Your Maine Coon Guide

Depending on whether the operation is bilateral (both hips), the exact nature of the operation and the quality of the veterinary surgeon, surgery to rectify hip dysplasia (both hips replaced) may cost upwards of around $20,000. Lesser operations in the in US costing $1,500 to $3,000 per hip is the norm As I understand it, the alternative to a surgical treatment for advanced hip dysplasia is a lifetime of pain-relieving medications and supplements which has a way of adding up financially. Maine Coon hip replacement surgery is very expensive. Image: MikeB Pet insurance was discussed in The Sunday Times today. The authors mention the £24,000 cost of a full hip replacement for a dog in the UK. This is not dissimilar to the cost of the same operation on humans. You'll definitely need health insurance for that  unless you are very well off. Or a second mortgage on your house. You know why I have mentioned the exorbitant cost of pet hip replacement. It's because a lot big dogs and b...

Veterinary surgeon. Image: Pixabay (modified). As the Maine Coon is genetically predisposed to acquiring patella luxation it is useful for caregivers to have an idea of the success rate of rectification surgery for this condition which is recommended by veterinarians for grade 2-4 patella luxation.  The patella is the kneecap and 'luxation' means its dislocation. Basically, the kneecap has moved away from the front of the knee to the side. Grade 1 patella luxation means that you can manually push the kneecap out of his groove, but it will return to his normal position once the pressure is removed. Grade 2 patella luxation means that the patella will sometimes pop out of the groove on its own, but it moves back to its original position when the leg is rotated and extended. Grade 3 patella luxation describes a situation whereby the patella is out of the trochlear groove most of the time but it can be pushed back into the groove with manual pressure. And grade 4 patella luxation d...

We know that hip dysplasia (HD) is pretty common in Maine Coon cats, regrettably . It should be something that Maine Coon cat owners are fully aware of, and I am sure that most of them are. I think that it should worry people who want to adopt a Maine Coon cat. It means that you are adopting a cat that is liable to end up disabled requiring special treatment and perhaps veterinary care. Anyway, that is another topic.  Although the breeders should do more about this as a matter urgency, but it appears to be accepted by the cat fancy which if true is remiss of them. Breeders would normally take steps such as eliminating cats with HD from the breeding programme but clearly this is not happening enough. Perhaps pet health insurance is appropriate , but the problem will be the high premiums because this is a known congenital condition.  Remember, too, that hip dysplasia is more common and worse in larger Maine Coons . It is a trade-off for the impressive stature of these huge cats....

NEWS AND COMMENT- SKIRZA, FRESWICK, SCOTLAND: Janet Aykroyd and a husband Tim are cat people. They live with seven cats near an exceptionally quiet rural road according to Janet in the far north of Scotland near John O'Groats. They have a Maine Coon male cat called Baxter. On April 19, 2022 their one-year-old Maine Coon was knocked off his feet by a car on that quiet road. He was lucky to survive Janet feels although he suffered a broken femur (hind leg). Baxter. Photos by Janet and Jim. It is a bad break. It was broken in three places with shards of bone displaced. They took Baxter in a six-hour journey to Fife where the veterinarians at Neuk Vets carried out orthopaedic surgery to save his leg. Janet tells us that he has a stainless-steel rod, plate and screws in his leg. The cost of the surgery is projected to be around £4,000. I decided that because they have a Go Fund Me fundraising page with a target of £3,500. The cost so far for the metal rod and steel plate et cetera is...

Patellar luxation can sometimes be found in Maine Coons and non-purebred cats but Maine Coons are at a higher risk for the condition (source: Harlingen Veterinary Clinic ). This increased risk is inherited genetically (source: Medical, Genetic & Behavioral Aspects of Purebred Cats ). Pre and post op for patellar luxation in a cat or dog. X-ray: Animal Medical Center of Southern California. Okay, your Maine Coon is more likely than normal to have this disabling condition. The same is said about hip dysplasia which affects 37% of Maine Coons (a higher level of prevalence than for patellar luxation I believe). ASSOCIATED: Maine Coon Health Problems . Patellar luxation describes the knee cap of those cats affected sliding to the inside of the leg rather than remaining in a groove as it should. It causes mild to acute lameness. Maine Coons who have the condition try to pop the knee back in place by extending their limb. What can be done about it? I am sure that many caregivers consi...

NEWS AND OPINION : Kanji is a typically large Maine Coon Living in Suffolk, England, UK. He was allowed outside and was shot when wandering around the neighbourhood. The interesting and troubling aspect of this story is that his owner, Mrs Boucher, couldn't see anything wrong with him. He was just unwell so she took him to the vet. They discovered that an airgun pellet had been shot into his stomach area. It had torn through Kanji's stomach wall and bowel. He needed life-saving emergency surgery and plenty of antibiotics to kill off a subsequent bacterial infection. Kanji a large Maine Coon was shot with an airgun while wandering around outside the home in the UK. Photo: Mrs Boucher. It took a couple of visits to the veterinarian to find out the problem. On the first visit the vet couldn't find the cause of Kanji's poor health. He has fully or almost fully recovered it seems but he spent several days at the surgery because of the infection. He had part of his intesti...