Your Maine Coon Guide

This is another chapter in Barnaby's adventures! Click on these links to see the earlier chapters: Chapter one Chapter two Chapter three The annual Clover Creek Neighborhood Block Party was usually a quiet affair, but this year, the headline event was the first-ever Neighborhood Pet Show. Maya had convinced Lily to sign Barnaby up under the "Most Majestic Pet" category. Getting Barnaby to the neighborhood park required a stroller, as carrying a twenty-pound cat three blocks was out of the question. He sat inside the mesh-zippered pet stroller like an emperor in a golden chariot, his massive green eyes tracking every passing dog with calm disdain. The Contenders The park was a circus of noise and color. The competition was fierce and highly chaotic: The Rival : A groomed, white Persian cat named Duchess, who wore a pink rhinestone collar and sat on a silk pillow. The Performer : A hyperactive Jack Russell Terrier named Buster (not Maya's beagle), who was busy spinning ...

A blue tortie-and-white female Maine Coon kitten at a cat show being shown off to adoring fans. I've seen this guy before in the show ring discussing the show cats that he judges. 'Blue' in this instance means a dilute tortie-and-white. The coat has a slightly faded appearance that many find attractive. The 'blue' relates to the greying up of the black element of the coat. He says some interesting things about the Maine Coon (MC). The breed should be super-super long in contrast to the Siberian cat which looks a little similar and which may have similar origins. The Siberian is relatively quite stocky (in cat fancy language 'cobby'). We know he is right about the MC being super long because the only cat breed to win the Guinness World Records longest domestic cat award is the Maine Coon. He emphasises the desired feral appearance of the MC. That's interesting. I believe that he is judging a TICA cat show as opposed to a CFA cat show as the former like th...

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...

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 ...

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 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...

This video is nicely instructional for people interested in adopting a Maine Coon. Here we have a very nice little video. It shows an Australian lady (an amusing woman) interviewing an Australian woman who is a Maine Coon cat breeder. The interview appears to have taken place at a cat show where this beautiful 10 kg (22 pounds) male Maine Coon cat has won two titles that day at this cat show.  RELATED: Here's a list of Maine Coon breeders in Australia and some extra information . And as is so typical of Maine Coon cats he sits there completely chilled out minding his own business while they talk about him. This is a strange place to this cat but no problems. He just wants to sit down and chill. Australian Maine Coon breeder talks through the breed in an interview at a cat show in Australia where this cat won twice. Screenshot. How many times have we seen Maine Coon cats chilled and super-calm like this? I've seen them all the time. And it must point to a personality for this br...

Fast Eddie a great looking cat show Maine Coon. Screenshot. Fast Eddie, a superlative ginger-and-white Maine Coon show cat impresses at a CFA cat show. I think Fast Eddie came second in this CFA cat show in the United States to a copper-eyed, pure white Persian but he has been the best cat in other shows. I think he was the best Maine Coon at the show.  If you want to know what a great Maine Coon looks like as per the CFA standard, this is your boy. He's purrfect.   It is nice to see what the top cat association thinks the Maine Coon should look like. Potential adopters can get a little distracted by the huge Maine Coons on social media. The show judge makes a nice remark as she talks through the judging of Fast Eddie (who's anything but fast as he is incredibly calm and static which is great at this juncture of the show). She says that Maine Coons should have a balanced body conformation. They should not be extreme as some Maine Coons are. The character of the Main...

The first mention of Maine Coon cats in a literary work was in 1861 in Frances Simpson's The Book of the Cat (1903). I have a copy of that book! It is a terrible copy, as if it has been photocopied and bound together. It is hard to read. Simpson was the leading writer about the cat fancy at that time. For those who are interested in cat history particularly American cat history and the Maine Coon cat I will recite verbatim what she said about the first major cat show held in the Madison Square Garden, New York, on May 8, 1895. She does say that in the state of Maine they had cat shows well before this one. These must have been fairly informal.  Comment : Maine Coon cats in those days were called 'Maine Cats'. Several cats brought over from England died after the show. I find this shocking. Frances Simpson does not explain why they died. She does mention that there were very high temperatures in the showroom and it may be that they fell ill because of these high temperature...

