Is a Maine Coon, Bengal cross possible?
by Jessica Rayne
(Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Bengal cat and Maine Coon. They can be mated but the result animal is not accepted by the cat associations. Image: MikeB.
Is it possible that there’s a breed of cat crossed between a Maine Coon and a Bengal?!? I find both breeds gorgeous! What I mean by a breed of cat crossed between a Maine-coon and a Bengal, is a Maine-coon with fur the normal length for its breed, tufted ears, bushy tail and so on, except with a spotted pelt similar to that of a leopard.
And eyes varying in colour from greens and blues to ambers, yellows and browns.
If anyone knows that this breed or a similar breed exists, please leave a note!
Thankyou!
~J.R.
Hi Jessica… Thanks for popping by and asking. The answer is YES and it has been done – see Renegade and Pantherette below. But they are not registered with any cat association. They are informal ‘cat breeds’. In fact there are no pictures of this hybrid that I can find in Google search. It seems that it is more theoretical than actual and what is the point? You lose the charm and appearance of each breed.
Jack, a visitor, living in Alaska says his daughter has a feral Maine Coon Bengal mix called Indie.
The associations allow any coat colour and pattern for a Maine Coon so a spotted one is acceptable on the face of it. Why aren’t there any? Or are there? There are some but they are experimental and rare.
The only Maine Coon crosses or long haired Bengals or plain long haired spotted cats that I know of that have happened under controlled conditions (deliberately) or not as feral cats are:
American Forest Cat Shorthair: shorthaired Maine Coon type.
Bengal variants: long haired Bengal, unspecified as to how achieved.
Leopold: snow leopard look alike so it long haired and spotted. Or medium long haired. Black rosettes and long body on a silver background.
Maine Coon Rex: standard Maine Coon except for rexed cat (cross with Cornish or German rex?).
Pantherette: Various ways to create this rare breed one being a black Bengal cat crossed with a Maine Coon. Objective: Blank panther look alike so the goal is shorthair, but long hair gene is recessive and therefore pops up.
Renegade: Bengal to Maine Coon cross. Experimental. Produces non typey Bengal cats.
Siacoon: Siamese x Maine Coon cross.
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Iv been told my cat is Bengal cross maincoon hes is 3months
He is handsome. Rare too. But do you have some firm evidence that he is a hybrid as described? ?.
A month ago I watched my 4 year old Bengal Maine Coon cross take almost an hour to die in agony of congestive heart failure because it was a Sunday evening and no vet would come. We’d been treating him for 3 months after he collapsed one day, despite looking very healthy and athletic. The scans showed his heart and liver were far too small as he’d been cramped in the womb so they didn’t grow as they should. It was a death sentence. The vet warned us that he’d got blood clots in his brain which could come free at any time. Eventually one did, and paralysed his front legs 3 hours before he died. He kept trying to stand up and couldn’t. He was crying in agony and we doped him with cocodamol to ease his pain. Then he died with bloody bubbles coming out of his nose and his heart banging so his whole body was racking.
So no, I don’t agree with crossbreeds and nor did the heart consultant who carried out his scans – she said it was a bad mix and never went well.
We couldn’t help our beloved boy. Don’t inflict a death sentence by cross breeding. Heartbroken doesn’t begin to cover this.
L’incrocio tra il Bengal ed il Maine Coon è possibile. La razza, chiamata Renegade, è in fase sperimentale.
Una settimana fà è nata la mia cucciolata Renegade!
Se conoscete qualcuno che ha fatto accoppiare Bengal x Maine Coon, scrivetemi. Voglio impegnarmi per superare la fase sperimentale e far sì che la razza sia accertata.
Cordiali saluti!
Il 14 ottobre 2018 è nata la nostra cucciolata di Renegade (Bengala x Maine Coon).
Il padre è un Bengal brown spotted tabby. La madre è una Maine Coon silver tortie.
I cuccioli hanno l’aspetto del Bengal. Vi terrò informati sulla loro crescita.
Per le Associazioni Feline, la razza è in fase sperimentale. Possiamo collaborare tutti insieme per chiedere alle Associazioni Feline di accertare la razza. Siete d’accordo?
Translation from the above Italian (by Google!):
On October 14, 2018 was born our litter of Renegade (Bengal x Maine Coons).
The father is a Bengal brown spotted tabby. The mother is a Maine silver tortie.
