Your Maine Coon Guide

There are two aspects in answering the question, aren't there? Of course, Maine Coon cats are cuddly felines because one wants to cuddle them. They are fluffy. They have shaggy fur. They look adorable. They make a sweet sound somewhat quiet compared to their size. They are friendly and adorable. You want to cuddle your Maine Coon cat. In that respect they are very cuddly. Young woman cuddles her beloved Maine Coon. This image is free to use under an unconditional Creative Commons license. Click on it to see it larger and to download it. The other aspect is whether your Maine Coon cat either wants to be cuddled or will accept being cuddled. And that depends on two factors. Firstly, there is the overarching personality characteristics of the Maine Coon cat.  This is a slightly difficult topic because it is somewhat unfair to brand all Maine Coon cats with exactly the same character. You can't really do it but there are some hints about their personality in a book by Gloria Stephe...

Nothing better than seeing a Maine Coon on a lead in a public place. Image: in the public domain as assessed. Please read the article careful to get the true meaning. Thanks. The headline to this article is based on a study I have used to prepare an article on cat breed personality ( click this to read that article ). It is a good study which also refers to previous studies. In it the scientists refer to the Maine Coon. I'll quote what they say about the Maine Coon: "In previous studies, Maine Coon [11,19,47] and Burmese [19] have been ranked among the breeds showing the most touch sensitivity/owner-directed aggression, and they also scored high in our study." The numbers are references to earlier studies. Ignore those. But what they say is interesting and I have not seen this kind of language before in describing the character of the Maine Coon. Before I discuss it I should say that anyone reading a scientific study should exercise a bit of caution because not all of wha...

Both the Maine Coon and Ragdoll cat breeds include individual cats who are very affectionate. In fact, all cats of these breeds are bred to be affectionate. The cat breeder has that duty and they achieve it through socialisation and through careful breeding using good foundation cats. Breeders select foundation cats for their appearance and their personality. Appearance is more important than personality for breeders. Affectionate Ragdoll. Image: MikeB So, the cats inherit their personality but it is also coloured by the environment in which they live and their life experiences. Therefore, each individual cat from either of these two breeds will have slightly different personalities which means that some will be more affectionate than others. All should be affectionate but some more so than others as mentioned. If you rescue a Maine Coon cat which would be rare you take a bigger chance on their personality because they might have been through a traumatic time with their previous owner ...

A person on social media asked: "Why are Maine Coon cats so friendly?" They asked that question with confidence. I can think of a few topics to discuss in response to the question. Socialisation Maine Coon cats are purebred cats. Purebred cats are bred by cat breeders. Cat breeders know that they have an obligation to make sure that their kittens for sale are fully socialised to humans. This means that they will be friendly towards humans from the get go. The breeder achieves this by making sure that the kittens that she has created in her breeding programme are underfoot in her home, meeting members of her family and even strangers. In this way the kittens become acclimatised to being around people. This means that when they meet their new owner, they get along with them and are not frightened of them. That's why Maine Coon cats are so friendly. It is down to the efforts of the cat breeder and socialisation. Unfriendly Maine Coon? Sometimes a Maine Coon cat might not be ...

Maine Coon kittens should have good characters. Image: MikeB The question on Quora.com is asking whether Maine Coon cats are easy to get along with. I've got a couple of particular thoughts about that which might help but you won't get a clear-cut specific answer to that question if you understand Maine Coon cats well and the cat fancy well as I do. 1. They are all individuals The first issue is this: all domestic cats are individuals and so any breed specific traits have to be seen through the lens of their own personality and character and how their experiences have moulded them and how their inherited genetic have also moulded them (nurture and nature).  It is therefore difficult to state that all cats of one breed have a certain character because they don't. The individual character of each cat cuts across that question. The better question would be, when talking to a person who owns a Maine Coon cat to asked them if their Maine Coon is easy to get along with. And even ...

I am taking a simple philosophical approach to answering the question in the title. If you disagree, please comment. In order to answer the question properly, I think I have to start off with the definition of the word "stubborn" because I think we need to figure out whether this word only applies to people or to people AND cat!  I say this because sometimes we anthropomorphise (humanise) our cats and we expect them to behave like little humans because they are seen as members of the family. That's great and it's normal but we need to keep an eye on that aspect of our relationship. The word "stubborn" means: having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so. There are two elements to that definition (1) and unwillingness to change's mind and (2) in the face of good arguments or reasons. Taking number 2 first; this can't apply to Maine Coon cats b...

In general terms Maine Coon cats are probably better than your average domestic cat when it comes to their reaction to a new baby in the home and interactions thereafter. This is because when you buy a Maine Coon you normally know what you are getting in terms of personality whereas with say a rescue random bred cat there is less predictability in respect of character.  Image: MikeB And Maine Coons are considered to have calm and fairly phlegmatic characters. There are many videos of owners showing off their super-large Maine Coon cat to the video camera and the cats take it all in their stride with no wriggling or expression of agitation. By-and-large this is a calm breed of cat which makes them very suited to being good with babies. The reason for this is that Maine Coons are bred through artificial selection. The word 'selection' is the operative one. It means that breeders select foundation cats who have the correct appearance for a Maine Coon as per the breed standard AND ...

