Colourful cat show judge explains key Maine Coon appearance features for his enthralled audience

Well, I love this male cat show judge. He's and colourful and I say that with the greatest of respect because I think he is great. He's extravagant and very confident and he knows his cats inside out. And, so, he delivers to his enthralled audience the key appearance aspects of the Maine Coon cat. He talks of the breed being a natural or native breed. 

What he means is that this magnificent purebred cat was once a moggy barn cat living in the state of Maine and in other states down the east coast.

The Maine Coon was selectively bred meaning moulded and created out of large, sturdy moggy cats living in barns in the state of Maine. People observed this moggie and thought that they looked great so they decided to turn them into a breed show cat and it has taken about a hundred years for this breed to become one of the world's most popular and for that I think we can mainly thank social media such as this video on TikTok and YouTube and Facebook.

Cat show judge assesses a Maine Coon. Screenshot.

He talks about the 'massive' ears and the lynx tips to the ears which make them even larger. He refers to the muzzle which is square and solid and the cat's 'feral expression'. I can't see that! This is a show cat and show cats don't have feral expressions but he is referring to the ancestors of the Maine Coon; those barn cats I referred to.

And then he comes to the 'long, shaggy, uneven coat', also a throwback to the barn cat ancestor. TICA likes this natural coat while the CFA prefers the appearance to be a little more refined.

He handles the cats quite brusquely if I might say so. What I mean is he handles quite firmly but confidently and perhaps that is a good thing because it helps the cats to feel confident.

Sometimes observers of cat shows might wonder if the cats enjoy it or find the experience a little stressful. I think the answer is that it depends upon the individual cat. I know some cats don't like it. I can recall that at one cat show a cat escaped from their cage and they had to rescue it. 

And I can also recall one Maine Coon cat owner telling me that they were going to retire their cat from the cat show lifestyle because it was becoming a little bit too much (stressful) for him. And by 'him', I mean the cat.

It can be a bit stressful and you will see these large cages with the cats in waiting their turn to be taken up to the judges show ring and within these large cages there are little dens where they can hide. And sometimes they have curtains all around the large carriers or cages which helps to keep the cats calm in what is a noisy environment with lots of people milling around.