Anyone have a Maine Coon cat?

vhoffman

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We currently have 4 cats, all members of the family!

I've had cats all my life, but this little guy is so unique. Someone gave him to us, a roadside give away. It was impulse, we already had 3 cats, but this little guy was sooooo adorable (I'm a sucker for cats!), I just had to take him. He appeared older than he probably was. I thought he could eat soft food, but he just pawed at the plate and cried. That's when I realized he wasn't weaned. I bottle fed him for about 2 weeks. He had just two little needle-type teeth, couldn't chew anything.

Well, the tiny adorable kitten has since grown into the biggest, fluffiest cat I've even seen! I mean, this guy's big--about 16 pounds! Very long fur, bushy tail, etc. I took him to the humane society last week for his shots (cheapest place in town). The vet there told me he's a Maine Coon--I never heard of that breed before. She asked where I got him, I said it was just a road side give away. She said it was too bad I didn't get the license plates of the people giving him away, she said sometimes breeders have kittens they can't sell for whatever reason, wrong color, markings, etc., so they either dump them:sad1: or give them away. At least our little guy wasn't dumped! According to the vet, a pure bred MC sells for $300--$600+ from a breeder. Well, I've never assigned a $ value to my pets, they're living creatures, regardless of their bloodline.

Of course,the vet can't say for sure if he's a pure bred MC without knowing his parents, but he has all the characteristics. These cats are built for cold weather with 3 layers of fur, an undercoat almost like puddle fur, a second coat, then a long top coat to repel water. He has the long, bushy tail, tuffed feet and ears, extra long whiskers, snow-shoe type paws, sloping forehead, gentle, sweet disposition, loyal to one person (me:love: ). All-in-all, the vet says in her opinion he's a show quality type cat (not that I'm into that).

He's just my fur baby, regardless of his origins. But has anyone ever heard of a breeder actually dumping kittens they couldn't sell? How mean! How could a person reject a kitten because it didn't have quite the "right" markings, etc.? According to the lady I got him from, she said her kids found an abandonded litter (couldn't find mama), and found homes for the other 3 but he was the last to go. If she was a breeder, she was dumping those kittens before they were even weaned!:guilty:

BTW, my MC has been "fixed" so I couldn't use him to start my cat breeding hobby!:rotfl2: He's one-of-a-kind!

This cat is truly unique. I've never had such a sweetie. Makes me think I might want to go into the MC breeding business--strictly as a hobby, if we ever move to a house in the country with lots of land. But I would never dump a kitten--shame on those who would! Its a sick world at times!
 
We've had two Maine Coons. Characteristics are shorter legs, long body, "boots" on the back legs (very fluffy above the ankle), a square-ish muzzle and big tufts coming from the ears. Our male was near 20 pounds!

I'm not a big fan of breeding (just too many homeless waifs out there), but I've certainly heard of breeders "thinning the herd" for animals that aren't perfect. I knew a gal who rescued a pony once for that very reason; it wouldn't have looked good in the show ring as a rep. of its breed, so it was slated to be PTS. :mad:
 
We've had two Maine Coons. Characteristics are shorter legs, long body, "boots" on the back legs (very fluffy above the ankle), a square-ish muzzle and big tufts coming from the ears. Our male was near 20 pounds!

I'm not a big fan of breeding (just too many homeless waifs out there), but I've certainly heard of breeders "thinning the herd" for animals that aren't perfect. I knew a gal who rescued a pony once for that very reason; it wouldn't have looked good in the show ring as a rep. of its breed, so it was slated to be PTS. :mad:


Our MC has all the classic characteristics, including those mentioned above--short legs (I have 3 other DSH to compare him with), long, rectangular body, tufts from the ears, looks like he's wearing pantaloons on his back legs! He love to play with water, will sit on the sink while I'm brushing my teeth to play with the water, has a "twitter" type of meow. I read that classic coons have a distinctive M in their forehead right between their eyes. Well, this guy has an off center M, not very well formed. Could it be that a breeder rejected him for that reason? Maybe that's why she dumped him so early--so her customers wouldn't see that she had bred a "defective" kitten? How sad! He's such a classic. I understand people get on waiting lists for months to get a pure bred coon, and they don't just show up at pet stores, shleters, etc. Kinda a "designer" cat. :cat:

Well, he's my fur baby,regardless of his markings! In my opinion, anyone who choses a pet for such reasons (exact markings, color, etc.) really doesn't deserve a pet--they're living creatures, not show pieces!:mad:
 
I love my coon!!!! She's more like having a dog sometimes. She meets me at the door when I come home, she'll play fetch, she likes the water too. Also very dog like, she'd rather sit just out of reach rather than on my lap. She's plenty affectionate, but that's her prefered spot. She'll follow me from one room to the next, just likes to be near company. Ear tufts and "snowshoe" paws are some of the marks of the breed. They're wonderfully friendly and generally very mellow cats. We tease and say that she never learned how to meow. She trills, she chirps, that type of thing. It's funny to hear a fairly quiet voice out of such a large cat. One surprise for you might be that coons tend to keep growing until they're 4, big kitties.