Well, this is very strange. Never heard a cat making a sound like this. Just after licking a small amount of a cat treat this Maine Coon makes a chomping sound. The video is courtesy Furry Fritz on TikTok. Maine Coon makes weird chomping sound after tasting a treat. Screenshot. It can only be because he/she continues to taste the treat. The mouth movements probably spreads the fragments of the tasty cat food paste or some other food, perhaps human food, around his mouth so he can continue to enjoy the taste. That's a reasonable theory.  I can't see anything wrong with it. I am sure there are no health connotations. It's just an idiosyncrasy of one Maine Coon cat. As we all know domestic cats have their own characters and foibles. This is an example. He probably makes the same chomping sound every time he tastes this particular treat. Here is an infographic touching on cat personality:

I am reliant on a lady who sounds very nice and sensible who's made a series of three videos on what it is like to live with Maine Coon cats. Of course, what she says about the Maine Coon applies to all domestic cats in varying degrees. There must be an overlap.  She is an excellent cat caregiver with perhaps one shortcoming. Her home needs more 'catification' (Jackson Galaxy's word to mean environmental enrichment). And let's not forget that in her video she does not mention the inherited health issues which are likely to come. Three well cared for Maine Coons. Screenshot. This is a nice video and I think it will interest those wishing to adopt a Maine Coon. Here are the 14 points she makes.  I plan to address the other 2 videos in subsequent posts it you don't mind. I am working backwards! I have lived with Maine Coons for about 3 weeks which does not really qualify me to write on this topic which is why I am relying on this lady. Good travellers - it is remar...

I have gleaned a bit of information about the Maine Coon character and hunting desires from a study which actually looks at the character of domestic cats both non-purebred and purebred to assess whether it affects how keen they are to hunt birds and mammals.  Maine Coons and Bengals are less neurotic than other cats. This is a generalisation based on a study. It does not mean that all Maine Coons and Bengals have the same character. Image by Warren Photographic with the background added. I will quote what they state in the study verbatim and I think people who want to adopt the Maine Coon cat might find this useful. Although this is valid research and useful it is the findings of one study. But that said they did survey 2,508 cat owners in France. A good number. "Bengal and Main Coon cats also demonstrate lower levels of neuroticism than other cats. These findings are in agreement with organizations of cat owners and breeders, which report that cat breeds differ not only in morph...

 A woman on social media is asking for help. It's quite a strange question. She has two Maine Coon cats, one male and one female. Their ages are 12 months and 9 months respectively. The male cat is calm and fine. The female is aggressive whenever she tries to brush or pick her up.  She hisses, growls, swats and nips her owner. She can't handle her cat and is at her wits end. She is asking for advice as to what to do next. Annoyed MC. NOT the cat in question!! This is probably a male Maine Coon. Image: YouTube. I must say I find this peculiar because an adopter buys a Maine Coon cat from a breeder or that is the normal route unless somebody has given you one or the cat has been owned previous to you. If you buy a Maine Coon cat from a breeder, they should be fully socialised and ready to be integrated into their new home. That is the duty of the breeder. They should spend a considerable end of time achieving a well socialised kitten. This cat appears to be unsocialised to a cer...

The title is a question on Reddit.com. I think it's a good question as it goes to the heart of domestic cat character and the Maine Coon cat character. My interpretation is that the kitten is a dilute ginger tabby with a bit of white. He is, of course, beautiful and he is definitely purebred. You can tell that by the very distinctive appearance. My first Maine Coon cat. Very independent. Does not like being held and only snuggles at night. Image: u/dinokith on Reddit.com The adopter is concerned that her cat is not friendly enough for her. She is the type of cat caregiver who wants their cat to sit on their lap and lie next to them in bed et cetera. Some people don't like that too much and they prefer a cat which is more standoffish. You will see many different descriptions of the Maine Coon cat (MC) character on the Internet. Some authors state profusely that Maine Coon cats are wonderfully friendly and so on. They don't differentiate between individual cats which I think ...

People ask Google why the Maine Coon cat is so friendly. Is it really true that they are extra friendly? Clearly internet authors are saying that they are. My go-to reference book on the personality of the Maine Coon is one written by a former cat breeder and show judge, Gloria Stephens.  She lives with Maine Coon cats. I don't think that you could get a better reference than her. I prefer book references to the internet because on the latter authors tend to race off copies of what they've seen without really questioning it. Are Maine Coons as friendly as some people claim? Image by MikeB at PoC. Gloria Stephens Gloria Stephens tells me that they are 'people orientated' which implies that they are friendly but 'they are not over-dependent'. They don't constantly demand attention "preferring to hang out with their owners". And she says that they don't necessarily want to be held but they like to be near the person they love. And they form close ...

