Your Maine Coon Guide

The title comes from the social media website: Reddit.com, where they have a thriving forum about the 'MC' which is how Maine Coon afficionados refer to their cats. This young MC has perfectly tufted paws as per the breed standard. One of the signs of a genuine Maine Coon cat. They are a badge of honour! Image: Reddit user: u/Freeflybudgie The answer to the question will be YES for genuine Maine Coons as 'well tufted' paws are part of the CFA breed standard. In other words, MC breeders affiliated with the CFA have to create cats with tons of 'toe hair' as this Reddit user calls it. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) breed standard for the MC's feet: "LEGS and FEET: legs substantial, wide set, of medium length, and in proportion to the body. Forelegs are straight. Back legs are straight when viewed from behind. Paws large, round, well-tufted . Five toes in front; four in back.2 You probably know that the breed standard is the breeding guideline on a...

You may have noticed that I refer to the breed standards of purebred, pedigree cats all the time because they are the guidelines under which breeders create cats. The breed standards describe the appearance of the cat breed in question. This is a summary of the breed standard mainly in layperson's terminology. The standards can be quite technical because they use cat fancy language. Pic: copyright Helmi Flick. A superb tabby Maine Coon Most valuable pieces of anatomy! The first point to note is that the most valuable part of the Maine Coon anatomy in terms of scoring points at a cat show when competing with other Maine Coon cats is the coat. The judges score out of 20 the quality of the coat to which you can add 15 points in respect of "body colour and pattern". The shape of the body accrues 15 points in maximum. And the shape of the head accrues 15 points as well if it's a perfect head as per the breed standard! Rugged working cat The standard makes it clear that as ...

Well, if you are interested in buying/adopting a blue Maine Coon, this is the sort of cat you should be considering. So perfectly Maine Coon. So handsome and distinguished. So much so that it is almost undignified that he is playing (reluctantly) with the tease waved in front of his face. Majestic blue male Maine Coon is perfect right down to his nose leather. Image: Instagram. This is the CFA breed standard for Maine Coon Colors - solid color class. You can see that there are five different solid colours allowed for this cat breed under the Cat Fanciers' Association. WHITE: pure glistening white. Nose leather and paw pads: pink.  BLACK: dense coal black, sound from roots to tip of fur. Free from any tinge of rust on tips or smoke undercoat. Nose leather: black. Paw pads: black or brown.  BLUE: one level tone from nose to tip of tail. Sound to the roots. Nose leather and paw pads: blue.  RED: deep, rich, clear, brilliant red; without shading, markings, or ticking. Lips an...

I thought I'd check out some Maine Coon catteries. This may help adopters/buyers. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) operate a two-tier approval programme: CFA Approved Cattery and CFA Cattery of Excellence. Image: Myzticcoons. Note : the name in the certificate above is slightly different to the name I have referred to. I suspect that this is because the cattery changed it. Or the CFA got it wrong! Don't be concerned by this. The certification lasts for a year and has to be renewed which is good, Location I'm looking at the CFA catteries of excellence in this article. One of those is Myztic Coons and as mentioned they are based on the island of O‘ahu, Hawaii, USA. Hawaii is a US state. Double registered They are actually a double registered cattery both with the CFA and The International Cat Association (TICA). They are a "closed cattery" meaning I guess that you can't just turn up and have a look at it. You have to make an appointment to visit but they ...

What is the rarest Maine Coon colour? Image: MikeB This is a bit technically and I'd say an example of a cat fancy nerd navel gazing! I'm being a bit cruel. But there is not much point in knowing the answer. But perhaps the question has been asked with an eye on adopting the ultimate status symbol. My guess is that the 'dilute calico smoke' is the rarest coat type and colour. I explain why later in the article. I don't have a photograph of a dilute calico smoke Maine Coon because they are vanishingly rare :). This is where I have to make a confession. I don't know the answer. But I won't be alone. I am positive that the author on any other website providing an answer to question in the title will be guessing. That's because there's no available information on this from the cat associations. If we had access to the list of Maine Coon registrations at the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) for the past five years (plus the same from the other major as...