I've just been watching an episode of The Hunger Games . A good series of films. The episode I watched is part one of the Mockingjay series. I noticed what I immediately recognised as a Maine Coon cat in the film. A ginger tabby Maine Coon to be precise. The best! I thought I would write about him. Ginger tabbies are nearly always males and therefore I can presume that Buttercup is male. Buttercup the Maine Coon in The Hunger Games. Image: Screenshot from the film series and in the public domain as assessed. Ear-tipped Having found a photograph of him on the internet, which is presented on this page above, I noticed that his left ear has been 'tipped', a sign that he has been through a TNR program. A further sign that this cat must've been a feral cat for a while or a stray cat more precisely.  This would indicate that he was abandoned or he voluntarily returned to the wild. I think this an important and interesting part of the Buttercup story because you just do not s...

 This video should be of interest to people who want to know what a Maine Coon should look like if they are going to do well at cat shows. I have discussed this topic before (see link below) but I think it is nice to hear a cat show judge going over the main features and what to look for in a good-quality Maine Coon cat.  Note: you might have to click on the play button 2x to get it to play 😒. You see what I would describe as quite a small female Maine Coon which he carries around in that classic cat show judge way which is a hand under both ends of the torso making the cat look very long. The size of this cat brings home to us that not all Maine Coon cats are enormous. Often times they are quite small relative to our expectations.  Cat show judge goes over the basics of Maine Coon appearance. Screenshot. That's not to say they are small compared to the general population of domestic cats. They are not. They are nearly always larger than your typical domestic cat but we ...

All purebred cats have breed standards. The cat associations such as the CFA and TICA in the USA and the GCCF in the UK, have breed standards for all their registered cats. The Maine Coon is no exception. The breed standard is quite a short document and it allows some discretion for those reading it and applying it. A Maine Coon which complies with the CFA breed standard as he is a cat show winner. Image: Channan. Click this for the CFA Maine Coon breed standard . It is cat breeders and cat show judges who apply the breed standards. In essence, the breed standard is a document which sets out how the Maine Coon should look as decided on by the association administrators. But as mentioned, the document is not and probably cannot be too detailed or scientific.  This means that it is open to a certain amount of elasticity in its interpretation. This may be deliberate or it may simply be because it's impossible to be very precise when it comes to the creation of a purebred cat. However,...

You might be expecting me to tell you what a "delicate bone structure" means in relation to a Maine Coon show cat in competition at a cat show, but I don't think I can tell you. The phrase "delicate bone structure" is very elastic in its meaning. But the CFA breed standard makes it clear that if your Maine Coon has a delicate bone structure, he or she will be disqualified in competition at a cat show. Not a Maine Coon with a delicate bone structure. Photo: Instagram. Personally, I think that this criterion for qualification is too elastic and too vague. The interpretation of it is going to lead to injustices being perpetrated. Perhaps it never happens. Perhaps no judges have ever disqualified a Maine Coon for having a delicate bone structure. Perhaps this criterion is more academic than practical. What it is saying is the opposite: that Maine Coons should be substantial and quite big and solid. I have a feeling that the phrase is pushing Maine Coon breeders t...

I have to speculate but I think my reasoning is sound. However, I am not a show judge. I would like a show judge to comment 🤞. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) state in the opening paragraph of their breed standard that: "Quality should never be sacrificed for size". This, to me, indicates that size alone will not help a cat win at a cat show. Pretty Maine Coon but not massive. More like medium-sized. Photo: Helmi Flick. It's not size alone which is going to help a Maine Coon to win a cat show but the overall quality of the animal. And by 'quality' the CFA must mean whether the individual cat fully meets the breed standard in every respect and then some more.  Perhaps it is fair to say that if there are two cats competing for the top prize and they both fully meet the breed standard, but one of them is a very large example and the other is not, the larger cat will win the cat show because the breed standard also hints that larger cats are preferable. I say...

Maine Coon show cat. Photo copyright Helmi Flick. The CFA Maine Coon breed standard makes it clear that the following anatomical features would disqualify an individual cat at a cat show: Delicate bone structure; Undershot chin, i.e. the front teeth, the incisors, of the lower jaw overlap or project beyond the front teeth of the upper jaw when the mouth is closed; Crossed eyes; Kinked tail; Incorrect number of toes (this must be a reference to polydactylism which is quite a common feature on Maine Coon cats ); On their fur there are white buttons, white locket or white spots; Maine Coon cats that are hybrids i.e. showing evidence of hybridisation resulting in the colours chocolate, lavender or the Himalayan pattern.

