Your Maine Coon Guide

One of the online mantras is that the Maine Coon is so big (sometimes) that they can look like a dog at a distance. I can't really believe that but I get the point about size and put a Maine Coon on a leash and the resemblance to a dog becomes more acute. The important point here is that nearly all Maine Coons are full-time indoor cats and therefore it is almost obligatory to train your Maine Coon to walk on a lead to enable them to enjoy some outdoor life safely. They'll need this mental stimulation. You could argue that all Maine Coon owners must go through a leash training course before adoption or what about this: the breeder and supplier of Maine Coon kittens leash trains their kittens for sale so that they are 'leash ready' when sold to their new adopter. Cool? This black cat has some 'rust'. The black coat is occasionally rusty. This is a well-known phenomenon due to a tyrosine deficient diet. Several websites say that " Tyrosine deficiency is caused...

Maine Coons do not NEED special food but there is an argument that they might BENEFIT from a special food such as made by Royal Canin, a large pet food manufacturer based in France, which has jumped on the bandwagon of Maine Coon health concerns which have been thoroughly documented on the internet.  Image: Royal Canin (annotated by MikeB). This is the point: Maine Coons suffer from hip dysplasia - a lose joint between the socket of the hip and the ball of the femur; a joint problem. And patella luxation - a knee cap that moves from its normal capping position. RELATED: What can a Maine Coon owner do to help their cat with hip dysplasia ? To use this inherent weakness in this popular cat breed Royal Canin make a product called "Royal Canin Maine Coon Adult dry cat food" which is "especially formulated for adult Maine Coon cats; King Size kibble encourages longer chewing, with glucosamine and chondroitin for healthy joints". So, there you have it: a special cat food ...

As the Maine Coon (MC) is the largest domestic cat breed and as they CAN weigh around 20 pounds, I'll attempt to work out an answer on the basis that the owner has a large MC at 20 pounds in weight. That's convenient for me because I have prepared an infographic which sets out the minimum and maximum cost for ONE YEAR for dry, wet and raw cat foods in the United States to feed a 10 POUND cat. Here it is: So, if we rather crudely double the cost for a MC we arrive at the following. Note: doubling the food intake for a cat double the weight is a bit simplistic but I believe a good starting point. In feeding a Maine Coon, the cheapest dry food for one year, the cost would be twice the $86 (the cost for a 10-pound cat) which makes $172 and for the most expensive dry food it would be $704. Feeding the same MC with the cheapest wet food would using the same double cost produces $892 per year for the cheapest wet food and the most expensive would be $4214. Feeding a raw diet, the cos...

I have just read an interesting blog article written by a Maine Coon breeder in the UK about feeding Maine Coon cats and indeed any domestic cat. Her experiences, of course, relate to Maine Coon cats. Her breeding cattery is called Rudycats Maine Coons Ltd . One kitten from Rudycats Maine Coons Ltd. Image by them. I believe that it can be very useful to listen to cat breeders because they have more direct first-hand experience than most people in raising cats. And it is strongly in their interest to raise healthy cats. Their business is dependent upon it. UPDATE : This breeder has been accused of being cruel and callous in her breeding. That is the allegation. It does not directly affect what she says about cat food, but you should know. Click this link to read about this allegation . Therefore, they should be trying very hard and using their best efforts to create healthy and strong kittens. Nutrition is a major way to meet that goal. I don't know the name of the breeder but perha...

Maine Coons are like any other domestic cat in that some adults and occasionally kittens are unable to digest milk and some milk by-products because they lack adequate amounts of the enzyme lactase. This enzyme aids in the digestion of milk sugars which is present in all dairy products. The unabsorbed sugar, lactose, holds water in the small intestine. This leads to what veterinarians called "increased motility" and a large volume of stool. "Increased motility" means an increased capability to move which in other words means diarrhoea in layperson's terms. Diarrhoea is the passage of loose and unformed stool. And diarrhoea is a symptom not a disease. Maine Coon drinking milk. This is a created picture as is probably obvious. Image: MikeB. Back in the day, when the cat owning public were less well-informed, they thought that giving their cat cows' milk was a treat. You'll see photographs of this on the internet. Milk is a treat to cats in terms of the tas...

A Maine Coon (MC) owner on the mumsnet.com website says: "Cat food confusion! Maine Coon (year old)". She believes that her cat needs a MC diet, but in general they don't. Some individual MCs might need a special diet to meet their individual health needs but that applies to all domestic cats. Please read on. Update: Obese MCs are more prone to developing HCM and therefore a diet to control weight would be useful . She has a young Maine Coon (MC) who's bigger than the adult cat next door and wants advice on the mumsnet.com website about buying cat food for her MC. Her cat likes dry cat food as most domestic cats do because the manufacturers add tasty fats to it. It can become slightly addictive. But just because cats like it does not mean that it is good.  Do Maine Coons need a special diet? Image in the public domain. Like most cat owners who've studied cat food I believe that the less convenient high quality wet cat food should be the default food because it c...