How to confirm that your Maine Coon is purebred without pedigree papers (and more). Note: this is not a Maine Coon but the picture is here from the Wisdom Panel video for illustrative purposes only. It shows a saliva swab being taken which is sent to the laboratory. Wisdom Panel provide a DNA testing service by mail. The business certainly operates in the USA and the UK and possibly other countries. You apply for a testing kit online. In the UK it currently costs £58.49 p. At the moment they are giving out free WHISKAS samples with every order.  They say they scan for 70+ breeds and populations, 45+ health tests and 25+ trait tests. So it is a comprehensive testing of your cat's DNA which they assess through a swab of their saliva.  You send this swab to their laboratories and they will send you the report in the post and/or perhaps online in an email as well. It's as straightforward as that. Click on this link to go to the UK website for the service . If you live in the USA I...

Firstly, the tufts of hair sticking out of the top of a Maine Coon's ear flaps are named after the lynx wild cat as they have them in abundance. The tufts of hair on the lynx wild cat are believed to have a function but we don't know as yet what it is! Perhaps a communication tool via body language. They are likely to be functional to improve survival as almost everything that evolves is designed to improve survival. Maine Coon lynx tips on the ears are purely decorative. Image: MikeB But for the Maine Coon cat these impressive tufts of hair are decorative . They enhance the ear. They decorate the ear as if decorating a sofa with cushions 😎💓. Same thing. There is a rules-based reason: the breed standards insist on them. I've quoted the CFA breed standard in the infographic on this page. The standard allows for breeder discretion which is why you see large variations in the length and density of lynx tips depending on the breeder. The breeders create them over generations ...

The Maine Coon is often described as a 'gentle giant'. And sometimes you see the breed described as 'quiet'. For example, the Daily Paws website says that "These big cats are surprisingly quiet—they do love to communicate and vocalize to their humans, but their soft voice may take you by surprise." This Maine Coon illustrates the CFA page on the breed: He/she looks pretty normal, doesn't he? Not gigantic. No extreme muzzle or super-sized ears with massive lynx tips sprouting from them. This is the norm for Maine Coons. Quiet? But one Maine Coon owner on Twitter says that her cat is noisy. She says: As a Maine Coon owner I disagree with this post. I mostly put focus on the breed of my cat to warn others though. They are - noisy! And big and fluffy, which is how he survives my wrath, which I obtain by him being noisy! Who are we to believe? Neither provides us with the right or complete information as there will be variations between individual cats. They pr...

This information might interest Maine Coon aficionados i.e. those people who are really into the Maine Coon cat. It's about inbreeding which is measured by the inbreeding coefficient (COI). Sarah Hartwell very usefully provides a diagrammatic chart of the coefficient of inbreeding. It is a scale of 0 to 1 but is often presented as a percentage. So, for example, when siblings are bred to each other the coefficient of inbreeding is 25% and when first cousins are bred to each other the coefficient of inbreeding is 6.25%. COI chart as presented by Sarah Hartwell on her website messybeast.com . Inbreeding depression When breeders inbreed their cats too much it can cause what the cat fancy describes as inbreeding depression which is a compromised immune system and even anatomical defects such as you see in the white tiger. The white tiger by the way is heavily inbred. Inbreeding depression means ill health basically and a shorter lifespan and weak kittens et cetera. It's what you wou...

The presentation of hip dysplasia in Maine Coons is gradual with subtle behavioural changes such as inactivity or aggression, lack of response to human attention, reluctance to go up or down stairs, and resistance to handling. Here is a video I made to change the way I discuss these issues. They are very important issues. It surprises me that people discuss them more or hardly at all. Health is more important than appearance at the end of the day. That's what I think but it seems that I am out of step with almost everyone else!  The video that I have made, boring though it is, is the first I've seen on how hip dysplasia has a negative impact on the cat's character. In the video, I mention that people don't talk about this disease affecting character. What I mean is that the owners on TikTok proudly show off their cats which is understandable but they don't mention this important health issue. They wouldn't because it is a negative but it is important. @mikej...

