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When can I expect my Maine Coon cat to shed fur?

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To answer the question in the title we need to know what controls the shedding of fur in domestic cats including Maine Coons. When you answer that question, you can answer the question in the title. Some people think that seasonal temperature changes governs the shedding of fur in Maine Coon cats and other domestic cats. This makes sense because fur keeps cats warm and therefore if it's warmer, they don't need so much fur. Dante - a Red Tabby Maine Coon in the Snow. Photo by Wendy Photosensitive But it appears that cats are photosensitive meaning that they respond to the amount of ambient light when it comes to shedding fur. In other words, shedding fur is more influenced by the amount of light impacting upon the cat than by temperature changes. But of course, the amount of ambient light is directly linked to the ambient temperature outside i.e. seasonal changes. Other factors It's also important to note that other factors such as diet, health, and grooming habits can affec...
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Maine Coon hip dysplasia explained in an infographic

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This is a cross-post. I hope that it helps to explain hip dysplasia in Maine Coon cats. The x-rays that we see are not very helpful in terms of understanding the disease. So, I decided to produce a very compact and succinct infographic which I hope people will find useful because a lot of people look at websites on their smartphones. They are looking for speed. As I have said before, it is a great shame that this beautiful cat breed suffers from four serious inherited health problems one of which is hip dysplasia. The diseases don't come about exclusively because of artificial selection i.e. selective breeding but inbreeding is a major contributor to this disease being so prevalent at around a quarter of all Maine Coons. I can think of three others immediately: spinal atrophy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and patella luxation. The first concerns the spine gradually atrophying i.e. becoming weaker, the second regards a serious heart disease in which the muscle thickens. It begins wit...
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Can a Maine Coon kill a person?

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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 ...
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Maine Coons and Bengals are less neurotic than other cats

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I have gleaned a bit of information about the Maine Coon character and hunting desires from a study which actually looks at the character of domestic cats both non-purebred and purebred to assess whether it affects how keen they are to hunt birds and mammals.  Maine Coons and Bengals are less neurotic than other cats. This is a generalisation based on a study. It does not mean that all Maine Coons and Bengals have the same character. Image by Warren Photographic with the background added. I will quote what they state in the study verbatim and I think people who want to adopt the Maine Coon cat might find this useful. Although this is valid research and useful it is the findings of one study. But that said they did survey 2,508 cat owners in France. A good number. "Bengal and Main Coon cats also demonstrate lower levels of neuroticism than other cats. These findings are in agreement with organizations of cat owners and breeders, which report that cat breeds differ not only in morph...
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Why can't Maine Coon cats roar?

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Maine Coon cats, like other domestic cats, lack the ability to roar due to differences in their larynx structure compared to big cats.  The larynx of domestic cats is not as specialized as that of big cats, and their vocal cords are shorter and less flexible. As a result, domestic cats are unable to produce the deep, low-frequency vibrations that create a roar. Maine Coon meowing loudly asking for food. Image: DALL-E. However, Maine Coon cats, like other domestic cats, are still capable of producing a variety of other vocalizations, such as meows, purrs, growls, and hisses, to communicate with their owners and other cats. These vocalizations are produced by other parts of the larynx and the mouth. The tiger roar is meant to be heard over 2-3 kilometers. It is a long-distance call . Domestic cats don't need to call that far and their anatomy is too small to produce a roar. A point worth mentioning is that a cat can either purr/meow or roar but they can't do both. The mountain li...
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Video of Helios - a bear of a Maine Coon cat

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When Helios jumps onto the bed chasing a cat tease, he looks like a bear chasing a salmon in a stream. He is enormous. Without wishing to be insensitive you can see that he is a little overweight. That's why he has lost that natural Maine Coon rangy appearance. Maine Coons are big but they are long as we all know which gives them a rangy (leggy and long) appearance. The longest domestic cat ever was a Maine Coon called Mymains Stewart Gilligan (aka Stewie) at 123 cm (48.5 in) long.  Isn't it always a danger for Maine Coons to become little overweight? What I mean is they have to be full-time indoor cats. Doesn't this place an added obligation on the cat caregiver to keep them happy and occupied. And it not they can become bored. Some cats comfort eat as far as I can tell. It is partly why too many over overweight. It's no big deal for Helios but I think he should lose a bit. All the big Maine Coons I have seen are just big and not fat-big. The real issue for Helios is t...
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How much will it cost to feed my Maine Coon for ONE YEAR?

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As the Maine Coon (MC) is the largest domestic cat breed and as they CAN weigh around 20 pounds, I'll attempt to work out an answer on the basis that the owner has a large MC at 20 pounds in weight. That's convenient for me because I have prepared an infographic which sets out the minimum and maximum cost for ONE YEAR for dry, wet and raw cat foods in the United States to feed a 10 POUND cat. Here it is: So, if we rather crudely double the cost for a MC we arrive at the following. Note: doubling the food intake for a cat double the weight is a bit simplistic but I believe a good starting point. In feeding a Maine Coon, the cheapest dry food for one year, the cost would be twice the $86 (the cost for a 10-pound cat) which makes $172 and for the most expensive dry food it would be $704. Feeding the same MC with the cheapest wet food would using the same double cost produces $892 per year for the cheapest wet food and the most expensive would be $4214. Feeding a raw diet, the cos...
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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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