Your Maine Coon Guide

This is a slightly black, depressing article but the idea came to me a moment ago. The reason why the Maine Coon cat breed is in the top three most popular cat breeds in America and perhaps around the world is because the people who buy Maine Coon kittens from breeders are enamoured of the breed's appearance while apparently ignoring an aspect of this breed which is more important namely their health. And their health is not good. You might argue that this breed's health is dire. You might argue that it's shameful that such a handsome cat breed with such a fantastic history has been brought low through irresponsible and unethical breeding. I don't need to remind you about the health of this cat. But I will just touch on a few points. If you want to look into the health of this breed more, I would ask you to use the search facility at the top of the page. Or if you like click on this link because that will take you to the majority the articles about Maine Coon cat healt...

I am or was slightly bemused by this Maine Coon video. She is a beautiful Maine Coon cat and she is kneading a fluffy cover of some sort. The cover is made of a white fabric probably fleece. Fleece doesn't normally come loose.  Maine Coon has the most amazing 'tufted paws' that you'll ever see. Screenshot. I say that because this female Maine Coon has so much fur on her feet that it makes me almost believe that she has picked up some of the fabric from the cover that she is kneading. I don't know but have you ever seen so much fur on the feet of a Maine Coon cat?  We know that the Maine Coon is known to have a lot of fur sticking between their toes. It is one of the signatures of this popular domestic cat breed. But if you look at the video carefully you will see an inordinate amount of it the stuck to her feet which does not seem plausible. I don't see how it can be like that. It seems impossible. But she is a hairy Maine Coon cat! And that is the reason why sh...

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...

According to a Maine Coon cat breeder, Debbie, in The Netherlands, developing within the cat fancy and among Maine Coon breeders, there is a 'new-style' Maine Coon. This is unofficial. It is in breach of the breed standard or should I say breed standards because there are several leading cat associations with their own breed standard but with respect to this breed, they are similar. Siamese cat But the concept of "new-style" compared to "old-style" comes from the Siamese cat. The Siamese cat has many different appearances from the "Applehead" (more cobby features) to the "old-style" (more classic looking) and the 'Modern Siamese' (super slender) as I have referred to it . There is also the Thai cat which is also a Siamese cat which is meant to be the same as the original version. Push boundaries The point I'm making is that breeders tend to go their own way and push the boundaries of the breed standard and go beyond those boun...

I think that this amazing Maine Coon cat has been bred to extreme to the point where the ears do not quite match up to the breed standard which as you can see in the Infographic states that the ears should be pointed as the fur at the tip of the ear extends the triangular shape of the ear to a point.  Lynx tipped ears should appear pointed. Infographic by MikeB at PoC based on an image on Pinterest and in the public domain with words added. If there's too much fur in the lynx tipping it's going to flop as you see in the wild cat species, the caracal and it is going to splay outwards a little bit as you see in the photograph in the Infographic. I could be barking up the wrong tree. But we should be gauging a Maine Coons's appearance by reference to the breed standard. My gut feeling is that this beautiful cat has been bred to extreme which means a little bit too far in exaggerating the important features of this cat breed. And the ears carry 10 points in a cat show. They ar...

It is the serious expression of this giant domestic cat which caught my attention. He (he must be male with a face like that) looks distinctly bored. Very passive and accepting of the camera right in front of him.  Seriously serious solid grey (blue) Maine Coon with a lion's muzzle. In fact, the overall facial appearance is that of a lion. One of those exceptional MCs if I am not mistaken. Photo: Bored Panda. He is one of "those" extreme Maine Coons as I call them because he has a face which more closely resembles that of a lion than a domestic cat. Here is a portrait of a lion: Image: Pixers. There is only one way this MC looks like a lion and that is because he is meant to look like one. The breeder has selective bred over a considerable time probably to achieve this lion face appearance. I am not sure that it is a good idea. The appearance is certainly nowhere that of a MC show cat. 'Blue' is diluted black in the cat fancy as I am sure you know.

A little bit of imagination is needed to see the hint of gargoyle in this majestic, tabby Maine Coon with the floppy ear furnishings, but it is there, and I have created a montage to help you. I hope I am not being disrespectful of the Maine Coon and of this individual cat. I am having a bit of fun and making a statement that breeders should not breed to extreme - please. Maine Coon with a hint of gargoyle. Image: MikeB based on (left) Amazon image and (right) Tomaso Gargoyle costing £109.99 on Wayfair.co.uk. So why is there a hint of gargoyle in this Maine Coon (if you agree with me)? It is all about extreme breeding which is what it says on the box. Breeders, through selective breeding, alter the anatomy of the Maine Coon to create 'extreme' more pronounced facial features. In essence without wishing to be unkind, the breeder distorts the cat's facial anatomy and exaggerates it. The gargoyle always has exaggerated features. That's what they are. And they are a bit gru...

