Your Maine Coon Guide

Image: MikeB This is a fictional story, custom made for this website. It is entirely unique and can be found nowhere else other than on this page (which might be considered a good thing by readers of the page of which there will be very few 😢😻). Here goes: Whiskers of Hope In the quiet corner of a bustling city, there lived a Maine Coon named Oliver. His once-lustrous fur was now matted and dull, a testament to the hardships he’d endured. Oliver had been rescued from an abandoned building, his emerald eyes wide with fear. But fate had other plans for him. Across the street, in a small apartment, lived Mr. Henry Thompson. A retired professor, he battled cancer with the same determination he’d once applied to unravelling complex theorems. The disease had taken its toll—his once-vibrant spirit now waned like a fading star. One rainy evening, as Henry sat by the window, he noticed a pair of luminous eyes staring back at him. Oliver, drenched and bedraggled, sought refuge on the windowsil...

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...

Ukranian guy has a love-in with his Maine Coon on camera. Screenshot. This is the title in Ukrainian and it means 'I love you': Я тебя люблю. The video shows a very large and attractive grey tabby Maine Coon making biscuits (kneading) and pressing his head against the head of his caregiver which is buried into the bed! It is looks a bit weird but they sure as hell love each other bigtime. @gelicoon I love you💛 Я тебя люблю💛 #cutecat #mainecoon #sweethome #peace #catlovers #purr #kitty #family #мейнкун #котик #любимыйкот #семья #милыйдом #любовь ♬ оригинальный звук - GeliCoon There is an obvious intensity in this relationship which looks great especially with such a large domestic cat but this kind of bonding between cat and person is pretty common. Nice video though as I always like to see cats genuinely loved. If the caregiver loves their cat only good can come from it and you can guarantee that the caregiving will be excellent with one caveat: avoid to...

Every cat owner wants to make their Maine Coon cat happy; as happy as possible because it is their second duty after the first which is to ensure that their Maine Coon (MC) cat is safe and secure. But the starting point of the process in making your MC happy is to observe her behaviour as in that way you can find out! All domestic cats including MCs are generally undemonstrative . This means that they don't tell us very clearly through their behaviour and the sounds they make what they like; what makes them happy. We have to do work at it a little bit to find out. Image: MikeB And we do that by being observant . My belief is that good cat caregivers are observant people. And it means observing their cat's behaviour, their rhythms and their routines, their likes and dislikes, 24/7 for the entire time that they are the owner of that cat. It is a permanent state of affairs because cat caregivers can always learn. And in observing their Maine Coon, they learn about cat behaviour ge...

There is a cost-of-living crisis in the UK and high inflation in other countries but it is coming down. It's getting more expensive to live! Maine Coon cats are expensive. Expensive to buy and expensive to maintain if you do it to a high standard. But it is not all downside. When you analyse it, Maine Coon cats can save you money if you want to look on the bright side of things. Keeping toasty warm thanks to your Maine Coon cat friend. Image in public domain. 1. Lap cat Not all Maine Coon cats are lap cats but like the general population, some are and some aren't. If you happen to live with a Maine Coon lap cat you can turn down your central heating by 1°C! That'll save you $100 per annum. Just wear some warm clothes inside your home and allow your Maine Coon cat to jump on your lap at every opportunity particularly while watching television. They will keep you warm and make up for that 1°C drop in central heating temperature. 2. Therapy A lot of people expound the advantag...

Image: MikeB The words of the title come from social media. It is written in the first person. I'll recite the story in the third person. This is a story about a woman who lives with two Maine Coon cats. One is a female tortoiseshell who has 'catitude'. I think you know what I mean by that. Tortoiseshell cats are known to have a certain personality which is independent-minded. They know their own mind and will do their own thing. It is a slightly obstreperous attitude but I think a very nice one as well. And the other Maine Coon cat that this woman lives with is a male. If he gets too close to his female 'friend' (love) she attacks him but he never fights back. He just sits up on his hind legs with his front legs up in the air as if about to box. He is a sweet boy in the long tradition of sweet boy Maine Coons! And I think he loves and accepts her cantankerous personality. He may even like her character. On one occasion the woman was leaving her home to take the fem...