His human caregiver says that 'he always asks for more'. He clearly has his own individual way of asking (see video below). It is very cute. There are a couple of interesting points. Firstly, there is some food left in the bowl so he could have finished the bowl before asking for more.  Why didn't he? In my experience cats tend to leave a bit of food in the bowl even when hungry. It may point to the fact that they have poor near range eyesight and depend on their sense of smell to detect food. As there is very little left the smell is slight. They think the food has run out. Screenshot. He has way of asking for more food. The second point is that he is being fed with Royal Canin Maine Coon dry cat food. So, what is this? Why do Maine Coons need special cat food?  You might have guessed that this is all to do with the Maine Coon's inherited health problems.  RELATED:  Maine Coon Health Problems . They inherently suffer from hip dysplasia and patella luxation. The form...

Royal Canin Maine Coon adult cat food has been formulated to deal with the known inherited health problems of Maine Coons namely a predisposition towards HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and a predisposition towards joint disease namely hip dysplasia and patellar luxation.  This cat food ostensibly contains ingredients to encourage a strong heart function. These ingredients are taurine, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It seems that these ingredients which are types of omega-3 fats encourage a healthy heart and good blood circulation.  They are found mainly in fish and fish oil. But please see a veterinarian about this. Apparently a study found that EPA is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events. That applies to people but the same will apply to cats including Maine Coon cats but this is the field of qualified veterinarians. This food also contains glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate, two ingredients which support strong bones and...

What do Maine Coons eat? And do they need a special diet? The answer is a simple one. It is one you would expect. In general terms Maine Coons are the same as any other domestic cat. In terms of their dietary requirements they are exactly the same as a humble moggy, or a stray cat, or feral cat. They all require the same diet. That diet should be as near as possible a replication of the mouse. A mouse is an ideal diet in terms of nutrients. I stress in terms of nutrients because mice can also transmit worms to cats . But in terms of balance in a diet what makes a mouse makes a good diet for a domestic cat. Caveat : There is one possible reason why an owner might consider a diet tailored to Maine Coons: their predisposition to heart disease and joint issues both of which are genetically inherited. Seek vet advice on that but Royal Canin do a special dry food high in fish oils and glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate for Maine Coons . Beautiful young Maine Coon to type. Pic in the publi...

The title says it. It comes from a tweet: He lives in Montreal and will only eat croissants made from imported French butter. Well, living in Montreal he has adopted a French person's taste. I guess his human caregiver eats imported French butter and he likes it! Butter contains fat and cats like fat. Simple. You can see the half-eaten croissant on the table behind him. The alternative story is that it is breakfast time and the croissant was eaten by a human and the same human photographed her cat and claimed he had eaten it as it makes a neat tweet :) . I'd go for that version although we all know that cats like butter and milk. The latter is not good for them as many domestic cats are lactose intolerant. They don't have the gut enzyme, lactase, to digest lactose. I have the same problem. In fact, I have stopped drinking all cow's milk even lactose-free milk. I use oak milk for cereal and even that causes bloat.

Is it okay for Maine Coons to eat cicadas? Screenshot. Sure thing. Cicadas are insects and insects are on the domestic cat's menu. In fact, they are quite a popular part of the domestic cat's diet. So, it is fine. The reason why I asked the question because here is a video of a couple of Maine Coons messing around with a cicada while thinking about eating it. I don't think they do. They are quite big insects. There is a faint possibility that a domestic cat with a sensitive stomach (a Siamese?) might irritate their stomach if the ate one. The Maine Coon is not known to be predisposed to having a sensitive stomach unlike the Siamese. It is said that Siamese cats or Siamese crosses are genetically at higher risk for developing food allergies. But unlike commercially prepared pet foods, insects are natural foods. I'd have thought that insects were less likely to prompt an allergic reaction than pet food. Note : This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are d...

Maine Coon cats should eat the same food as any other domestic cat. It depends on your budget. But as you are living with a beautiful and probably quite expensive domestic cat you should feed your Maine Coon cat a very high quality diet. This means a high quality wet food diet with the occasional treat if you wish. Image by  Heinz Hummel  from  Pixabay   I have changed my mind somewhat about dry cat food. The best quality dry cat food, although unnatural, are not at all bad and are certainly acceptable for grazing from time to time. I feed my cat Hills Oral Care which I find to be a good food. His coat always feels very nice after he eats it. I think that that is a good sign. I am not sure about the efficacy of specialist oral care dry cat foods with respect to their ability to clean teeth. I don't really believe it but I'm not sure. The convenience of dry cat food makes it attractive and even the more expensive ones can work out more cheaply than wet cat food whi...

People are Googling "Maine Coon eating habits". If we are completely honest they don't have any that are any different to any other cat. It is said they like to play with the water in their water bowl. There might be some truth in this but a lot of cats, purebred or not, will also play with their water. It is normal domestic cat behavior, inherited from the wild cat ancestor, in my opinion. As to habits regarding eating solid food: none. Sure, individual cats will have their own foibles. This is normal because each cat, random bred or purebred, will have his own character. As to diet, the answer has to be the same. They don't have habits anymore than any other cat. Why should they? The Maine Coon is the same species of cat as all the other breeds and all the other random bred cats. That is the key. If they are the same species, on a scientific basis, they'll have the same behavioural characteristics as other domestic cats. Do you know of any Maine Coon ea...

What food should a Maine Coon cat eat? ANS: the same as any domestic cat. What is that? ANS: High quality wet cat food, some dry for grazing, some treats and some raw perhaps (with due care and caution as raw food requires care in handling to avoid bacterial infections). This video I made is fun (for me!) but has a serious side to it:   What is the best cat food? Well there are two clients: us and our cat and our choices are qualified by budget and convenience.