Kittens have the appearance of the Bengal. I will keep you informed about their growth.
For Feline associations, the breed is in experimental phase. We can all collaborate together to ask the Feline associations to ascertain the breed. Do you agree?
Hi many thanks for commenting. Could you upload some photos of the kittens?
Grazie per il commento. Potresti caricare qualche foto dei gattini?
La mamma con i cuccioli Renegade dopo il parto.
Ecco i piccoli Renegade a 1 mese di età ! Sono molto attivi, affettuosi e…grandi. Alcuni dettagli sul loro sviluppo: il quinto-sesto giorno di vita hanno aperto gli occhi; dopo altri pochi giorni, udivano già ; a 11 giorni uscivano dalla loro “casetta” per esplorare i dintorni; a 2 settimane si arrampicavano su dei cuscini ed erano interessati a dei giocattoli morbidi; dopo 3 settimane di vita correvano e si arrampicavano sul letto. Da pochi giorni hanno cominciato ad esplorare altri spazi dell’appartamento. Hanno assaggiato un po’ di cibo umido, ma non sono tanto interessati. Il cibo secco non lo vogliono ancora. E per adesso non hanno bisogno di lettiera. Sono molto socievoli, giocherelloni ed a volte…loquaci.
My baby is turning 1 on Tuesday. I got him from a shelter when he was 8 weeks old and always just assumed he was your average grey tabby, but people who meet him keep asking me if he’s part maine coon or bengal. He’s not really that large though, but he loves to play and needs a lot of room when he is lol, loves fetch too. He loves to cuddle also, and follows me around like a dog. Anyone have any opinions? I was thinking maybe one parent may have been a maine coone-bengal mix and the other may have been a regular DSH? His fur is incredibly soft, not quite short-hair but not that long either, it’s really fluffy when you pet him and people say he feels like a rabbit or chinchilla.
A picture of his belly.
Wow.
Ho Shae. It is more likely that he is a mackerel tabby random bred cat. He is a super looking cat. That said it is guesswork as to whether he has some Bengal or Maine Coon in him. He belly spots are amazing and he has a genuine mackerel tabby coat. Of the 2 breeds – Bengal and Maine Coon – his face is much nearer the Bengal. But Bengals have fairly standard faces and heads. They are like random bred cats in terms of body conformation.
Thanks for sharing Shae.
Cooper, now 11 lbs at 10 months old, was born to a small domestic shorthaired white mother & unknown father. He has tabby stripes that break into some bengal-like spots on his back & sides, spotted belly, thick MC ruff, huge fluffy raccoon tail, and long triple coat soft as a rabbit. I’m wondering if his father was a Main Coon / Bengal mix.
Judging by your superb description it sounds like he has a bit of a pedigree! It would be hard to tell but there are quite a lot of Maine Coon mix cats. It is all possible. I think one can tell if there is some ‘breeding’ in a cat. They are a bit different (like Cooper). But I can’t say one way or the other. The only sure way is proper documentation, a real pedigree. A family tree. Thanks for sharing Ayya.
I have a direct 1/2 Merle pattern black and gold Bengal with a pure Maine coon with similar coloring.. she is growing rapidly and waaay smarter than any cat I’ve owned and just wants to perch on your shoulders and watch everything you do around the house.. also they hunt everything..but are the best. She has medium length fluffy fur that feels like mink fur, she’s Merle patterned and I’m not sure what her under coat color is, but she had those large Maine coon ears with the fur on the tips and the M on her forehead and just had that adorable main coone face. And an amazing personality.
Another of LiLy whe she was a bit younger ,she has her whole belly covered in spots too, she loves water so this is her seeing a rain and thunder storm for the first time. She wanted to go out in it really bad lol
All I can say is “WOW”. Gorgeous. And very rare. A special cat. Thanks for showing us KrisM
I have a bengal maine-coon cate. she has the “m” on her forehead and the arrow above. Her name is Cleopatra and she is only 4 months old. very active and very smart. Cleo is short haired though not bushy, but she has long legs and she looks very similar to the cate in the above picture. Cleo is very pretty.
Cool. I think they are rare cats. Thanks for sharing Barbara.
She also has spots , her father is a long coat carrier .
I have a long coat bengal girl they are called cashmere bengals and they look like Maine coon!
