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...

What's the purpose? Why do Maine Coon breeders go out of their way to create cats with abnormally large and "square" muzzles. They are unnatural. They are more like dog muzzles. Why do breeders create Maine Coons with big, square muzzles? What's the purpose? Image: MikeB. Not common The first point to make is that Maine Coon cats with these kinds of extreme and heavy muzzles are relatively rare. They are quite common on the internet (social media) but on the ground in the "real world" - among the Maine Coon pets - they are much less common. One can be misled by the internet. And the Maine Coon show cats are not like this. They will have heavier than usual muzzles but not the type that we see on social media. The show Maine Coon have slightly heavier and squarer muzzles than normal because they should look natural (see below). Standard guides and encourages But the reason why breeders focus on the muzzle as a defining appearance aspect is because the breed st...

Maine Coon cats, like other domestic cats, lack the ability to roar due to differences in their larynx structure compared to big cats.  The larynx of domestic cats is not as specialized as that of big cats, and their vocal cords are shorter and less flexible. As a result, domestic cats are unable to produce the deep, low-frequency vibrations that create a roar. Maine Coon meowing loudly asking for food. Image: DALL-E. However, Maine Coon cats, like other domestic cats, are still capable of producing a variety of other vocalizations, such as meows, purrs, growls, and hisses, to communicate with their owners and other cats. These vocalizations are produced by other parts of the larynx and the mouth. The tiger roar is meant to be heard over 2-3 kilometers. It is a long-distance call . Domestic cats don't need to call that far and their anatomy is too small to produce a roar. A point worth mentioning is that a cat can either purr/meow or roar but they can't do both. The mountain li...

It's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string? I'm joking but the answer depends to a certain extent upon the perceptions of the cat's owner. Some Maine Coon caregivers will hardly see tumbleweed hairballs blowing around the kitchen floor !  Or whiskers that have been shed lying on the carpet or bed. Domestic cat fur does tend to get everywhere and an experienced cat caregiver will be somewhat blind to it because they become used to having it around. Huge Maine Coon will be difficult to groom. Image in the public domain with words added by MikeB. But to answer the question, Maine Coons shed their fur like any other domestic cat which is to be expected. Only, as they are a medium-longhaired cat, the hair strands are longer and therefore there is more hair in terms of overall bulk being deposited on household surfaces. This is compounded by the fact that they are the largest domestic cat breed . Of course, the old adage is that caregivers of medium-longhaired and longh...

I have seen some very misleading articles on this from leading websites including Maine Coon Central. 'Ear tufts' refer to the long, stiff hair strands that sprout from the tip of the ear flap. It is hair outside the ear flap and therefore plays no part in preventing dirt and debris from entering the ear canal as stated by Maine Coon Central.  Fantastic ear tufts on a young ginger tabby and white Maine Coon. Photo: Facebook (believed). Debris is stopped by what the cat fancy call 'ear furnishings' which is the hair inside the ear flap.  Ear tufts are purely decorative for the domestic cat and the Maine Coon. All domestic cats have ear tufts but for nearly all of them they are very slight and hardly visible sometimes. So why do Maine Coons have enlarged ear tufts? It is because the breed standard insists on them. Here is the CFA breed standard: EARS : Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed. Set: approximately one ear’s width apart at the base...

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...

Yes, is the answer. The full-blown version of Maine Coon paw pad tufts of fur has a messy appearance, but it is very functional.  And the breed standard insists that Maine Coon have fur sticking out between their toes. The CFA breed standard is clear: " Paws large, round, well-tufted ". The phrase "well tufted" (a very cat fancy phrase) essentially means plenty of fur sticking out between the toes. Maine Coon paw pad tufts of hair as per the breed standard. Image: Flickr photographer: Sage. This means that it is obligatory if a breeder wants their cats to be in line with the breed standard. All Maine Coon breeders should desire this.  It is their raison d'etre. The breed standard is their firm guide.  RELATED: Cat Paw Hair . The reason why the administrators of the CFA and other cat associations insist on copious amounts of paw pad fur is because they see the Maine Coon as a natural American cat at heart. It is America's home-grown purebred cat. It is this a...

