Maine Coon Cats (comprehensive page)

Character and Appearance

The Maine Coon has a distinctive appearance, is intelligent⁴ and has a gentle² character. Maine Coon Cats are also characterized by their long smooth to touch and shaggy fur, straight noses and their “presence”. They are a very handsome cat. They needed the lovely coat that we so admire for survival in the cold climate from which they originate (possibly Norway). The coat is a dense semi-long fur of irregular length that requires regular grooming but less so than for some other long haired cats. I say dense. Yes, it is relatively dense but not as dense as, for example, on a British Shorthair cat as there is a light undercoat (cat hair).

Accordingly, with the Maine Coon one tends to be able to feel the muscle and bone beneath the fur, while with cats having short but denser fur, only the fur can be felt. It also makes grooming less demanding but it does require regular grooming to prevent matting¹⁶. The coat is apparently thicker in winter compared to the summer². Apparently although Maine Coon cats like water some hate being bathed and it may require two people to carry out this task!¹⁶ That said the waterproof coat should mean little need to bathe. The color of the fur may alter its texture. The fur is shorter on head (yes commonsense) and shoulders and longer on the sides and stomach area. A glorious ruff is common. Although Maine Coon cats are not the only long haired cat to have ruffs (think Norwegian Forest cat as one example).

The fur acts like a duvet with a tough top coat to shed water and protect against the elements and a soft downy undercoat to keep him warm. The coat is an outstanding feature of this breed. Another noticeable feature is the tufts of hair in between the toes on their large feet. This is one of the cat’s adaptations to the harsh winters when the cat was a barn cat. The waterproof, shaggy and longer fur on the undersides and hind quarters is designed to protect from the snow and ice¹¹. Other winter/snow protection features are:

• long plumed tail acting as a cushion!
• large snow shoe type paws.
• polydactylism (extra toes), which is relatively common in Maine Coon cats (as much as 40% – not sure about that) and this results in even larger paws. Note: Polydactylism is not allowed in the show ring¹⁴ but is not a genetic defect that causes ill health. It is caused by an autosomal dominant gene. There are Maine Coon breeders who specialise in American Polydactyl cats.

Generally, planned breeding has only been in force for the past 40 years¹⁶  (from 2009). There are 64 color combinations. There are 5 color classes: solid, tabby, tabby with white, parti-color plus the other Maine Coon colors. The allowed patterns are: classic tabby (blotched), mackerel tabby (stripes) and patched tabby are the only recognized patterns. However, where the colors or patterns are due to hybridization (crossing with another breed), such as chocolate (Havana Brown), lavender, pointed (Siamese) pattern or ticked pattern (Abyssinian) the cat is not accepted by the CFA¹¹.  The most common coat is the brown tabby¹². The silver tabby is apparently preferred by the British through the GCCF¹⁷. The color of the coat takes several months to settle into the finished “product”. The Maine Coon Cat Club say this can lead to difficulties in registering the kitten. They say that coat color is less important than coat type and texture. We shouldn’t forget the tail. Such a magnificent tail; a bushy plume. In Maine Coons that have a white coat, there is a relationship between coat color and eye colour (due to the fact that the gene that causes white fur affects eye colour too) and the eyes should be and will be blue or there will be odd eyes. In all other cats the eyes can be any colour and there is no relationship with coat colour¹³. Green, gold or copper eyes are the colours to be seen¹⁷.

The eyes have a rather wild and inquisitive look, which can convey a gentleness or authority. Perhaps the size of Maine Coon cats gives them the chance to act as alpha cats in a group. The head is a wide “modified wedge”. This means wedge shaped but modified by the fact that a cat’s head cannot look exactly like a wedge. The ears are large and most noticeably, lynx tipped. The hairs on the end of the ears are a particular feature of this cat breed. The breed standard stipulates that the ears should be set high on the head and no greater than an ear’s width apart. For a large cat their voices are quite delicate. They trill alot. And seem to meow almost reluctantly.

Black Maine Coon ©Helmi Flick click on thumbnail