The Maine Coon is on of the most impressive domestic cats and they are meant to have shaggy coats. This should be a reminder of their farm cat origins. Here is a quote from Gloria Stephens from The Legacy of the Cat:
“The uneven, shaggy coat lies flat and is not full or dense”. The cat in the picture has this in spades although it is not lying very flat! I have never seen such a shaggy-coated Maine Coon. The continental Maine Coon breeders, by which I mean mainland Europe including Russia, tend to breed these more extreme or visually striking Maine Coons. However, I am not sure if this individual hails from Russia or Europe.
And what about the tail? It is plumed to the nines. I think the Maine Coon coat hides an almost slender body. They are ‘substantial’ cats to use the breeders’ description of their body conformation but not really heavy. If you feel the body through the shaggy coat you feel a normal, almost slender cat. Some enormous Maine Coons are relatively light in comparison to their visual size.
This cat is behaving (and looks a bit like) like a male lion in the African Serengeti resting and observing on a mound or rocky outcrop. There are some Maine Coons that look like lions. I am sure they are bred to look like lions because the Maine Coon’s square muzzle lends itself to this form of selective breeding.
TICA Maine Coons are more natural and farm cat like compared to CFA Maine Coons.
Note: ‘(up) to the nines’ – means a hell of a lot! In case you don’t use that term in your country.
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