Your Maine Coon Guide

I'm reading the Maine Coon Central website while dictating this. And I am irritated to be perfectly honest. I have a completely different perspective to Maine Coon cats and domestic cats in general compared to the woman who writes the above-mentioned website. The first point I would like to make is this: to call a domestic cat "naughty" is to anthropomorphise the cat. In other words, you are humanising a domestic cat, an entirely different species. Image copyright Helmi Flick Maine Coon cats are never naughty in the true sense. They might seem to be naughty in the human sense if you are looking at your Maine Coon cat as if they are a toddler but that's an entirely different thing. I don't think you should look at the Maine Coon cat and think that you are looking at a toddler. You should respect the domestic cat's normal behaviours which are always in response to the environment in which they live. Their behaviour is instinctive based upon inherited behavioural...

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...

Image: MikeB Below is a list of seven potential Maine Coon behavioural problems from a well-known website about this cat breed. I would like to discuss them. The picture that I have made hints at the fact that I question whether these really are genuine Maine Coon problems. They are clearly natural behaviours because everything that a Maine Coon cat does is essentially natural; a reaction to the circumstances under which they find themselves and for a Maine Coon cat those circumstances are invariably created by their human caregiver because nearly all Maine Coon cats are full-time indoor cats. They live inside a human world; a human environment both in terms of the inanimate objects and the animate objects. Aggressive Territorial Clingy Inappropriate Climbing Spraying Scratching Furniture Destructive Aggression Of course, Maine Coon cats can be aggressive. Their inherent character trait lends this cat to be pretty calm and unaggressive; perhaps, in general, less aggressive than a typic...

 This fluffy Maine Coon's reaction to being brushed and combed is described as funny. Funny peculiar. But is it? His name is Barny and he is on TikTok. Maine Coon resists being brushed. Image: MikeB based on screenshot. If you look at the video a couple of times, you'll see three types of body language which gives the game away as to his attitude to being brushed. He flicks his hind leg He pushes himself away slightly He places his paw on the brush to stop it moving and approaching him What does that tell us? What does it hint at? P.S. He also vocalises slight irritation. That Barny does not want to be brushed by his caregiver. Why? I think because it is over-stimulating. It irritates him which is going to be a little irritating to his caregiver because Maine Coons do need human intervention on coat maintenance. Or he may find it uncomfortable based on previous sessions. @mainecoon.barny Comb number 3 and my mainecoon cat🖤 #mainecooncat #blackmainecoon #mainskamyvalikocka...

Discussion topic You could say that humankind has an obsession with big things. It doesn't apply to everybody but it does to a lot of people. And America seems to be the leader in the world of big things. That is not a criticism. Big is often good. Big and bold seems to be an American motto. This may account for the fact that their cat breed, the American Cat, the Maine Coon is the largest domestic cat breed on my estimation.  Big is attractive If you decide to adopt the Maine Coon cat you might be tempted to go for the biggest you can find. Part of the attractiveness of this breed is its size. Comparing size! People like big Maine Coon cats. On social media today there is a Maine Coon owner asking about the weight of other Maine Coon cats at six months of age. They say that they have always wanted a monster and are curious as to whether their cat is about average or bigger or smaller than usual at 6-months. It chimes with humans comparing their appearance on social media. I don...