when the toys are removed from the water by the cat and taken to other parts of the house the colours can bleed into furnishings! I get the point again. That is definitely annoying.

Annoyance number 8

The eight thing that annoys her about her Maine Coon cats is that they like to lie on her for a very long time and because the Maine Coon cat is the largest domestic cat breed, they are heavy and that this can become annoying after a while.

She also feels trapped when her cats sit on her. That is a point I can definitely empathise with. But I put up with it myself. I'm not talking about a Maine Coon cat because my cat is not Maine Coon but what she's talking about is a very typical domestic cat issue in fact. And it might be a particularly 'issue' with a full-time indoor cat.

Video - my thanks to the lady