Are Maine Coons more expensive to care for than regular cats?

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I am discussing the cost of Maine Coon caregiving not their purchase price (approx. $1500 for a good example in the United States). It is an important topic for a person who is thinking about buying a Maine Coon especially if it is their first domestic cat companion. In fact, it is probably the most important topic. Budgeting before buying is wise. 

RELATED: Why are Maine Coons so expensive? Are they?

Budget for your Maine Coon caregiving
Budget for your Maine Coon caregiving. Image: MikeB


When you live with cats for a long time you realise that it is not cheap to look after a cat to a good standard. It is a significant item of expenditure which needs to be thought through. You've really got to be in a decent financial position as you don't want a lack of funds to undermine caregiving quality.

RELATED: How much will it cost to feed my Maine Coon for ONE YEAR?

You won't find financial spreadsheets on Maine Coon caregiving on the internet. I think we have to apply some common sense. And there is a degree of flexibility in how one provides caregiving. I mean you can save money and also spend money unwisely such as buying lots of plastic cat toys which bore your cat quite quickly because they can't kill it. And plastic is not good for the planet. Buy something more environmentally friendly.

Food costs will be higher

I digress. The Maine Coon is twice the size of the average moggie, on average. Twice the size should mean twice the amount of food to feed him/her. Cat food can be expensive. This will add up in terms of a premium cost of owning a Maine Coon.

And it is unwise to deal with that added cost by buying a large bag of cheap, dry cat food which costs about 15 cents per meal compared to a dollar plus for a good wet food meal (these are guesses. The point is the difference in cost).

I am told that according to a 2022 report from Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, wet food is more expensive than dry food. The study found that it costs $1.22 to $5.77 per day to feed the average ten-pound cat a wet food-only diet. 

Yes, wet costs more than dry but the general consensus from good veterinarians is that cats should be fed high quality wet cat food. Some dry and some treats are okay but only some.

The conclusion on the food front is that Maine Coons are more expensive than regular cats.

Veterinarian bills will normally be higher

There are other costs that only apply to the Maine Coon because they often suffer from a specific range of inherited diseases that regular, non-purebred cats normally don't such as: hip dysplasia, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), patella luxation being the best known and often discussed.

The point here is that the glorious Maine Coon is programmed by their DNA to be unhealthy which is very sad. Blame the breeders and the cat fancy.

This points to much more pressure on the caregiver to buy cat health insurance which for the Maine Coon is not cheap if it is lifetime cover (the best). Even without insurance a Maine Coon owner would be very lucky to take their cat to the veterinarian the same number of times as a regular cat. It'll normally be more often with the extra associated costs. 

Some of these costs may be substantial.

Indoor cat

Perhaps the third and last point to make is that Maine Coons should be full-time indoor cats unless there are some unusual circumstances that make the outdoors very safe. This breed is too outstanding to be allowed outside unsupervised which means that there's a need for added expense to make the home more 'catified'. This means more climbing trees and more stuff to entertain your cat such as a catio or a cat window box. 

The last product is a good one. I have argued that the minimum that a cat owner of a full-time indoor cat can do it build a cat window box so they can sit and watch the outdoors. We call this cat television. Catios are one up from this and the backyard cat enclosure is the best. In the UK this might cost £5,000 upwards. I'd expect something similar but a bit cheaper in the United States.

All three points lead to a single conclusion, Maine Coons are more expensive to care for than regular cats.

Please share your thoughts. Particularly the thoughts of Maine Coon caregivers.

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