This is Shooter, a very large Maine Coon cat, at a cat show. Since publishing this picture, I have written many more pages about large Maine coon cats. In fact, I have a website on the Maine coon cat which you can access by clicking this link. You will find some more large Maine Coons. The large size of Maine Coons fascinates people and it is what distinguishes them together with their square muzzles and their large ears, from other cat breeds.
It would appear that there is a trend towards breeding Maine Coons with extreme appearance which means larger cats, squarer muzzles and larger ears. This trend appears to be, in general, coming from European and Russian breeders. There is a difference between European and American Maine Coons and it is not just about the breed standards with very slightly.
It’s important that Maine Coons breeders don’t get sucked into the idea that they have to do breed extreme looking Maine Coons. The breed standards in America don’t specify that Maine Coons have to be large. They don’t say that this cat breed has to be a certain weight or be enormous. And some Maine Coons are literally enormous.
There are more like lynx wild cat in terms of size. You may have seen the Russian bred Maine Coons with human faces. They went viral a year or so ago. They are extraordinary but we also have to discuss the health of these cats. Maine Coons do suffer from inherited diseases which are in my view linked to their size such as patella luxation and hip dysplasia. It’s no good just breeding wonderful looking cats which are mightily impressive because they are large without paying attention to health aspects. At the end of the day health is more important than appearance.
I love them too – my favourite cat breed. I hope you succeed.