The quote in the title comes from the mumsnet.com website and of course it caught my eye because I am a great fan of allowing your cat to come onto your bed at night and sleep with you even if 'you' means you and your husband. That makes a threesome which is a bit tricky but it's a compromise and cat care givers need to compromise with their cat because they are members of the family. Right!? Image: MikeB It means a change to sleeping arrangements but quite quickly you get used to these new arrangements. And it can mean sleep being disturbed because as we all know domestic cats can tend to be active at night. It depends upon the cat but sometimes they can be active all night which means going outside through the cat flap if they are allowed outside and then coming in again with, perhaps, a mouse in their mouth!  There's all kinds of things going on but this is the price that one pays living with a cat including a Maine Coon cat although Maine Coons would rarely be allow...

Can a Maine Coon kill a person? Under extreme circumstances the answer is yes due to a bite infection but I don't think it has ever happened! Image: DALLE-E Because of the imposing size of some of the Maine Coons that we see on the internet - which do not really represent the general Maine Coon population - some people are genuinely unsure if they'll be safe around one of these impressive cats. This is an extreme viewpoint and many will consider it quite mad. It's not. But fear not because it is highly unlikely for a Maine Coon to kill a person. Maine Coons are domesticated cats that have a friendly and affectionate nature. They are not aggressive towards humans and are known to be great companions. Maine Coons are large cats, with males weighing up to 18 pounds, but their size alone does not make them dangerous to humans. While Maine Coons are powerful animals with sharp claws and teeth, they are not likely to attack humans unprovoked (c.f. defensive aggression). Like any ...

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...

Conclusion: the answer to the question depends on several factors as it always does. An acceptance of being brushed does not necessarily come naturally to Maine Coons. Domestic cats naturally groom themselves to a good standard provided they are healthy and the fur is not too long. They spend over 10% of their time grooming which is about 2.5 hours per day according to Dr Fogle. I am not sure mine does that. Do you spend that much on your personal hygiene! 😉. I don't. Nowhere near. Maine Coons need brushing and/or combing regularly to avoid matting and of course to check for ectoparasites such as fleas. It's all part of the routine of a cat caregiver and particularly important for semi-longhaired and longhaired cats as we all know. But do they like it? Or do they hate it?  It is a bit of a shame that Maine Coons need help in grooming. It is indicative of a failure in breeding if we are honest. I don't want to be too serious about this but the original Maine Coons, those ba...

Maine Coon kitten. Not the kitten referred to in the article. Image: MikeB The person who asked the question in the title on social media also said: "All of our other cats love my girlfriend more, so when I bought our new Maine Coon, I really wanted to finally have a pet that loved me the most. What are some tips to becoming my Maine Coon's bestest friend?" My response was: " Create a bond through a lot of gentle, loving interactions in which you do things that your cat really likes. You'll learn what they like. And plenty of play because they'll like it and it is an interaction between human and cat. Let them share the bed at night and your lap during daytime (if they are a lap cat). Find out their favorite food treats and give them, the same time and the same place to create a routine. He'll ask. Plenty of TLC - tender loving care delivered consistently. Talk to him melodiously (quiet, pleasant voice) and pet him gently and in a way that he likes. Don...

No, Maine Coon cats can't be left alone all day, particularly if the cat is confined to the home, perhaps an apartment. However, there are no absolutely right answers . But it would be very poor cat ownership to leave a super Maine Coon home alone daily.  The question is as much about buying a Maine Coon cat as anything else. When you buy any purebred cat, you have to decide whether you can afford to maintain your cat (about £1000 annually) and whether your life is in a position which allows you to be a proper, generous caregiver. Maine Coon at home. Image in public domain as assessed. Not everybody, often through no fault of their own, has a lifestyle which allows them to be a cat caregiver of a decent standard. An important aspect of cat caregiving is being there for them. And having a stable life with a decent home. Domestic cats live in the human world. Often times it is the cat and the human who live in the home and nobody else. From a cat's perspective their human caregiv...

This telling post from the mumsnet.com website says a lot about the necessity - if you can accept the slight disruption to your sleep - of letting your Maine Coon cat join you on the bed at night. And that is especially true right now in the UK as we are going through a 'cold snap' (-4 degrees Celsius last night).  Maine Coon on bed leaving little room for their human companion. Image in the public domain (believed). But it is much more than about the warmth that cats crave. It is all about 'scent soakers' to use the words of Jackson Galaxy, the well-known cat behaviourist. Cats love the smell of the human bed. It is full of human scent. That's what they crave too. Here is the mumsnet.com post I referred to: "My Maine Coon was allowed to sleep on the bed last night. And he was ecstatic! Any time I reached out to touch him (to check I wasn’t going to roll on him) he started purring sooo hard. All night. It was so sweet. I’ve never had a Maine Coon before and he ...

