Your Maine Coon Guide

You might ask a wider question rather than just looking at the beautiful Maine Coon cat and ask whether all small cats have similar tails. The answer is that they don't. And I'm talking about the wild cat species as well as the cat breeds and the moggies. I think this is 'Oscar' an Australia Maine Coon and what a tail. Perfect. Image assessed as being in the public domain on social media.  There is a variation among wild cat species in tail length which is due to evolutionary pressures such that, for example, the snow leopard has a beautifully long rope-like tail to aid balance while it chases prey (blue sheep) on 40° escarpments high up in the Himalayas while the American bobcat has a very short tail as has the lynx because they don't want their tails to drag in the snow ! That's the suggested reason and the underlying reason is always evolutionary pressures in order to boost survival. The typical domestic cat has a standard looking tail of medium length but t...

Tabby Maine Coon at a cat show. The judge is typical of cat show judges. As well turned out as the cats. I believe that the photo is in the public domain. I can tell you what type of Maine Coon cat would be disqualified from a cat show that took place under the auspices of The International Cat Association (TICA). The breed standard for this cat breed under this cat association's rules state that the following aspects of a Maine Coon cat's appearance would disqualify them from a cat show: Non-permissible colors. Blue or odd-eyes in any colored cat other than solid white or with white. Fine boning. Cobby body. Tail fault. Tail length significantly out of balance with body. Significantly too small for age or gender. "Non-permissible colours" appears to refer primarily to modified colours such as chocolate, lilac, cinnamon, fawn and caramel. These are non-dominant black-based colours which are not allowed under the breed standard. What is allowed in general is "all ...

We know that the Maine Coons has hairy feet. They have tufts of hair sticking out between the toes. It varies between the cats but you will see some extraordinary photographs of very long hair tufts poking out through the paw pads going downwards. This means that the fur is between the floor and the paw pads when they walk. The Maine Coon cat must have hairy feet as per the cat breed standard of all the cat associations. RELATED:  Maine Coon has the most amazing 'tufted paws' that you'll ever see . The Maine Coon cat's hairy feet are wonderful. Image: Mon Balon. This is a neat topic for discussion. Do you trim them? If a Maine Coon owner has a hard floor which are quite common these days and if that floor is shiny because it is well polished, there may be a slight risk of a Maine Coon cats slipping and sliding on it because their hair tufts are in between their paw pads and the floor. More hairy feet! Image: Facebook. I think that's a fair assessment.  It is based u...

This is a long page to try and make it fairly comprehensive. Starting from scratch, what does a person need to do to buy a Maine Coon cat? Obviously, you've got to approach a cat breeder because on nearly every occasion, you will have to buy your Maine Coon cat from a cat breeder. Rarely there are rescue Maine Coons. Although it is worth checking out the rescue Maine Coon route. But what do you do before that? Ready to buy a cat? I think that you must go back to square one first. At the beginning of a decision to buy a Maine Coon cat you have to consider domestic cats generally by which I mean: "Are you in a position to adopt a domestic cat?". "Are you in a position to live with a domestic cat for the lifespan of the cat?" It is a fundamental question which applies to every domestic cat whether they are non-purebred or purebred. In fact, the question is more appropriate or more pointed in respect of the Maine Coon cat because when you adopt a Maine Coon cat you ...

There are scams out there on the internet. We all know it and we should all be cautious in every aspect of life to protect against being scammed. The world is becoming more scammy! Defo. And sometimes this applies to Maine Coon breeders. I asked myself what I would do if I wanted to buy a Maine Coon kitten in the UK. The same answer would apply if I lived anywhere provided it was practical. Coonjangles Maine Coon kittens - all tabbies. Image: Coonjangles Maine Coon, UK. If you really want to be sure that you are buying a genuine Maine Coon of quality from a reputable breeder you have to visit the breeder in my view. There are many advantages to due diligence. Every Maine Coon breeder should allow a customer to view the kitten that they want to adopt with the mother of that kitten . They should allow a customer to select a kitten in their home which is usually their breeding facility. If they don't and provide a wishy-washy reason, I would not proceed. A breeder might have precautio...

Originally, around 40% of Maine Coons were polydactyls. That's a very high percentage. It comes from several authors writing about the Maine Coon cat. Perhaps the best-known book on the topic, That Yankee Cat by Marilis Hornidge, states that: "The number of claws in those paws was perhaps the most controversial of all issues in the final stages of setting up a standard. The traditional MC was frequently a polydactyl or many-toed cat, a genetic mutation that occurs with great frequency in the upper north-east United States." Image from: Polydactyl Maine Coons written by Susan Grindell MSc, BOptom Mainelymagic Maine Coons Beth Hicks, one of the foremost experts of the breed, stated: "I don't know if you are familiar with it but there was a study done by someone connected with a university in the 1950s which showed that 40% of Maines were polydactyls. Now, this was before they came back on the show circuit." She means that once Maine Coon cats became show cat...