My Facebook like page is Alphajag Bengals
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
7/26/17
I have pure bred Coons and bengals. I am expecting two litters any day now
Here is another picture of Chloé
I have a 10month old 3/4 Bengal 1/4 Maine Coon mix. She is silver and spotted. She looks just like a Bengal. I really don’t see any MC in her. I’m getting a brown one just like her in 4 days because she really needs a playmate. She is just laying around like my 11 yr. old cat does? She is a cuddle bug though and loves her momma. In this picture she was fussing at me for getting out of bed. Lol.
Oh, she loves playing in water too!
Thanks a lot Christy for commenting and showing us your beautiful cat. I think this hybrid cat is quite rare so it is a great pleasure to see some nice photographs of your Maine Coon – Bengal mix. Thanks again.
Hi i have just bought a bengal x maine coon she is a caramel and white x
Sounds fantastic. I envy you. Thanks for sharing.
Hello it’s me Mishari again this is my cat she’s 8 months old now and she looks like a pure Bengal breed + she loves playing with water too !:)
Hi Meshari. She does look like a Bengal cat. Very much so. Thanks for sharing.
This is another pic of Garfield.
Garfield is a very interesting looking cat. I can see more Bengal in him than Maine Coon. He has a fine coat. Impressive cat. Rare too. I would have there are very few Maine Coon/Bengal hybrids. Thanks for showing us Amanda.
This is my maine coon/bengal mix. His name is Garfield and he will be 2 years old in August.
thanks Michael she is a gorgeous sweet kitten. she has lovely marking. looks like brown white tabby. hope she give you lots of joy
My cat she’s a cross between bengal and maine coon
Beautiful cat Meshari. So attractive. Nice photo too. Thanks for visiting and sharing.
All these kitties are unique and beautiful.
hi Jennifer did u get a mainecoon x Bengal to go with your other pussy cat . would like to here if you did .
hi Jennifer l live in England . go on to prelove pets there are some mainecoon x Bengal on their web page
I would love a lil brother for my 7 month old, Maine Coon Bengal(?) cross… Please give me info as to where in VA MD DC PA or NY I could find one. My guy was a shelter rescue & his siblings had already been adopted. Thanks!!
Hi Jennifer, thanks for the comment. I make a full comment in about 4 hours.
called milo he is a big boy mainecoon x Bengal he is silver white tabby with bits of brown on his face every active . talks to you as well for his food and a fuss he is a lovly boy
no I have a one
I have a Bengal/maine coon mix. He is absolutely gorgeous, sweet, and extremely high energy. He is incredibly great with children. I know both breeds can be 20-30 pounds each on average but for what he is he is small for that. He’s only 10 pounds or so. I am incredibly lucky to have him.
A special cat. I think they are quite rare aren’t they?
Hello, I have a Maine coon x what I believe is a bengal. He has medium hair, tabby pattern but is one second as jumpy as a bengal and the other sleeping, belly-up on my bed. His belly has a beutiful spotted pattern and his ears look ALOT like a bengals. He also isn’t really a fan of children, nor other animals just like a bengal and does not like to be picked up or stroked ( only when he just woke up :P)
Thanks for visiting and sharing. I’d like to see a picture. Anyway, I am pleased you have a possible Maine Coon x Bengal cat. They are rare I am sure.
Well, we have seen a Scottish Highland Tiger/Scottish Wild Cat on our property. could it be one? where have you seen it? the one we have seen is a tabby grey, with spots and stripes and strange markings, with big tufts in the ears, and a quite evil looking expression. This cat we have seen probably weighs close to 40 pounds and is about 1 1/2 feet tall. we have had this cat almost attack our barn cat.
Hi Karly, may I ask where you are? Are you in the Scotland? I guess you have to be if you saw a Scottish wildcat because they aren’t anywhere else. Scottish wildcats are not 40 pounds. They are like large domestic cats and weight a maximum of about 15+ pounds. Please respond though because your comment interests me. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
This is very much a possibility. We have 2 beautiful maine coon/bengal kittens. They are highly active and very social. they have quite a distinct meow and are a little larger than the average kitten so far. Look in the classifieds in your area. We had the same issue of wanting both breeds and found a random ad selling maine coon bengal cross kittens. They are also great with our kids…8 and 12.
Do you have a photo? If so please email me: mjbmeister[at]gmail.com