The CFA breed standard guides breeders on the appearance of the breeds registered with that association. It is the same with the other breeds and associations. They award points for each aspect of the appearance with the overall total being 100. This allows judges to give an overall figure which is a percentage. The MC has a double coat of downy undercoat and a top coat but the coat is made up of three types of hair strand: down hairs (wool hairs), bristle or awn hairs and guard hairs . Technically there is a fourth type of hair: the whiskers. Maine Coon coat is the single most important part of the cat's appearance. Image: MikeB The aspect of the Maine Coon appearance (anatomy) to which is attached the most points in the coat. A show cat can be awarded a maximum of 20 points (20% of the total) for their coat in comparison to 15 for the head shape and 15 for the body shape. This 20% figure does NOT include body colour and pattern. The coat is therefore the most important single as...

Show MC cat. Image in public domain. Are declawed Maine Coon cats disqualified from cat show competitions? A fair question seeing as declawing is so prevalent in the United States despite the cruelty of the multiple amputations. I am faced with an imprecise answer from the two premier cat associations based in America. But Dr Morris, a British zoologist clears up the issue. CFA and TICA - Cat Fanciers' Association and The International Cat Association These are a couple of top cat associations. The top with the GCCF in the UK. Both as expected list the reasons why a cat might be disqualified from competition. In both examples they do not state that they disqualify declawed Maine Coon cats (MCs) or any other breed of cat. They should as it would send a clear message that they are against the operation. Perhaps they are afraid of alienating a large segment of American society. The CFA makes an INDIRECT reference to disqualifying declawed Maine Coons. Here it is: DISQUALIFY: Incorrect...

The answer to the question in the title is that you won't know unless you have carried out due diligence checks yourself. However, the one advantage is that they shouldn't be a scam breeder. That's pretty basic but there are scammers out there. You want to select a Maine Coon cat breeder as you have decided to adopt. How do you select a breeder? It is a big decision because it affects the quality of the cat bought. It is a decision which will impact the next 15+ years of your life. " CFA and TICA don't protect buyers of Maine Coons from breeders listed on their websites" - MikeB CFA and TICA don't protect buyers of Maine Coons from breeders listed on their websites. Image: MikeB America's two biggest and best-known cat associations are the CFA and TICA. You probably know that. They are the Cat Fanciers' Association and The International Cat Association respectively. Both have a very similar policy with respect to the Maine Coon breeder listings. CF...

The Maine Coon x Siamese mix is a popular cat. Or at least it is discussed a lot on the Internet. But these are informal hybrid cats. They are not accepted by the Cat Fancier's Association (CFA), the premier association in the American cat fancy.  It is just breeders or individuals experimenting it seems to me. They like the idea of a hybrid of a cross between them Maine Coon cat and a Siamese cat. And it is quite a nice hybrid. Lynx point Siamese x Maine Coon hybrid. Image: Reddit.com user: u/chance_tyler11 However, it is a hybrid which is rejected by the CFA breed standard. You will note a couple of references to the pointed cat coat of the Siamese in the CFA breed standard which indicates this rejection. RELATED: Lynx point Siamese . Disqualification Firstly, in a paragraph concerning Maine Coon cats that should be disqualified at cat shows it refers to both the kinked tail and crossed eyes . In other words, any Maine Coon cat with a kinked tail or crossed eyes will be disquali...

The difference between a Maine Coon cat and a domestic longhaired cat comes down to the fact that the former has been artificially bred (selective breeding) whereas the latter has usually procreated according to natural selection. Natural selection is random breeding and therefore the domestic longhair is a random-bred cat whereas, selective breeding produces a purebred, pedigree cat registered with a cat association.  Difference between Maine Coon and domestic long hair. Infographic by MikeB. And because each individual Maine Coon cat is registered with a cat association, if they are in genuine Maine Coon, their appearance should comply with the association's breed standard . The breed standard tells breeders what their Maine Coon cats should look like in order that they can win cat show competitions if they want to enter their cat into these competitions. And so, as the appearance of Maine Coon cats is moulded to the guidance of a breed standard (see a section below from the...