By 'regular cats' I presume that the questioner means non-purebred cats or moggies. From a practical, genetic and anatomical standpoint the answer is most positively yes because Maine Coons are domestic cats just like moggies. They are exactly the same species. No problem there. Size difference between Maine Coon and standard domestic cat. This is Omar on the right. Photo: Instagram. However, from a cat breeder's standpoint it's a no-no. This is because the cat associations prohibit out crossing Maine Coons to other breeds and non-purebred cats. This is in order to maintain the genetic integrity of the breed to, in turn, ensure that the breed maintains its appearance. This is a very special and distinct appearance. It needs to be maintained. Below are the exact words from the CFA breed standard for this cat: Maine Coon Cat allowable outcross breeds: none. That's pretty clear although they don't mention random-bred (moggies) cats because they wouldn't. Th...

Yes, Maine Coons can be black. The cat associations allow them to be in all colors and divisions of the traditional category. Most early Maine Coons were brown tabbies. Patterns and colors have been added over the years to an extensive range. I have a page on the full list! Click here to see it if you wish . In the meantime, here are two black Maine Coons. Black Maine Coon. Photo copyright Helmi Flick. Black Maine Coon. Photo in the public domain.

In summary European Maine Coons tend to be bred more often to extreme, with larger ears and pronounced lynx tipped ears and large lion-like, chiselled muzzles compared to their American cousins. Plus, they might be more feral looking. I have also heard that TICA prefer more wild looking Maine Coons compared to the CFA more delicate or refined features and coat. TICA is an international cat association. The CFA is an American association. American Maine Coon. Photo: Helmi Flick European Maine Coon by Eurocoons based in Kansas , USA. Photo by them. European and American Maine Coons are the same breed. There are some differences. There has to be otherwise you wouldn't describe them as European and American Maine Coons. Also, it is worth noting that some American breeders in America breed European Maine Coons. The European Maine Coon is not only bred in Europe. American breeders appear to be importing Maine Coon foundation cats from Europe to start their own breeding lines. My ...

Absolutely not; a purebred, pedigree Maine Coon cannot have short hair because the cat associations' breed standards always insist that the coat is "heavy and shaggy". I'm referring to the Cat Fanciers' Association's breed standard in this instance but they'll all be very similar. The CFA standard goes on to state that the coat should be "shorter on the shoulders and longer on the stomach and britches. Frontal ruff desirable. Texture silky with coat falling smoothly." Decent-looking Maine Coon complying more or less with the breed standard. Although the ruff could be more prominent. The coat is very shaggy which is desired. It is like a shag pile carpet! Photo in public domain. In the 'general section' of the breed standard it states that a distinctive characteristic of this cat breed is its "smooth, shaggy coat". A shorthaired cat cannot have a heavy, shaggy coat. The two are incompatible. Therefore, Maine Coons can't h...

Colourpoint cats are pointed cats. The classic colourpoint cat is the Siamese. So why aren't there any Maine Coons with the same sort of coat that the Siamese cat has? Well, there are, actually, some in existence but they crept into breeding lines by accident and they probably caused quite a lot of consternation because the purists don't want pointed Maine Coons in the cat fancy. That's my understanding of it.  This is a pointed Perian aka Himalayan. Photo: Pixabay. And the fact of the matter is that the breed standard both for the CFA and TICA does not allow colourpoint Maine coon cats. And the reason for this I think is obvious: the cat fancy has to ensure that each cat breed is clearly distinguishable from the other. If they overlapped too much, they would no longer be distinct, which would muddy or blur the list of cat breeds which they manage in their breed standards. Sarah Hartwell has a different reason but one which overlaps. She says that the reason why colourpo...

Some people want to know whether Maine Coons can mate with any other domestic cat including random-bred domestic cats and, of course, the answer is a very positive Yes, biologically speaking. This is because the Maine Coon is itself a domestic cat with exactly the same DNA as any other moggy. There is absolutely no biological barrier to this glamorous purebred cat mating with any other domestic cat. Image: MikeB. However, that said, you don't want to do it because the offspring will not be Maine Coon cats. They will be hybrids which are euphemistically called 'Maine Coon mix' cats. In short, these are moggies because the purebred cats have to be purebred and registered with a cat association and have a pedigree. What's the point of mating a Maine Coon with a moggy? And, my argument is positively supported by the major cat associations because their breed standards do not permit what they call "outcrosses". Below is a screenshot from the be standard of The Inte...

