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Royal Mail feature a Maine Coon cat on a stamp

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  Royal Mail feature a Maine Coon cat and other breeds. Image: Royal Mail For international readers, the UK's Royal Mail is the country's postal service.  They have been in existence since 1516 believe it or not! Amazing. They have the royal warrant. They have introduced some new stamps featuring purebred cats including the Maine Coon and: Bengal, Siamese, British Shorthair, a random-bred tabby cat, a ginger tabby cat and a black-and-white random bred cat as well. A nice selection. I just noticed that there's actually a stamp featuring a tabby-and-white random-bred cat as well. In all there are 8 different stamps. As you can see the Maine Coon is a grey tabby and white; probably the best coat for this breed whose origins are in the barns of Maine, USA hundreds of years ago. You can buy the stamps as a collector item in a range of formats including as sheets of both first and second class stamps in a presentation pack. You can also buy postcards with the stamps on them with ...
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Location: United Kingdom
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What causes polydactyl Maine Coon cats?

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We know that the Maine Coon is predisposed to polydactyly. The Maine Coon cat breed is famous for cats having more than the usual number of toes. In fact, it wasn't until very recently that the polydactyl Maine Coon was accepted by The International Cat Association (TICA). Polydactyl Maine Coons are not accepted by the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) as at the date of this post. Polydactyl MC. Image in public domain. RELATED:  Polydactylism was deliberately bred out of the Maine Coon . A study report on SAGE Journals regarding: 'Genetic heterogeneity of polydactyly in Maine Coon cats', concluded that "polydactyly in Maine Coon cats is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity and this trait is characterised by genetic heterogeneity in the Maine Coon breed". RELATED:  Polydactyl cat record holders 2022 . It might be helpful the break that information down a bit if we can. "Polydactyly" is another wor...
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Are Maine Coon cats indoor cats?

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Not really. Maine Coon cats like any other domestic cat would enjoy life more being outside because it's a more natural environment ( depending on how their indoor environment has been enriched ). Also, the history of the Maine Coon cat is very much one of being an outside cat. These were originally barn cats and therefore semi-domesticated. They are built physically to endure harsh conditions. This is noted in the breed standard. And therefore, anatomically speaking they are quite definitely indoor/outdoor cats. Maine Coon on a lead by Ruffians. But, and there is always a but, they are also very popular cats and they have a distinctive appearance. A lot of people recognise the Maine Coon cat. Therefore, you can't let them go outside unless they are supervised. And the only way to do that realistically is to leash train your Maine Coon.  Or you might have 5 acres of land at the back of your house and pots of money. You could then build a cat confinement fence around the entire ...
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Russian Maine Coon breeder's body partially eaten by her cats

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NEWS AND COMMENT - BATAYSK, ROSTOV REGION, RUSSIA: Don't think ill of these cats. Of course, we shouldn't. Sometimes the press like to get hold of this kind of story and sensationalise it. There is nothing sensational about it. It is just about sadness both for the woman who died without anybody knowing about it for 2 weeks and for her 20 Maine Coon cats who were forced to resort to eating bits of her in order to survive. The whole thing is entirely natural although of course it reads rather gruesomely. This was a female cat breeder who kept 20 Maine Coon pedigree cats in her home. The police were alerted when one of her employees could not contact her. When the police turned up, they found her partially eaten body surrounded by the hungry Maine Coon cats. They believe that she had been dead for 2 weeks. As expected, the cats were rescued and some of them have been rehomed. Interestingly, it is said that the adoption rate in Russia is £29 in British currency. That sounds cheap ...
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Largest DNA-based study - info. on Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency in Maine Coons

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A brand-new study published on June 16, 2022 which researched inherited diseases linked to a wide range of purebred cats and including non-pedigree cats, is proving useful. It is the largest DNA-based study of domestic cats to date according to the scientists. In all, 11,036 individual cat were genotyped. They included 10,419 pedigreed cats and 617 non-pedigreed cats.  DNA testing. Image: Pixabay. They were looking into the "distribution and frequency of known disease, blood type and physical trait associated genetic variance across cat breeds". I interpret this to mean that they were investigating inherited diseases in purebred cats and comparing that with non-purebred cats. I might oversimplify their stated objectives but it needs to be simplified. However, I am able to, I hope, simplify it having read hundreds of studies over the years. I'm going to go over some inherited diseases concerning the Maine Coon cat as reported by this study which may interest cat breeders a...
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Picture of a red tabby Maine Coon with a combed ruff and a big muzzle

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  Picture of a red tabby Maine Coon with a combed ruff and a big muzzle. Picture: Pinterest. It is a good photograph and a beautiful cat. The cat is very typically Maine Coon, bred slightly to extreme I would argue because the muzzle is very heavy and 'square', more so than you see on the winning Maine Coon show cats on the CFA website. The CFA show cat winners look more delicate than this individual (see below). Nonetheless this is a great cat. I don't think, personally, that Maine Coon owners should comb their cat's ruff as MCs should be natural, like barn cats and not too coiffed. Below is a Maine Coon show cat winner from the CFA website for comparison. RELATED:  What kind of Maine Coon wins competitions ?
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Video of the Maine Coon tail!

