This is a well-known Maine Coon (MC). Highly impressive and imposing. I have seen him before but it is the first time I have seen him at 6-weeks-of-age and 6-years-of-age. It makes a great photograph. I believe the coat is a “black smoke“. It is a total WOW appearance. It is exceptional to see a cat this impressive.
When breeders breed the Maine Coon to extreme, they make them very impressive like this. When Persian breeders breed to extreme they make their cats’ faces flatter to the point of ill-health. And the modern Siamese face has become longer and longer. More refined they say. I say weirder. That’s why I prefer the Maine Coons. You never see weird except for the MCs who look like little furry humans. They are weird but in a nice way.
One problem with these huge MCs is the joints. Sometimes they suffer from joint disease because of a poor hip joint (hip dysplasia). Occuring with hip dysplasia is patellar luxation. The knee cap slides to the inside of the leg rather than remaining in its trochlear groove. This can cause lameness and an unwillingness to jump. Bigger cats, I’d say, are more likely to have these joint problems because of the extra weight.
There may be no signs of these diseases until they are older.
Photographers name is Robert Sijka. Here is his IG:
Yes, I know but thanks anyway.