Here is a list of Maine Coon clubs and associations as at 2021 which may not be comprehensive but which you might find useful nonetheless. Clubs and associations tend to come and go but the ones mentioned here are well-established. Maine Coon (brown tabby) siting on a table looking very cute. Photo in public domain. The Maine Coon Cat Club , affiliated to the GCCF and established in 1985 (UK based). In 1995 it published a guide to the breed: Introducing the Maine Coon . They have an initial joining fee of 1 pound with a single annual subscription of 5 pounds or a joint annual subscription of 7 pounds. For those under 16 they have a junior subscription of £2.50 but juniors have no voting rights. They have forms on their website to complete. They have a Facebook page, Maine Coon Cat Club UK , on which they say that the club currently has five hundred members, both in Britain and abroad. Membership is open to anyone. You don't have to own a Maine Coon to join. Many of their members...

You can tell for sure if your cat is a Maine Coon through a written pedigree, a formal document, which you should have.  The fact that you are asking the question makes it pretty certain that your cat is not a Maine Coon.  Nearly everyone who lives with a genuine Maine Coon knows it because they bought the cat from a cat breeder and they acquired a document which is evidence that the cat is a Maine Coon. The bottom line is that there is written evidence. PrairieBaby Maine Coon cats. One of their Maine Coons. Photo copyright Helmi Flick. The said document will set out the pedigree of the cat concerned for at least four generations. All the cats in the pedigree will be a Maine Coon. This might be referred to as 'MCO' which stands for Maine Coon. Every purebred cat should be registered with a cat association aka cat club. If a Maine Coon is registered with The International Cat Association (TIC), for example, they will issue this document showing the pedigree. I presume that t...

I had noticed a headline, a partly misleading headline it seems to me, in which it stated that cat associations accepted polydactyl Maine Coon cats. If you check the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) Maine Coon Cat breed standard you can see right away that they don't accept Maine Coon cats with the incorrect number of toes. The CFA is the leading cat association with TICA and GCCF (in the UK). However, TICA accept polydactyl Maine Coons : Large, well-tufted. Additional toes allowed on either fore or hind paws or both - TICA breed standard for the Maine Coon  Cute Maine Coon with standard feet. Photo: Pinterest. The CFA breed standard is quite clear. Maine Coon cats with the incorrect number of toes will be disqualified in cat shows. This is reinforced by the fact that the breed standard states that the feet of a Maine Coon should have 'five toes in front; four in back'. That couldn't be clearer. I've got to conclude that some cat associations (or is it just th...

Wow, describes my emotions when I saw this plumed Maine Coon tail. I mean, the Maine Coon tail is meant to be grand and fabulous but this! Amazing. It is as long and as impressive as the tail of a snow leopard and they are the world's best cat tails (the longest and thickest). CFA breed standard states (the official guideline to breeders on how the tail should look for this breed):  TAIL: long, wide at base, and tapering. Fur long and flowing. They call them 'plumed' which sort of sums up the appearance. It certainly applies to this cat's tail. Why is she or he outside the home? Thieves about! Too glamorous. Too desirable. Especially during lockdown. But this pic was taken years ago before a pandemic was even dreamt about. Picture of an extraordinary Maine Coon tail. Picture in the public domain. My best guess is that this individual is female. You can detect it in the face. A little more femine that the face of a typical male. This is a gray tabby with a beauty of ...

One of the defining physical characteristics of the Maine Coon are the ear tufts , the long hair that grows out from the tip of each ear to make the ears look larger and give then a more triangular appearance. Ear tufts are enshrined in the American cat association breed standards. There is actual mention of ear tufts - EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted . Surprisingly (for me at least!) there is no mention in the British "standard of points" which is the UK equivalent of the breed standard . This is what it states: "Ears - Large, tall ears, wide at base and tapering to appear pointed at the tip; set high but well apart." No mention of "tufts" but there is mention of the ears appearing pointed at the tip, which is an oblique reference to ear tufts so why can't the Brits be more precise and actually refer to the hair! It would have been better. My recommendation to the GCCF (the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy - the premier cat association in th...

Photos copyright Helmi Flick Helmi Flick says (and she should know) that Maine Coons registered with the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) tend to be prettier and tidier than those registered with The International Cat Association (TICA) which are more shaggy and natural looking, if you like. It's all about the interpretation of the breed standard by cat show judges, which cannot be absolutely precise. As I have already written about this I won't recite it all again here. Please go to this page for full details . The photos and text on this page are protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

The GCCF is the premier UK cat association. They publish registration figures for the years 2006 to 2010. The Maine Coon is ranked the fourth most registered cat breed for 2010. In a worldwide poll on my site the Maine Coon is the most popular cat breed . This is because of US votes and the US is the biggest cat market.Votes from the public will also produce different figures to registrations at cat associations. The Persian is failing as a breed, however, due to poor publicity on over breeding (flat face).