All of us admire the statuesquely impressive massive Maine Coons made famous by the internet's social media websites. They sock you in the face with their sheer size and lion-like, or human faces. Yes, we have seen those extraordinary human-faced Maine Coons from Europe. The MC (Maine Coon) has developed into the top 3 most popular cat breeds. I would expect the breed to be the world's most popular in coming years. Super, human-faced Maine Coon bred by a Russian but at what cost to health? Image credit: see image. Alright, let's enjoy humankind's creation of the MC. Yep, they are a human creation. When you see the stunning MC internet celebs you are not seeing the original MC that happily lived on a farm on the east coast of America. They were tiny and ordinary, almost dull by comparison to today's monsters. The MC cat show winners look rather sad compared to the huge MCs we are used to seeing . You are seeing a 'product' of human ingenuity which is designed...

'Aquaman' is an incredibly impressive, white Maine Coon with extreme features. Bred to extreme I'd say because the original Maine Coons were never like this. These super Maine Coons have massive muzzles and towering lynx-tipped ears. They look unreal only we see so many of them they are becoming the norm but these impressive cats are not the ones winning cat shows under the auspices of TICA or the CFA.  RELATED:  The extreme Maine Coon face . The winners of their shows are much smaller and much more normal-looking but still the largest domestic cat breeds overall. But it is no big deal. These impressive MCs are often bred by Russians under the Word Cat Federation cat association of FIFe, both European cat associations. At present (Aug 2022) Russian cat breeders are banned from showing their cats in Europe because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. RELATED:  What kind of Maine Coon wins competitions ? Large white Maine Coon, Aquaman. Photo: Robert Syka (and the video) This ...

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,...

The kind of Maine Coon that wins in competition is the best kind of Maine Coon. They are Maine Coons which are the most desirable. This is because they match the breed standard most accurately. These are the kind of cats that people who want to adopt a Maine Coon should choose. And it is notable that they are not like the super-impressive Maine Coons that we see on the Internet, usually on Instagram or other social media platforms. These social media stars are the big influencing Maine Coons with which people are most familiar. They have their own Instagram accounts with perhaps millions of followers. It can be misleading because, as you can see in the photographs below, the classic competition-winning Maine Coon is relatively modest in appearance. They are often tabby cats (tabby-and-white is a favourite) because the tabby Maine Coon best reflects the origins of this cat breed as they were barn cats. They were working cats and non-purebred cat at one time. What kind of Maine Coon wins...

This is a crazily good female Maine Coon with a massive muzzle, a white ruff reminiscent of the 17th-century and ears which jut out of the top of the head. All-in-all an outstanding looking Maine Coon. Of all the features which stand out the most it is the muzzle which looks inordinately heavy perhaps too heavy and perhaps bred to an extreme which I don't altogether like. Tortie-and-white Maine Coon. Photo in public domain. The Maine Coon tortie-and white should have a white 'bib' and white on all four paws. This individual appears to meet that standard. Let's talk about the muzzle for a minute. Under the CFA breed standard it should be 'visibly square'. It should also be medium in length and blunt-ended when viewed in profile. So far so good. This cat meets those objectives, very clearly. It seems that above all the Maine Coon muzzle should not be tapering or pointed.  This is the difference between the Maine Coon and the Norwegian Forest Cat. The latter has...

I've just written an article about dog breeding actually ( link ). It concerns an article in The Times newspaper about the Kennel Club in the UK. They have decided to change the breed standard for the French bulldog. The purpose: to make it absolutely clear to breeders that they must create a dog with a muzzle 👌. Over the years they've decided to breed dogs with flat faces because they look cute. They look like babies. The breed standard was probably slightly vague on this topic allowing breeders some discretion and leeway. Extreme-bred MC.. Impressive, yes, but what about health and where does this sort of breeding take the cat fancy? Bill Lambert, the guy in charge of health within the Kennel Club, decided I guess with other council members to tighten up the breed standard to state that French bulldogs must have clearly defined muzzles when viewed in profile. And they've made it clear that a French Bulldog cannot win a dog show if they have a flat face. The problem i...

  The guy who made the video and posted it to YouTube said: "This handsome fella visits mum daily for tickles, petting and attention. It's become a daily routine for him." So, this Maine Coon is an indoor/outdoor cat which is unusual as he is stupendous. I mean that he looks special, in which case he is a candidate for theft. But he does look as if he is guarding the house. Stupendous Maine Coon allowed outside without supervision. Screenshot. Although we are not told, it seems that the video was made in England. This sort of extreme-bred Maine Coon is quite rare in the UK. I'd be fearful of losing him if let outside. But there you are. Some people either don't see the danger or are insistent that their cat, no matter how special and valuable, is allowed outside at their own volition.

