Please help… is this a Maine Coon?
by T.Gardner
(Colorado)
Picture of The Maine Coon in Question!
I lost my beautiful big boy, Ammo. He was the most wonderful cat in the world. I started looking into adopting another Maine Coon, because Ammo was so good for our family.
I found one that is suppose to be a pure Maine, but I am not sure if I believe it.
The lady said that the vet told her he was a pure Maine Coon, but he doesn't fit it. He has shorter hair and his head and ears are small.
He also doesn't have the big fluffy raccoon looking tail that I am used to from my Ammo.
The cat weighs at least 15lbs and seems to be a little on the chubby side... I am worried that he is not what I am thinking he is, but he sure has the personality of a Coon. Please help!
T.Gardner
Hi... thanks for visiting and asking. The first thing to say is that there is a strong reason to argue that no cat can be said to be a purebred cat without a documented pedigree to prove it, which means a certified, written history. Without that it cannot be said that a cat is purebred as there is no DNA test for purebred cats as yet.
On the basis that your cat does not have a pedigree then he is not a Maine Coon cat.
Putting that aside for one moment, he does not look like a purebred Maine Coon. He looks a bit like a Maine Coon as you say but he also looks like a really nice mackerel tabby cat of random breeding (moggie) with medium long hair.
On pure appearance alone he could not be said to be a purebred Maine Coon. Although sometimes purebred cats are poorly bred in terms of appearance and do not fit the breed standard so appearance is not a cast iron way of deciding if a cat is a certain breed or not.
There are lots of Maine Coon mix cats around as you no doubt know. These are half Maine Coon cats. When you search on Petfinder you see them even though they are advertised as Maine Coons.
Conclusion: He is beautiful looking cat who looks a bit like a Maine Coon but is not unless you can prove it.
This page adds a bit more to what I have said: What breed is my cat?
Best
Michael