There are several topics you can discuss when answering the question. They are as follows: In general, Maine Coons are no different from any other domestic cat in this respect. It depends how you pick up your Maine Coon cat. If your Maine Coon is feeling ill or has been injured than they probably won't like to be picked up. Delivering tender loving care (TLC). Caveat : I am presuming that the cat is fully socialised as is highly likely for a cat that has been created by a breeder whose duty is to socialise their cats.  I've seen many photographs of Maine Coons which have been picked up by their owner and photographed and they have always looked very comfortable and placid just like the monster MC below 👍✔️. Chastity Hobbs with her nine-month-old kitten Kusa. Photo: Instagram account of the lady in the photo (Chastity Hobbs). No different from other cats Although we look at Maine Coons as if they are very special and in one respect they are because they are so popular and so im...

Well, there is nothing in the literature about this ever popular at breed which states that they are endemically shy. So, the answer is NO . There wouldn't be anything in books on this breed about shyness because the Maine Coon is selectively bred, and breeders want to sell their kittens.  They want to create kittens with great characters and confident cats sell better than shy cats because they are more likely to interact with people and instigate interactions with their owner. People like that and when a cat starts an interaction they last longer. It is all good for the relationship. Sweet looking slightly shy female Maine Coon. Image in the public domain. That does not mean that some Maine Coon cats might be shy as this in an individual cat trait. There are going to be some shy Maine Coons in the general population. The reason will be the same as for humans: an inherited trait and/or how they were raised and socialised. You can normally tease out a cat with shy character over ti...

One top Maine Coon website states that statistically only 30.4% of Maine Coon cat owners claim that their cats are lap cats. They don't state where that information comes from. But it means that about a third of Maine Coon cats would like to jump on your lap and cuddle up. That sounds about right to me although it'll be guesswork. In fact, I would expect about 25% to be lap cats. Another person who claims to know about Maine Coon cats, states that they are not usually lap cats. Another website states that male Maine Coon cats are more likely to be lap cats than females. Huge Maine Coon lap cat in which the lap is too small! Image: Pinterest. Different answers You will find different answers to the question in the title on the Internet. I know that you want a nice solid answer, but I am afraid there isn't one because no one's done a good survey. Individuals And each individual Maine Coon will have their own character anyway. Some like to jump on a lap while others don...

This is a rather strange TikTok video of a ginger Maine Coon cat being held by one of his owners while the other owner videos their cat. And for some reason this Maine Coon pulls a funny, scary face. It is a temporarily aggressive face, let us put it that way. And it's been turned on artificially because this cat is unaggressive so the question is why did the cat pull this face? Sweet, scary looking Maine Coon cat but this is just pulling a face. This is a screenshot by the way. And I think it is something to do with the wind and the way he is being held. There is quite a strong gust of wind blowing into this cat's face and eyes while he is being held in an uncomfortable way. I see this a lot. People should not hold their cats like this. Did they generate the wind deliberately to provoke this facial expression? But because of the scary face, the video has gone viral on TikTok and it is being talked about. It's been seen 19.8 million times but let's remind ourselves that...

This Maine Coon who is called Winston loves water but are all Maine Coons the same? We don't know whether this trait is inherited or whether he learned to love water because he was in and around it when he was tiny. However, we read a lot about the Maine Coon cat loving water. There seems to be an Internet trend which states that all Maine Coon cats love water and it is part of their character. I do not believe that that is true or if there is some truth in it, it is not a character trait which is as outstanding as stated. When I hear that Maine Coon cats love water, I hear it on the Internet but I don't get that from the reference books that I have in my possession. This Maine Coon who is called Winston loves water but are all Maine Coons the same? Screenshot. There may be a passing reference to it such as in Dr. Bruce Fogle's The Encyclopaedia of the Cat. He says that "While the Maine Coon enjoys the company of people, it is not a dependent breed, but is content to p...

There is an old post on the Reddit.com website with the title: I Need Help/Advice. My Maine Coon Is NOT Friendly. The owner wants help to try and figure out why her neutered male cat behaves as he does. He’ll sleep with me sometimes at night and tolerate petting, but does not like to be held, and turns to bite if you pet him “too much”. (Which is often 2-3 pets) She says that he came from a breeder whose other Maine Coons (MCs) are friendlier.  The way I see it is that the overarching character trait of the Maine Coon is perhaps not - in general - as 'lovey' and accepting of petting as some other cat breeds. And I always refer to Gloria Stephens who was or still is a cat show judge, Maine Coon owner and author ( Legacy of the Cat ). She has firsthand experience and lots of experience on the character of the MC. She's clear on the MC character: They do not constantly demand attention, preferring to hang out with their owners. They do not necessarily want to be held, but they...

The question asks whether Maine Coons are more energetic than your average domestic cat and the answer is that they are not. In my personal experience their energy levels are very typical of any normal or standard domestic cat companion. They are not known for being lazy or energetic.  For example, the Bengal cat or Savannah cat are both known to be more energetic than your typical domestic cat because of their wild cat inheritance - they are wild cat hybrids.  Are Maine Coons energetic? Not really but they are stars 👌✔️😃. The pic is from Purina. At the other end of the spectrum there is the Persian cat which is known to be less energetic or more passive than the typical domestic cat. In between these two extremes you will find the vast majority of cats belonging to the other cat breeds and of course the non-purebred cats as well. The question in the title is a little bit difficult and imprecise to be perfectly frank. The energy levels of a domestic cat is impacted by their ...