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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...
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No part of a Maine Coon cat should be exaggerated

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It is interesting to read that the premier cat association, the CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) - the cat association which really dictates (with TICA) how Maine Coons should look - makes it clear that no part of the cat should be exaggerated, and the cat should be "well-proportioned and balanced".  In other words, any form of extreme appearance such as a particularly heavy muzzle or particularly large ears with extra-long lynx tips are not going to be seen as advantageous in terms of winning cat shows or in terms of having an ideal appearance. As soon as I read that no part of a Maine Coon should be exaggerated, I immediately thought of the extremely large, extreme-bred Maine Coon cats that often come from Russia. These cats have very heavy muzzles.  Lion-faced Maine Coon with exaggerated features. Image in public domain now. In fact, their heads look like the heads of lions. I get the impression that breeders have selectively bred their cats over years to look like male...
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The extreme Maine Coon face

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This is an example of extreme breeding. This is a Maine Coon but this cat is an extreme and rare example of this breed. This is not the way they look normally. This face is almost like an aggressive robot with the piercing eyes and the huge muzzle.  Or like a lion's head. The head looks enormous and very heavy. It looks unreal. But it also looks very impressive.  And purchasers like impressive-looking domestic cats. But this not the face of a Maine Coon that wins cat show competitions as it does not fit the breed standard as accurately as the more moderate winners (see below).  In fact, the CFA standard is clear in that the cat should have a balanced appearance although this cat was not bred under the CFA breed standard as I understand it (see below).  Click here for more on the kind of MC which wins at shows . Maine Coon selectively breed to have an extreme face. Image in the public domain. And the Maine Coon is meant to be a large cat, the largest domestic cat b...
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Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6 weeks and 6-years-of-age

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This is a cross-post as the image is so damned good. It is amazing because the cat is amazing. To put the same cat at different stages of their life in the same photograph is a nice idea especially with this Maine Coon (MC) who has an amazingly heavy face. It is so mightily masculine to be almost unbelievable. He has a priceless expression on his face too. Very serious compared to the innocence of his face when he was 6 weeks old. He looks a bit coy when 6 weeks old and a slightly grumpy middle-aged man when 6 years old. Comparison of a black smoke Maine Coon at 6-weeks and 6-years-of-age. Image in pubic domain. No doubt he is huge too. You get a clear sense of that in the image. There is a serious and less impressive side to this image. It's the backstory that people don't really want to read about and discuss or in fact do anything about: heart ( HCM ) and joint disease. The bigger and heavier the MCs are the more predisposed to heart disease they are. Here is the posts on...
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Eerie picture of a Maine Coon sitting like a human on a chest of drawers

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This is a slightly scary picture according to those who've seen it. One social media user said it was the devil and "If I walked into a room and saw that, I would assume some shit is about to go down". There is a ghostly stillness and sinister feeling about the image. 'Eerie' is a better description. This attractive cat appears to be completely at ease and comfortable sitting on top of a chest of bedroom drawers. The lighting from below (deliberate?) enhances the eerie effect. It seems possible that this is a photo-edited image but if so, it has been done with great skill. However, I don't think this is Photoshopped. Rethink: to be honest, the more I look at the picture, the more I feel that this is a photo-edited image. It is just too unnatural to be real. Although some domestic cats get themselves into some very strange positions. Maine Coon calmly sitting just like a human on a chest of drawers. Picture source unclear. Image deemed to be in the public d...
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Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes

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Black smoke Maine Coon Richie with a black face and diamond eyes. Photo: Instagram. OMG, this is a Maine Coon with an amazing face. His full name is "Richie du Mont d’Even". I think he has a black smoke coat which has created this black face with the assistance of other genes (polygenetic influence?) and ears with piercing, diamond eyes. This is a very special cat. Richie looked very interesting but relatively plain as a kitten. Image: Instagram. His paws are balls of fluff. He has a mane that goes over his head like a halo. He's angelic and other-worldly. The lynx tips on the end of his ears are smoky grey which makes them stand out. They are a bit like the opposite to the black lynx tips of the wild caracal.  He lives in France with his human: Adriana Piraino. He was born on 7th November 2020. He is still very young. They say Maine Coons reach adulthood at around the age of 4. He is going to be enormous as well. Richie with Adriana. Photo: Instagram Richie was bred b...
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Difference between Maine Coon and domestic long hair