No, not a CFA show because the CFA breed standard states: DISQUALIFY : delicate bone structure. Undershot chin, i.e. the front teeth (incisors) of the lower jaw overlapping or projecting beyond the front teeth of the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. Crossed eyes. Kinked tail. Incorrect number of toes . White buttons, white lockets, or white spots. Cats showing evidence of hybridization resulting in the colors chocolate, lavender, or the Himalayan pattern. But the answer depends where you live and whether you have a cat association registering cat breeds. I have taken the USA because it is the biggest marketplace for purebred cats. The answer depends on the cat associations management and what they allow. Update December 1st, 2022: I have discovered a study in which Jane Marr which states: " It is hope that by understand this trait the reader will see that the usual trait for polydactyly in cats is harmless and needs to have its rightful place on the show bench.... In summary...

Maine coon cat shows predated the first formal cat show of 1871 in London. Desmond Morris in his book Cat World states that "Maine Coon shows had been taking place regularly before either of these". He is referring to both the first formal cat show of 1871 in London and the first North American formal cat show usually given as May 8th 1895 in New York .  "Maine Cat" - winner of America's first cat show in 1895. Picture in public domain. The early Maine Coon show cats look like today's moggies. Therefore, Maine Coons were the first cats ever to be exhibited at competitive cat shows unless the same thing was happening in England with British Shorthairs and there are no reports of that. The Maine Coon cat shows took place regularly from the early 1860s. Farmers in New England held an annual cat show at the Skowhegan Fair. He states that Maine Coon cats were brought from all over the region to compete for the title of "Main State Champion Coon Cat"...

You probably know that the wife of France's King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, features in one of the many legends on the origin of the Maine Coon Cat. Here is some detail on the lady and her story. It is said that while the people of Paris starved she lived lavishly. She liked pets and at one time had a dog, a pug, which she took to Austria. Leo, the Maine Coon who won the first formal Ameircan cat show in 1895. And it is also said that she had six Angora cats. I think, today, we would describe these as Turkish Angora cats but of course this was before the cat fancy and therefore by today's standards they would be better described as long-haired cats possibly from Turkey. And they would have looked like the street cats of Turkey and not the purebred Turkish Angoras bred in America which are very different. The real Turkish Angora look like a traditional Persian cat . She apparently permitted her glamorous cats to roam around the tables during court gatherings. It was the tim...

Maine Coon cats were exhibited in semi-informal shows as early as the 1860s in America. That's quite interesting because it is before the first formal cat show in England which was in 1871 at Crystal Palace, south London. They were very popular and were frequent winners. You may know that the first American cat show (formal) at Madison Square Garden resulted in a Maine Coon winning the show. The cat was a brown tabby owned by Mrs EN Baker. MAINE COON HISTORY TIMELINE As the cat fancy developed and cat shows became more sophisticated, more imported varieties of cats came into America and they had long pedigrees. Their breeding was more sophisticated. They were cats of uniform colour without white markings. This created a vogue and the Maine Coon's popularity declined. They disappeared from shows altogether for a while. Early Maine Coon. Completely different to the modern version. Photo in public domain. Persian breeders frequently outcrossed to Maine Coon cats because they we...

At the time of the first American cat show held in the Madison Square Garden, New York on May 8th, 1895,  the now famous and popular Maine Coon was called a "Maine cat". The word "coon" was not a twinkle in anyone's eye. Perhaps the Maine Coon should still be called the "Maine cat" because I don't think the word "coon" does this breed any favours. Of course the first cat show, in what is now the country with the biggest cat fancy in the world, was held in the State of Maine. That makes sense. The winner was a Maine cat, which makes me think of bias but perhaps that is just me being cynical. The winning cat was a brown tabby Maine cat. The brown tabby coat is nice on the Maine Coon to this day because it is a natural coat type, the sort of coat that would have been typical for Maine cats. The winning cat was of course native to Maine. Apparently he was a good cat so was probably a deserving winner. He was a gelding. As the show took place ...