The Internet tells us that Maine Coon cats grow up more slowly than your regular domestic cat. You will see many articles on this. They appear to be repeating each other in saying that Maine Coons do not reach their full size until they are 3-5 years old. Other domestic cats reach their full size and adulthood around 12-18 months of age. So why is this? They don't tell us 😢😒. Or is the information slightly misleading? Another very large Maine Coon with a great coat. Image in the public domain in my view. So, I have to work out the answer myself and it is probably this: there's a slight exaggeration about the development of the Maine Coon to adulthood. It has become a kind of badge of honour for the largest purely domestic cat breed to grow more slowly than normal. And secondly it might take longer to fully grow all of their anatomy because they are bigger.  Perhaps their coat, such as their ruff (mane), continues to develop at year 3 but the rest of the cat has stopped growin...

On the left is GC, BWI, DW NEKOLAND XOXO XANDER BRIGHTMAN from the 2019-20 cat show season: International: Best of Breed. A brown tabby & white, male Maine Coon Cat. A top-quality MC. On the right is a cat from Pinterest which has probably be bred in Eastern Europe or Russia. I have mentioned this before as you might know. Extreme Maine Coon muzzle versus CFA International Best of Breed muzzle. Image on left: CFA. On right: Robert Sijka. The difference is reflected in the different approach to selective breeding in the US and in Eastern Europe. Or perhaps this 'extreme' Maine Coon was bred in the US which the objective of creating a European style Maine Coon. And the difference is very clear. The muzzle should not be as unnatural as we see on the right. Naturalness must count for a lot in breeding. The Cat Fanciers' Association make this clear in their breed standard: MUZZLE/CHIN: is visibly square, medium in length and blunt ended when viewed in profile. It may give t...

In this instance the word 'pointed' means the ears physically ending in a point and not pointed in the sense of being a colourpoint cat (i.e. Siamese type coat)! And on that basis: Yes, Maine Coon cats (MC) should have pointed ears and this is accentuated by the lynx tips i.e. the hair tufts that project from the tip of their ears. How do I know? You simply have to go to the breed standard which will vary slightly between cat associations but looking at the number one American cat association and the biggest cat association in the world, the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA), the breed standard for the ears is very clear and as follows: EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed . Set: approximately one ear’s width apart at the base; not flared. Pointed ears of Maine Coon. Image: MikeB Notice the phrase "tapering to appear pointed". This implies that the ears do not actually end up at the top as a point which makes sense because cats...

It sounds a bit pretentious to have a video of the Maine Coon tail. No big deal. Why make a video about it? Well, the Maine Coon tail is one of the outstanding features of this very popular purebred cat. The others, in my view, are the square muzzle, the lynx-tipped ears and of course the large size. The shaggy coat is another but I think the first three points are the outstanding points to me. @chakacoon Maine Coons hold the longest cat length and tail length records 👋 #chakacoon #mainecoons #fluffycat #hugecat #petsoftiktok ♬ original sound - ChakaCoon And the CFA in their breed standard state that the tail should be long, wide at base, and tapering. The fur should be long and flowing. And when you see the tail in a video with it moving around you can see how outstanding an item of anatomy it is compared to the tail of almost all other domestic cats. It is probably the best domestic cat tail if that is of any interest to anybody. It is called a plumed tail as you probably...

This is about the appearance of the Maine Coon. It is very important for the breed. The title is an extract from the CFA breed standard of the Maine Coon with respect to the muzzle/chin. We know that the muzzle should be very strong and square. In harmony with that objective, the chin should be strong, firm and in line with the upper lip and nose.  When viewed in profile as you can see in the image below, the "chin depth should be observable and give the impression of a square, 90-degree angle". The anatomy of a cat is not going to square shaped 👍. But the chin must not be tapered. The problem with describing a breed standard in this way is that it can drive breeders to extreme. They might be trying to achieve that 90-degree angle when natural feline anatomy does not allow it.  Maine Coon chin should be strong, firm and in line with the upper lip and nose. Is this example acceptable as per the breed standard? Image: MikeB. I have picked out a Maine Coon in profile which I th...

A study found that heavier Maine Coons were more likely to have HCM. That is the conclusion that I want to take from the study. There are other links between HCM and aspects of the Maine Coon cats such as older cats were more likely to have HCM and cats with longer humeri (forelimbs) were also more likely to suffer from this heart disease. Huge Maine Coon but will he develop HCM early? I have a page on this god-like cat - Kefit. Please click this link to read it . I am not saying that Kefir has HCM. I am simply flagging up the link between size and the disease and Kefir is the biggest Maine Coon I have seen. Pic: his caregiver in the photo. I've discussed the study in some detail on a different page which you can access by clicking on this link . The prevalence of HCM in Maine Coons is quite high. It is, as you might know, an inherited health condition for this popular breed. HCM describes the thickening of the muscle walls of the heart which makes it malfunction. You can't...