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The difference between a Maine Coon cat and a domestic longhaired cat comes down to the fact that the former has been artificially bred (selective breeding) whereas the latter has usually procreated according to natural selection. Natural selection is random breeding and therefore the domestic longhair is a random-bred cat whereas, selective breeding produces a purebred, pedigree cat registered with a cat association.  Difference between Maine Coon and domestic long hair. Infographic by MikeB. And because each individual Maine Coon cat is registered with a cat association, if they are in genuine Maine Coon, their appearance should comply with the association's breed standard . The breed standard tells breeders what their Maine Coon cats should look like in order that they can win cat show competitions if they want to enter their cat into these competitions. And so, as the appearance of Maine Coon cats is moulded to the guidance of a breed standard (see a section below from the...
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What is the activity level of the Maine Coon cat?

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Laid back, golden-eyed silver tabby Maine Coon looks down on their slave. Image in the public domain. One well-known Maine Coon cat website asks whether Maine Coon cats are hyper? And they go on to state that Maine Coon kittens are a little hyper which, as it happens, is typical of all kittens of all domestic cat breeds and random bred cats. It is just the nature of young kittens in the same way that it is the nature of young humans. But the word "hyper" is very far from the behaviour of the adult Maine Coon cat. My impression is that it is the opposite pretty well. One very obvious sign that Maine Coon cats are in general calm individuals is that you see many photographs on the Internet of Maine Coons cat owners holding up their cat to show them off to the camera and the expression on the cat's face could not be any calmer. They take it all in their stride. There is no struggling or wriggling to signal that they want to be put down as quickly as possible. I have a strong...
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Tortoiseshell Maine Coon with split-face

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Maine Coon with "split face". Photo: Screenshot. This is a very impressive Maine Coon. As you can see she is a tortoiseshell and as you probably know almost all tortoiseshell and calico cats are female. There are a few male tortoiseshell cats (and this might be one of them). Their sex is caused by a genetic aberration because the genetics of tortoiseshell cats dictates that they are almost always female. About one in 3000 are male as I recall. Also, it is not that unusual to see this extreme pattern on the face which creates the appearance of a "split-face". This is not what is called a "chimera" but a normal variation of the tortoiseshell pattern. Sometimes you do see what some people call "two-faced" cats with this sort of face due to a sharply defined pattern down the middle of the face. But the genetics behind that is different to this normal tortoiseshell variation. This is a particularly extraordinary looking Maine Coon cat. Not all Maine C...
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2 top Russian Maine Coon cat breeders which ship internationally

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I am writing this from the West; specifically, near London, UK. There will be quite a few people living in the West who'd like to adopt a Maine Coon cat and they would like to adopt one from a Russian breeder because they do have a certain style.  I sense, although I don't have hard evidence to support this feeling, that the top Russian breeders of Maine Coon cats might be superior to breeders from other countries.  I am putting aside Putin's invasion of Ukraine when writing this article. Some people might object to dealing in anyway with a Russian business on account of that barbaric and illegal invasion. We should remember that Russia has quite a strong cat fancy. They like their cats and they love their purebred cats particularly the Maine Coon. It is in fact a cat breed which is quite naturally suited to the Russian way of life and climate. There's lots of space in Russia with a relatively low population and therefore there are going to be houses with large grounds ...
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Maine Coon Size - this is a huge one!

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  Enormous Maine Coon with a head bigger than the person holding him. Pic: in public domain. Maine Coon size is very important to both breeders of this cat and the public. I sometimes think that the public is more obsessed with Maine Coon size than the breeders are. The bigger the Maine Coon the better. There is a fascination about it and I confess that there is nothing much more impressive than a huge Maine Coon. They've been bred like this through selective breeding but please remember that they weren't always like this. The original Maine Coons were regular farm cats in the state of Maine in 19th-century and before. They were robust, rugged, medium-longhaired moggy cats but impressive nonetheless. Their impressiveness led to breeders deciding to breed them which in turn led to the breed being accepted by the cat associations and then to win cat shows and become perhaps one of the most famous breeds in the world. The breed standard for the Maine Coon as provided by e.g. Cat F...
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