Maine Coon. Showing the ruff around the neck, the lynx-tipped ears and the general (impressive) size. This is a tabby Maine Coon which are very popular. The ruff is amazing on this cat. The photograph is, in my opinion, in the public domain.

Below is a ten question quiz about the Maine Coon cat: America’s glorious pedigree, purebred. Probably, today, the most impressive of all domestic cats provided the breeding is correct. There are one or two are multiple answer questions and the remainder are yes or no answers. I hope you enjoy doing it. It shouldn’t take you that long and at the end you are given a score. There is a short summary after you have answered each question which explains the correct answer. If you get a hundred percent then I would have thought that you were pretty good and have a decent knowledge of the purebred cats. The biggest topic of conversation about this breed is its origin. There are many suggestions some of which are clearly wrong.

The interesting part about the origin is that the domestic cat is non-native to North America and therefore the domestic cat did not evolve from a wild cat in America. Therefore the animal had to be imported. And who could have done that? The obvious answer is the European settlers when they colonised America in the early 17th century. That is the origin of the Maine Coon in my view and in the opinion of most others.