The only isse our coon has is when her winter coat comes in. Her bib fur is longer than she can actually groom. She'll groom it but it's longer than her tongue can reach so she ends up with these little points. Very funny looking.
 

My mom has a Maine Coon. She got him from the Animal Shelter about 10 years ago. He was a stray they found wondering the street.

He's a big boy, about 25 pounds in his prime but has lost weight since he developed diabetes 2 years ago.

He's funny, stands his ground with my dogs and will not back off. He hisses and swats until the dogs give in. Cracks us up! He's a good cat and purrs just when you look at him.
 
Yes, my coon kitty is more dog-like than cat-like. He follows me from room to room, dh calls him my shadow. He never jumps on my lap, just wants to be near me.

Ok, I'm convinced--I've got a pure Maine Coon! For free! (except, of course, the shots, license, tags,vet care, food, etc).

I'm so thrilled the think I got for free what many people pay big bucks for!!!

About as thrilling as finding an authentic Kate Spade purse at the Good Will--in new condition! I was thinking of selling it on Ebay (the purse, not the cat!), but then read about how they are cracking down on counterfeits, fakes, etc. I can't really prove its authentic, since I don't have the original receipt. But I looked it up, found a website about how to spot fake Kate Spades, this bag is authentic! BTW, I got it for $3.99!!! Looks like some guy sorted the purses--small $2.99, medium $2.99, large $4.99. That's what dh said he would do--the larger the purse, the greater the utility, so the more the cost:confused3 Couldn't explain to him--purses aren't for toting stuff!

But Maine Coons are for loving:love:
 
I do love my fur baby!

I'm wondering (will never know) if he was abandonded by a breeder because he didn't somehow measure up? He seems too classic to just "happen". Oh, and when we got him I immediately took him to a vet for a check up before bringing him home. I didn't want to introduce any diseases to my other cats. The vet commented that he didn't have any fleas or signs of parasites, and didn't appear hungry. Strange, for an abandonded cat. Especially since we found him in the middle of a hot, muggy summer--flea season. The vet thought it a little strange.

We might be moving soon and always wanted a house with a lot of land for pets, animals, 4-H projects, etc. I might try MC breeding--they're so cute!
 
We have a Maine Coon cat. Her name is Lucy. We adopted her from the Idaho Humane Society. She was the last one left. She is HUGE and furry! She has the cutest personality..she is NOT afraid of dogs or other cats. The only things that scare her are toddlers and cars.:laughing:
 
Hmm, all this discussion has got me thinking about our little Scottish Fold cat!

He came from a supposed breeder but it was more like backyard breeding. I have no papers on him and got him for free. He has the little folded ears, but he's also got snowshoe feet, and the biggest personality of any little cat I've ever seen! We've fostered dogs and had quite a few come and go; he's never afraid of them (to the contrary, he was so bold that it confused some of them and they were timid of him!). We have another cat, a big ol' tiger tabby who's twice the size of the Fold and was also here first, but he's 2nd in the pecking order for sure. The Scottish Fold also chirps far more than he meow.

Perhaps there's a bit of MC in this guy?!!
 
Cats are cats and I've had cats all my life. However, this cat is so unique I'm convinced he's a pure bred Maine coon. so, where did he come from? I have the sickening feeling he was dumped by a breeder when he didn't come out to speficiations. How cruel!

I toyed with the idea of becoming a MC breeder, just because they're such sweet kitties and I would love a litter or two to raise. However, there are so many homeless strays out there it just wouldn't be right to bring more kitties in the world. Even if the "bred" kitties were wanted, they take homes away from other homeless kitties. Not a good idea. I could never see a pet as a commidity, just dump it if not quite "right"
 
She's more like having a dog sometimes. She meets me at the door when I come home, she'll play fetch, she likes the water too. Also very dog like, she'd rather sit just out of reach rather than on my lap. She's plenty affectionate, but that's her prefered spot.


One of my cats (we also have four), is mostly, if not all, Maine Coon. This describes his personality perfectly. In his heyday, Stormy was almost 20 pounds and not overweight. He was also a rescue cat.

I've had a bit of a bad week. In November, Stormy (who is 12) was diagnosed with lymphoma. My previously 20 pounds cat was down to 13.5. Things have progressively gotten worse. On Tuesday, I was told that he has only a couple of weeks left. He is now under 11 pounds and is skin and bones. We are trying to give him the best last few days possible and will probably need to euthanize him very soon. My heart has been breaking all week.

