Comments on: Maine Coon Cats

By: Karen Cadwell

Karen Cadwell — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:49:39 +0000

Hi Paul; I appreciate all of the information you have posted regarding Maine Coon. I’m pretty sure that is what we have!! “Babe” is a whopping 23-25 lbs and is an unbelievable ground hunter. he is a calico (they can come in various breeds right?) he has a distinct M on his head. Is is normal for this breed to be extremely large??? I could send you a picture to verify this. This was an adopted cat after we lost ours 7 years ago. Our other cat was very large also. It’s hard to go from a great big fat cat to a little scrawny one; you know what I mean?? I think our other cat got into some antifreeze or something. Finally died of kidney failure. Our replacement cat is a prize!!! Litter box just barely does it; you’re right!!! My husband and I laugh when he goes in there cauz it’s like the swinging doors from the Old West Taverns!!! What did you say about accomidating larger cats?? maybe we should think about this soon. He’s out most of the summer hunting!!!! The mole population has diminished these past couple of years; Haha. Thanks for all the info. Feel free to drop me a line back. Thank you, Karen

By: jfc

jfc — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:21:57 +0000

Hi Alice,

We bought a jumbo cat pan at PetSmart that works well for him. It’s almost as big as a small kiddie swimming pool. We also have two large sized automatic litter boxes that he’ll use but he sometimes tips over.

By: Alice Kabota

Alice Kabota — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:12:42 +0000

Where did you find a cat pan large entough for your Maine Cone, ours only likes to go outside. She is pretty long and weighs in at 20lbs. All the litter pans I look at look so small.
Yes out cat has cattiude,she has her routine and her humans are to follow it until she decides to change it. Very shy hides when other people are around, but wonderful wouldn’t trade her for any thing.

By: jfc

jfc — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:14:10 +0000

Hi An C,

Thanks for all that information!

Our cat, since he’s a rescue, was neutered when we got him. He is a bit pudgy at almost 23 pounds. He can cop an attitude at times, such as insisting that my pillow should be his at night, but he isn’t high strung like some our regular cats.

So far as mousing goes, he’s a totally clueless. I guess his mom didn’t give him any training. The smaller adult cat in the photo above was an accomplished mouser, having lived several years outdoors before we brought him inside.

By: An C

An C — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:44:36 +0000

I breed and show Maine Coons, and I very much enjoyed your blog. The male Maine Coon can be two to four times as big as the female - its an odd thing about the adults. The male takes about 4 years to reach full size, growing up and then out. Neuters gain some fat weight but studs are generally all muscle. An average female is 9 - 12 pounds with a number of females reaching 18 and even 20 pounds. I’ve owner three studs - my first was 18 pounds, one 15 and the one I have now is about 25 pounds. Some larger kittens don’t become huge and some smaller boys keep growing - so its better to judge by looking at the size of the parents than by the size of the kitten. A large boy out of a large sire is a good bet. In a decade of breeding, I have found the personalities to vary a great deal and I personally would NOT call most of my Maine Coons “laid back” Some of them have incredibly intense personalities that under certain circumstances reveal a strong “cattitude” The males can be powerful critters who are strong and athletic - generally not for the weak nor faint-hearted in my opinion. An interesting aspect of the breed is that they CAN be very functional for those who need pest control. I have a female who was a mighty packrat slayer in her younger days. I enjoyed the picture of the diapered coon. The most important thing that I like to tell people who are getting a kitten is to develop a working grooming relationship - the kitten should be used to being brushed and nail clipped.

By: Kitchen Remodeling

Kitchen Remodeling — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:29:18 +0000

That is one big cat.

I’ve heard that the Maine Coon cat has the most ‘dog like’ disposition of the cat family. Have you found this to be true?

By: jfc

jfc — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:00:09 +0000

Hi Paul,

Yes, he’s a big cat. Fortunately he’s been very healthy and only required regular vaccinations from the vet. He was already fixed when we got him from the animal rescue organization. He has a good temperament but can be stubborn, particularly when he’s taking up my foot space in bed.

By: purrfectcatbehavior

purrfectcatbehavior — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:49:38 +0000

Hi great post and good blog, came via Splork of lost ball in high weeds fame

Love the cat and in my day job I am a cat vet with my partner interesting in the UK the average DSH (domestic short hair) is @ 6lbs so this is a monster cat. Would be like operating on a dog but they all seem to have great temperments and hence do not need much of our help professionally

Keep up the good posts especially the feline and IM ones

Paul

By: jfc

jfc — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:45:36 +0000

Hi Todd,

Everybody who comes to visit us always says, “That’s a big cat!”

By: Living in Hawaii

Living in Hawaii — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:54:20 +0000

LOL … would you believe that your cat is bigger than my dog?

Keep havin FuN!
Todd