Here is a visual representation of the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) Maine Coon breed standard points score. It shows you how the various parts of the body are weighted in terms of their importance in the cat fancy. Maine Coon breed standard points score (CFA). Infographic: MikeB. Click on the image to see it a little sharper and larger. We know the head shape is important because the muzzle is a major feature of this breed. The ear shape and lynx tips are also important as they help to define the breed and distinguish it from all the others. Judges will award points for each component of anatomy up to the maximum as shown in the infographic. FYI: "This is Jill. She’s my 7mo old Maine Coon tortie who has a glorious tail". The words are from the caregiver: u/mmkaytheniguess on Reddit.com. It was the best picture I could find this afternoon to showcase all the parts of anatomy. She is a glorious tortoiseshell as the owner states. Here is a CFA show cat winner on the left....

It is a useful question to ask because the answer might surprise you. I've mentioned it before, but the CFA, the leading cat association, do not insist through their breed standards that the Maine Coon cat should be big but TICA differ. The 'end product' is the choice of the breeders. The weight range of this popular breed reflects the cat association's breed standards. Dr. Bruce Fogle DVM in his book THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE CAT states that the weight range is 4-10 kg (9-22 lbs). The lower weight applies to females which as you might expect are generally smaller than males. And it is a weight which is not untypical for a large number of non-purebred cats. One website, 11pets, states that the average female weight is 11 pounds and the average male weight is 14.8 pounds. They also state that 25% of male Maine Coon cats weigh between 6 kg and 8 kg. And 30% of females way between 4 kg and 6 kg. Another website states that the average weight of a Maine Coon cat varies betwe...

This is an infographic which examines the CFA breed standard for the Maine Coon in relation to the muzzle. An important part of the cat's anatomy. It is very important for the breeders as the muzzle is one element which distinguishes the Maine Coon from other at breeds. The breeds have to look different for obvious reasons. The cat fancy achieves this with selective breeding. Historically the Maine Coon is a regular, medium-longhaired moggie that was a barn cat. When you see the original Maine Coons from over 100 years ago, they look like rescue cats! They wouldn't pass muster today because of the evolved breed standard. The muzzle and the lynx tipped ears are probably the two most distinguishing features combined with the cats 'solid and rugged' appearance. Those are the words of the CFA. No mention of size. The cat show winner in the infographic must be female and is quite delicate, interestingly. The muzzle is pronounced however.

The infographic on this page is about all there is to know about big Maine Coons. There is a fascination with the enormous. Until I'd seen such large feline heads on equally large domestic cat bodies, I would never have envisaged a domestic cat's head being the same size as that of their owner. It demonstrates the power of selective breeding from foundation stock that includes a massive male Maine Coon. You could argue that it has got out of hand a little as the CFA breed standard does not insist that Maine Coons need to be huge or even large. The standard does not state that.  The cat show winning Maine Coons are not huge. They look quite normal. In fact, the breed standard says that quality should not be sacrificed at the altar of massive size. Point made. What kind of Maine Coon wins cat show competitions ? Instructive. Like almost all others, however, I like big Maine Coons as long as they are healthy. There is an issue here as the bigger Maine Coons are more likely to deve...

Why do Maine Coons invariably win the world record as the longest domestic cats? The answer is in the breed standard. I'll refer to the CFA breed standard. Here it is in relation to the body:  "BODY SHAPE: muscular, broad-chested. Size medium to large. Females generally are smaller than males. The body should be long with all parts in proportion...." Yep, the Maine Coon (MC) body should be long if a cat breeder wants one of her cats to win cat shows.  It is not often that a breed standard demands that a cat should be long. The desired length is supported by a further requirement concerning the body: "Size medium to large..." Notice that MCs don't have to be huge! Some are. But they should be large and at least medium-sized.  In general, they are the largest domestic cat breed because of the breed standard. Barivel. Image: Guinness World Records. This requirement is added to the length requirement to give us the world's longest domestic cat accolade on a...