Huge Maine Coon

Huge Maine Coon 'GIZMO'
Huge Maine Coon ‘GIZMO’

This is a huge and handsome Maine Coon. His name is Gizmo. He wins lots of prizes at cat show which is predictable as he is so special. His size is slightly unreal. When he behaves like a cat and swats the cat tease held by the judge, Jean-Marc Lagarde from France, it seems out of place. Is he really a domestic cat or a creature from another planet?!

I am told that for 2013, Gizmo was The International Cat Association’s number one cat of the East Coast, USA. He was also awarded 9th place for International Cat and the second best Maine Coon in the world. Who is number one! How can a Maine Coon be better than Gizmo?

His stunning coat is described as “black ticked tabby an white”. His coat looks like shading or smoke but I have that incorrect apparently. The glorious effect, when the the coat is parted, is due to the fact that only part of each hair strand is pigmented by eumelanin, while the other part unpigmented. The pigmented part occupying about one-third to two-thirds of each hair fibre is at the top of the hair strand.

Size is such an important feature of the domestic cat, perhaps particularly so, in the United States where to Europeans everything is oversized from cars to fridges. As the Maine Coon is the world’s largest domestic cat (excluding wild hybrids) it is also unsurprising that this breed is probably the most popular or at least in the top 3.

There are two other notably huge Maine Coons on PoC:

cat-of-the-week

And the other is Shooter:

large Maine Coon cat

There are many other super-large Maine Coons which are not in the public eye. On the largest domestic cat breed page of PoC I set out the weights of all the cat breeds and mention that, usually, the upper weight of the Maine Coon is around 25 pounds. A visitor complained bitterly (see quoted extract below) at that figure as his Maine Coon (all muscle) was 32 pounds. I conclude that, exceptionally, this cat breed can weigh more than 30 pounds which is somewhere near three times the average and the same weight as an F1 Savannah cat.

His head was the size of both my fists put together, stood about 14 inches at his front shoulders, weighed 32 lbs. in his prime and not an ounce of fat on him. Even with his size, he had the style, grace and SPEED that other cats would have to envy. Mr. Fee passed away at 18 years old and will forever be sorely and lovingly missed.

The exceptional weight of this cat breed must partly be put down to selective breeding. Perhaps it is all down to selective breeding. In other words breeders have created this enormous size. The original Maine Coons were long haired moggies from England. They certainly were not exceptional in size unless sailors selected large cats for ship’s cats.

Why does size play such an important role in popularity? Google does not provide the answer. It must be to do with survival, ultimately. It has to be. Large size equates to a greater chance of survival and therefore we are impressed by size. We admire big animals.

8 thoughts on “Huge Maine Coon”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. I love Maine coon cats, I had a Maine coon cat for twelve years he was white all over no other markings, but white. He died in my arms of kidney problems. I had him to so many vets, they could not do anything too help. I still cry at night when I go to bed. He would sleep with me holding my hand. I’am looking for a huge white Maine coon about 25-30 lbs when full grown. I love them so much as I spoil them being my best friend forever. Please see if you can locate a kitten like the one I described for me. Happy together forever.

    Reply
    • Your comment touched me. Lovely comment. Great cats too. Of all the purebred cats the MC is my favorite. I hope you are successful in your search. Somebody might see your comment. I hope so.

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    • Spencer I’m so sorry for your loss.

      Perhaps Maine Coon breeder clubs in your area could help you find a white kitten? Or perhaps a pedigree rescue may have an adult availabable for re-homing?

      Reply
  3. I have a beautiful Maine Coon who was found by a coworker of my sister. He was not a year old and he weighed only 4 lbs. He had been hit by a car and was in pretty sad shape. He came to us and we now have him up to almost 14 lbs.

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  4. The heaviest healthy weight Maine Coons weigh in at 35 pounds, but they are far and few between. My Nicky was HUGE and he was 25 pounds at his heaviest and not a ounce of fat on him either. I know that the last two world’s longest cats were both 35 pounds and both came from breeders. It could be a bred-for-trait, but I know the Leo of Vermiso Cats (now defunct) was not bred for size. They Vermiso Cats was a small family operation who just loved the breed and worked hard to keep them healthy. I know we have a handful of huge cats on Really HUGE Cats/Really CUTE Kittens and Cubs on Flickr. No ideas on the weights, but I’m guessing none are bigger than 28 pounds. There are some Russian Main Coons that are just enormous! If they aren’t bred for size, there must be something in the water there.

    So… I agree the larger Maine Coons are the exception to the rule, but they can occur naturally. I am dying to see picture of Mr. Fee. He most certainly could of been 32 pounds.

    Thanks Michael!

    Reply
    • Thanks for the additional info Dan. I agree that exceptionally huge Maine Coons reach 35 pounds (now I do!). I think that a regular big Maine Coon would be around 25 pounds, which is already more than twice the average. It is what makes this breed standout and so popular, amongst other admirable qualities. Hope you are okay.

      Reply

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