I think that it is useful to compare a CFA grand champion (the latest), a male tabby cat, whose name is GC ABIZAQ MARQUIS OF CONYERS CAT, and another Maine Coon which I consider to be bred to an extreme. The extreme breeding has produced this enormous muzzle. Essentially, with extreme breeding you take the basic anatomical elements or features of the cat and enlarge them to make them more outstanding. And one of the important features of the Maine Coon is the muzzle which should be quite noticeably square. Another feature are the ears. You can see them very big with huge lynx tips. Comparison: CFA Grand Champion Maine Coon 2019-20 and an example of extreme breeding. The photo of the champion is by Larry Johson (believed). The extreme bred cat photo is in the public domain. The CFA grand champion looks quite petite and genteel compared to this huge lion-faced alien creature on the right-hand side in the photograph. But they are both Maine Coons. I'm not sure who bred the extreme ...

This is a screenshot from a video which explains the poor image quality but nonetheless it is a good image because it starkly demonstrates the size difference in a large Maine Coon (not all of them can be described as very large) and a standard black-and-white random-bred cat.  As usual, this sort of image catches my eye because it is worth a lot of words. Might it be fair to say that the major reason why Maine Coons are currently enjoying a surge in popularity is because people want to live with a big domestic cat? People like size. They like small or they like big and the biggest domestic cat breeder the Maine Coon . The smallest domestic cat breed, by the way, is the Singapura. However, the Singapura is not as extremely small as the Maine Coon can be extremely big. I hope you understand what I mean by that. Maine Coon plays with a standard moggy through a glass door. Screenshot. There are some misconceptions about the Maine Coon, however, when it comes to size. You take...

NO, the Maine Coon is not the biggest cat. That accolade goes to the Siberian tiger. The Maine Coon is the biggest domestic cat breed . That is a very specific statement. To say it another way, Maine Coon cats, in general, are the largest of all the purebred cats among the approximate hundred different cat breeds . So, I am not including the random read cats i.e. non-purebred cats in that statement.  Is the Maine Coon the biggest cat? No. Image in public domain. You will get some individual non-purebred cats who are bigger than large Maine Coons but that, in a way, is not the point because this is about that general "race" of cats called the Maine Coons. They are very special in that they are bred through selective breeding to be as large as possible. In order to achieve this the breeders select foundation cats which are large and they let them mate. And then the offspring mate with the parents and in this way, you magnify the largeness of the breed in that breeding line. ...

Say no more. The title says it all. He weighs upwards of 35 pounds. I don't know anything about him except what we see, which is impressive. It is when a cat's head looks the same size as a human head that I sit up and have a good look because it is bizarre. The reason is always selective or artificial breeding. The breeder has found a very large foundation cat male cat and mated him I guess with a very large female cat. Bingo, a gargantuan offspring. The cat's head is slightly enlarged because it is nearer the camera but not by much. Maine Coon with a head as big as his human companion's. Photo in public domain. Originally from Imgur.

This is a Maine Coon with a wise, knowing smile. He has a faint hint of Yoda from the Star Wars saga. Maine Coon kitten with a hint of Yoda. Screenshot from Pinterest video. This little Maine Coon, a kitten I guess, is in that stable of Maine Coon cats who give us the distinct impression that there is a human being inside trying to get out. This little fella has a very faint but wise smile on his face. He looks at the camera as if he understands humans. He's a bit bemused by human behaviour and so he should be because it can be bizarre at times. He's very passive as he is held up on one hand by the breeder, who is also the photographer. She videos him using her other hand. He looks directly into the camera without a problem. I wish my cat could do that. When I bring my camera to my eye he runs away. I might just get one shot in before he meows at me as if to say "F off" and then trots off. He thinks I am stealing his soul. That's not the case with this guy. He...

Absolutely yes, Maine Coons can be relatively small. They can't be small in an absolute sense such as around 8 pounds in weight because they are meant to be big under the breed standard which is the guidelines that breeders follow if they want to create cats which are in line with the correct appearance. But not all Maine Coons are huge. Perhaps, we've become accustomed to seeing these gargantuan Maine Coon cats on the Internet looking more like lynx wild cats in terms of size. Here is a nice neat female Maine Coon looking not much larger than a typical house cat: Female ginger tabby MC looking relatively small. Photo in public domain. These huge Maine Coons are exceptional and I would argue relatively rare. The typical Maine Coon is larger than the average purebred cat and they are, as I have stated numerous times, the largest domestic cat breed. This means that they can weigh around 15 pounds, if you adopt a female and if the breeder is not breeding very big Maine Coons. ...