Having looked at thousands of pictures of Maine Coon cats and studied the CFA breed standard I've become somewhat obsessive about the muzzle of this ever-popular cat breed. It is an important and distinguishing characteristic of the breed. I am beginning to sound like a member of the cat fancy when I am very much an outsider. I have to say that the muzzle on this individual is very pretty if I am allowed to use that adjective. German bred Maine Coon has a perfect muzzle for me. The cat is described by the breeder (Viktorija ShadowMeadow) as blue-cream tortoiseshell. The cat is 8-months-old. I think it is very well balanced. And that is an important factor in the breeding of these cats. Maine Coon cats should have a visibly square muzzle with a blunt end to it but it should not be bred to extreme to the point where it becomes out of balance with the rest of the face.  I have seen extreme muzzles and although they look interesting and impressive to some people, I don't think t...

The ear tufts are very similar to those of the caracal ; very long and floppy. Ear tufts (lynx-tipped ears) are a vital part of the Maine Coon image. It is one of the breed's distinguishing features. Breeders work on them to make sure they are pronounced. These ear tufts bend under their own weight. It is neat and the ultimate sign of great lynx-tipped ears 😎. This is a tortoiseshell Maine Coon and therefore with 99% certainty we can say that the gender is female. All tortoiseshells are feminine. Male torties act like masculized females . RELATED: Tortoiseshell cats . Big Floppa Tortie Maine Coon. Photo: Pinterest and therefore deemed in the public domain. RELATED: Black tortoiseshell The coat is nicely shaggy. There is not much of a ruff. The muzzle is nice and square and strong. That works well. The eyes match the coat; nice touch. Even the ear flap on the left matches the coat as the light from behind the cat passes through the thin construction to highlight the blood vessels n...

CFA breed standard for ears: EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed. Set: approximately one ear’s width apart at the base; not flared. Well, yes, it is the hallmark of the Maine Coon that their ears should be large and well-tufted. That and the muzzle distinguishes them from the common cat! 😏 No cat is a common cat but you'll take my point. The ears and muzzle are what makes them what they are plus their size and shaggy coat. And this smoky beauty has those ears. Breeders focus on them. They mould the appearance genetically. I must say I am not a great fan of selective breeding (artificial selection as opposed to natural selection). It is humans playing God. I prefer leaving nature alone as nature knows best.  Humans can go wrong if they think they are better and bigger than nature. Look at climate change. Nature is telling humankind to get a grip and to stop destroying the planet. Global warming is like a Maine Coon slapping down a person who...

It sort of brings it hope to you, the difference in size of the Maine Coon and regular domestic cats, when they are looking out of the window together. Neat photo. Picture of a Maine Coon looking out of the window. Photo: Pinterest Size is not all, however. Did you know that the Maine Coon is predisposed to suffering from hip dysplasia and that hip dysplasia in Maine Coons could be much reduced if they were selectively bred smaller ? The larger the body mass of the cat the more likely it is that they will have the disease. That's something they don't tell you when afficionados drool over humungous Maine Coons bred in Russia. Apparently 37% of Maine Coons will end up suffering from hip dysplasia according to a study. Click on the link above to see facts about this disease and Maine Coon cats.

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 Coons have tufty toes! It is part of their appearance and desirable. The breed standard mentions them and therefore Maine Coons have to have them ! But, interestingly, a mother and cat owner on the mumsnet.com website did raise a question about these fluffy appendages. She asked whether you should trim tufts of fur which stick out between the toes of a Maine coon cat in order to stop the fur picking up bits of poo from the cat litter.  It's a worthy question and I guess sometimes bits of dirt and detritus might get trapped within these tufts of fur but they should not be trimmed. I don't believe that any part of the domestic cat, whether they are a moggy or a purebred, pedigree cat, should be altered unless it is for a vital medical reason and only if it is in the interests of the cat. For instance, it might be necessary to give a Maine Coon a lion cut for medical reasons. It would be rare. Fortunately, the mother who asked the question got the same answer from ano...

The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) states in their breed standard that the paws of a Maine Coon should be 'well-tufted'. I wanted to confirm because this picture of a Maine Coon has the kind of paws that the breed standard demands as they are very well-tufted; the fur sticks out between the toes in a haphazard way. Well-tufted paws of the Maine Coon. Photo: Pinterest. The breed standard demands paws that are well-tufted. 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.