All cats are special, but Maine Coon's have a special place in my heart.
 
One of my cats (we also have four), is mostly, if not all, Maine Coon. This describes his personality perfectly. In his heyday, Stormy was almost 20 pounds and not overweight. He was also a rescue cat.

I've had a bit of a bad week. In November, Stormy (who is 12) was diagnosed with lymphoma. My previously 20 pounds cat was down to 13.5. Things have progressively gotten worse. On Tuesday, I was told that he has only a couple of weeks left. He is now under 11 pounds and is skin and bones. We are trying to give him the best last few days possible and will probably need to euthanize him very soon. My heart has been breaking all week.

All cats are special, but Maine Coon's have a special place in my heart.

:grouphug:
 
The agency that I used to work at had a Maine Coon. My boss got him from the SPCA, they think he was lost, she had to wait at least two weeks because the SPCA thought for sure the owner would come looking for him. No one ever claimed him, so we got him. He was the most loving, beautiful cat I have ever been around. Big, too, but not as big as my Bengal...talk about one BIG CRAZY cat!! :crazy:
 
One of my cats (we also have four), is mostly, if not all, Maine Coon. This describes his personality perfectly. In his heyday, Stormy was almost 20 pounds and not overweight. He was also a rescue cat.

I've had a bit of a bad week. In November, Stormy (who is 12) was diagnosed with lymphoma. My previously 20 pounds cat was down to 13.5. Things have progressively gotten worse. On Tuesday, I was told that he has only a couple of weeks left. He is now under 11 pounds and is skin and bones. We are trying to give him the best last few days possible and will probably need to euthanize him very soon. My heart has been breaking all week.

All cats are special, but Maine Coon's have a special place in my heart.

I'm so very sorry to hear about your precious Stormy. I know exactly what you're going through. We lost a cat to cancer 1.5 years ago. The Maine Coon I'm referring to here was well-timed addition to our "fur family". I got him exactly one month after losing my other cat to cancer. I like to think he was born the day my other fur baby died. If not, it was very close to that day--the little mc was barely weaned. I like to think he was sent to comfort me--not that one pet can replace another, and there will always be a special place in my heart for the cat I lost, but the grief was healed by my little (now big!) coon kitty.

My cat had SCC of the lower jaw. We did everything we could for him, took him to speciality hosiptals and spent a fortune one his cancer treatments, but the cancer won out. We had him put to sleep when he could no longer eat or groom. BTW, we now have pet insurance on our cats to protect us against catastrophic vet bills.

Its not easy, what you're going through. After the loss of my kitty to cancer I wound up in the hospital with an attack of colitis, probably stress-induced. Do remember to take care of yourself during this expecially difficult time!

Here's some websites I found helpful while my kitty was sick:

www.rainbowbridge.com

yahoo groups: pet vet cafe
feline cancer support group
feline grief support group

They helped. Pm me if you need to chat. God bless you and your fur child!:grouphug:
 
We have one. We got him from a rescue organization http://www.heavencanwait.ca/. He is the most unique intelligent cat I have ever known. I also had a siamese cat for 20 years that passed about six months before I got him. He is huge and very fluffy and bites me on the ankles when I ignore him. We love him dearly and someday I would love to get another one.
 
We have one too and think he is the greatest. We adopted him from a cat rescue in our area. We never knew his breed until last month after owning him for 5 years and he is a Maine Coon Cat too. He is awesome, loving, smart, and just like a dog too. We love him so much and he is a big part of our family. I am so glad you posted this because I loved reading about everyone else's MCC.
:thumbsup2
 
We also have a Maine Coon Cat! His name is Tazz, he just turned 16 years old and is about 18 pounds. At times you would think he was a dog, even chasing them if they come into his yard! He is very loving but demanding at times. Would not trade him for anthing in the world!
 
Hi. We have a Maine Coon also. Her name is Ashton. My husband surprised me with her years ago. We also call her "Furball". I don't know if she's a pure Maine Coon or not but we read about their characteristics and she definetly seems to be one or mostly one. She's a pretty mellow kitty. She's the Queen of the cats in my house (we have 5...the fifth wasn't planned:rotfl2: ) She's also very good with my girls....not quick to bite like some cats can be.
 
I love my Coon! He is the best cat I've ever had. We have three, and he is by far, my favorite (shhh....don't tell the others). Don't get me wrong, I love all my cats, but he is special. He is 13 years olds and weighs a ton - he looks like a big fur ball and he has such a wonderful personality - he "talks" to us all the time.

I truly believe Maine Coon's are a special and wonderful breed.
 


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