This is about as good a purebred cat as you will see, photographed by possibly the best cat photographer, Helmi Flick. The tabby and white coat suits the Maine Coon really well. The coat has a nice, natural appearance typical of farm cats which Maine Coon was until the late 1800s when the cat fancy decided to make this cat a purebred show cat. Well that was probably around the time when things started but only during the past forty or so years has planned breeding taken place.
The Maine Coon is considered the quintessential American cat. The images below are thumbnails. If you click on them you will be taken to large format images.
The Maine Coon is the largest purely domestic (meaning non-wildcat hybrid) cat breed. And I have said it before but this breed is possibly the most popular of all the cat breeds and if not occupying the top spot, certainly in the top five.
There is an interesting difference between the Maine Coons registered by the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) and TICA. It is said that TICA Maine Coons are a little less pretty and more natural. That said the coat is meant to be shaggy and uneven. The ears are large and have the appearance of being larger than they actually are because of the lynx tips.
The body is heavy and so are the feet. We often see Maine Coons with polyfeet – polydactyl feet.
The Maine Coon is the state cat of Maine, unsurprisingly. As farm cats they developed a hardy character being able to survive the harsh New England winters.
The early history – the introduction of the Maine Coon to America – is unclear. Some people say that the origins are in the Norwegian Forest Cats brought to the New World by Vikings well before the pilgrims landed in Maine from England.
The short haired America cat counterpart is the American Shorthair another solid and popular cat breed.
“A Photograph tells a thosand words”. Excellent photographic description of the “Main Coon Breed” of cats.
Thanks Rudolph. I have never lived with a purebred cat. But when I stayed at Ken and Helmi Flick’s house I lived with a couple of gorgeous Maine Coons (they have 2 Maine Coons and two British Shorthairs) and it was a very pleasurable experience. The Maine Coon is a fine domestic cat.