Maine Coons vary in their response to being brushed and might dislike it

Brushing a Maine Coon cat will elicit different responses and not always signs that they enjoy it. Image: MikeB using Canva.

Like anyone else I believed that all Maine Coons would generally enjoy being brushed. It should be a pleasurable experience and a necessary experience as all the experts say that owners need to brush and keep matt-free their Maine Coon's coat. Just one of those added obligations for the Maine Coon owner.

But scientists in one study say this about the Maine Coon behavioural response to being brushed:

Withdrawal, passive interactions, aggressive behaviors, facial discomfort, and purring characterized brushing. Vocalizations were significantly more frequent during isolation and brushing than during waiting for food, but it is possible that the characteristics of the vocalizations in these two situations are different. Our principal finding is that cats showed different behavioural patterns in the three situations and, in particular, their behaviour during brushing was very different than in the two other situations.

So what does this mean? Well, firstly the three situations referred to in the last sentence were: being brushed, being isolated (made the Maine Coon unhappy) and waiting for food (salivation and interest).

Example of a Maine Coon who hates being brushed on the Reddit website: "My extra fluffy boy has never enjoyed being brushed, which has led to some truly awful matting over the years. We’ve gotten special brushes and combs to try to get them out, but he just isn’t having it."

So, when Maine Coons are brushed, according this 'test' situation it results in the cat sometimes becoming aggressive and showing signs of being in discomfort. But also sometimes being happy (purring). Although purring can also signal emotional discomfort (i.e. cats can sometimes purr when they are being euthanised at the vet).

Lesson? Brush Maine Coons with gentleness and slowly and make sure the cat is content with the process. We can't pull on matts and be too vigorous. We can't automatically assume that it is fun for the cat. It might be nice for them and it might not.

But each cat is an individual. That needs to be recognised too. Some will be more tolerant than others. It would appear that in some instances the breeder might have overgroomed their kittens so that they learned to dislike the experience.

Try this: a different brush or a comb and use it first thing after he/she wakes up. Start the brushing/combing at a point where she accepts it.

Study details: Valuation of Maine Coon cat behavior during three different management situations. Authors: Simona Cannas, Silvana Mattiello, Monica Battini, Sara Irene Ingraffia, Delia Cadoni, Clara Palestrini. Link to study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2019.12.004.