How often do Maine Coon cat owners have to deal with poop stuck to their fur? Faeces stuck to the fur on the backside of a Maine Coon cat appears to be an issue which is not talked about much, but I have bumped into it on a social media website and would therefore like to mention it here. Ideally, I'd like to hear from people living with Maine Coons and other longhaired cats too. I can see the problem! This is a Maine Coon rear end. The photo comes from the Mütyür & Pindúr website on tumblr. The reason why I am mentioning it is because it appears to be quite a common problem for Maine Coon cat caregivers. How big a problem? I think I have an answer.  On a page of the Reddit.com website there are 35 comments to the question: "How often do you guys have to deal with poop stuck to fur?" And the question is asked on the Maine Coon channel of the website. Mini survey The comments act as a kind of survey. Only two out of the 35 commenters said that they had never had this p...

It looks like the Maine Coon is a full-time indoor cat living in an apartment in Gdańsk, Poland. The video has attracted the attention of news media which is why it has been seen well over a million times, which makes it the best video for this TikTok user: maine_staffy.  The user's handle reflects the fact that the dog is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The cat looks like a genuine Maine Coon; a grey tabby with a bit of white and what looks like dilute markings. A beautiful and cute cat for kneading his best buddy, the Staffy. I'll present the video twice (1) once as an embedded video from TikTok which may stop working and (2) an uploaded version which won't disappear, but the quality is poorer. @maine_staffy #massage #staffordshire #staffy #floyd #mainecoon #maine #cat #doglove #dog #funny #kocurek #pies #kot #kotek #zabawa ♬ оригинальный звук - 🐱 Otis&Floyd 🐶 We know that they are best buddies because when a cat kneads another animal species in...

Of course, would be the answer to the question if you love your cat and you provide her with a great environment in which to live and good food et cetera. If you do that then there is no reason why your cat would not like you. Cats, including Maine Coons of course, are able to experience basic emotions at least and therefore the emotion of affection for others just like humans. In fact, both cat and human are mammals and they have a huge number of similarities both in terms of their anatomy and variations in emotionality. Cats have variations in their behaviour which is similar to the variations that people experience. RELATED:  Ten Emotions That Cats Share with Us . For example, some cats eat too much and become obese. I believe that these cats are seeking food therapy. They are eating for pleasure. They do this because they are bored. This is a human trait. Many cats are described as being finicky eaters but then so are many humans.  And domestic cats have preferences regard...

Screenshot from video below. This is a classic case of a domestic cat, in this instance a beautiful Maine Coon, copying the sounds of their human caregiver to their advantage. It seems that the cat is speaking English but for the cat it is simply mimicking the sound made by his owner but with a purpose. As people like to hear cats speaking English, the video has garnered a lot of viewings. All domestic cats are good at observing their owners and copying if it is beneficial to them. This normally means activities such as opening doors or making a sound that triggers the correct response from their owner.  The evolved meow/baby cry that some domestic cats have mastered is another good example. Some cats understand that when babies cry for their mother there is an instant response. Very effective, they think, why not use it to my advantage! They modified their meow to add a hint of baby cry. And the same is more or less happening here. The Maine Coon has learned that he/she is more li...

The answer is very much a YES! But it does depend upon where you live and whether your cat is trained to walk on a lead. You are not going to go walking with your Maine Coon cat unless they are on a lead. But the point is this: we see lots of domestic cats nowadays on leads. In fact, we see lots of Maine Coon cats trekking with their cat caregiver. And I think that taking your Maine Coon cat trekking is the best way to take him or her walking. The picture below highlights that. Maine Coon 'Lotus' on a leash in the countryside. Image in the public domain. I guess that's obvious because when you are out trekking you are in the countryside. Nature. It is the perfect place for a Maine Coon cat to be. We all know that Maine Coons hail from barn cats. They were in general outdoor cats for hundreds of years. They have a coat which is made to be outside in cold weather. I know Maine Coons are expensive and precious but they should have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor safely if...