Are Maine Coon cats good mousers?

The question is asking whether you can expect your Maine Coon cat to keep the mouse population down inside and around your home. I reluctantly have to say that the question is little bit misguided and I'll explain why as I see it.

Are Maine Coon cats good mousers? It depends on the individual cat more than anything else. Image: MikeB

The Maine Coon cat, as we know, is a domestic cat. They happen to be the largest domestic cat breed but that doesn't change in any way the fact that, in general, they have the personality of a typical domestic cat.

And with respect to being keen predators, all domestic cats are pretty keen about chasing rodents because it is in their DNA. They inherit this desire. It's all instinctive.

But, the desire to hunt mice varies somewhat from individual cat to individual cat in the general domestic cat population and it will vary somewhat within individual Maine Coon cats.

So, the answer to the question is Maine Coon cats, in general, will probably be decent mousers because they want to chase mice but you have to qualify that statement with the fact that the commitment to catch mice will vary between individuals and I suspect that some Maine Coon cats might be relatively disinterested in chasing a mouse.

And the fact that they are on occasions enormous domestic cats doesn't really make much difference. I don't think being big gives them any more confidence. This is about personality and what the cat feels about mice and rats in terms of confronting them.

On the topic of rats, you will see domestic cats quite often being very hesitant to attack them. You might even see them retreating from a confident rat who bats the cat around the head. Yes, I've seen that.

My artificial intelligence assistant would like to add some more information on this topic.

They say that Maine Coon cats are generally known to be good mousers. Well, that applies to any domestic cat really so it's bound to apply to a Maine Coon cat. And they say that Maine Coon cats are natural born hunters. Once again, we can say that all domestic cats are natural born hunters as stated above. There's nothing new in that.

I mention their size above. I don't think it makes much difference to their mouse hunting skills to be bigger as sometimes a small, compact but highly athletic domestic cat may well be more successful at catching mice than a huge Maine Coon.

However, Maine Coon cats are going to be stronger than the average domestic cat on a like for like basis assuming they are both in good health, which might on occasions make them more effective as a mouser. 

For example, if they are an indoor/outdoor cat living on a farm, they may have to be resistant to the elements and the fact that they have a nice shaggy medium-longhaired coat helps to deal with inclement weather and in doing so they might be more effective in catching mice.

If you really want to adopt a Maine Coon cat which is a good mouser, you will have to contact a good breeder and ask them whether the cat's parents were known to be good hunters. The offspring's desire to hunt would be inherited and therefore one should know about the personality of the parents of the kitten that you intend to adopt in order to better know their character.