These were the first domestic cats to come to North America. They are actually called a working class cat. They came over on the ships and are excellent mousers (which is why they were on the ships). They are quite large and have a very thick coat and an extremely bushy tale when full grown. Referred to as a dog lovers cat because they actually seek out human interaction which was unusual for ship cats.
Miko's brother, Dexter's tail, actually looks like a plume. The myth is that they are a cross with a regular cat and a racoon. This is a physical impossibility but that is where the Coon portion came from.
They are great cats. Extremely social and extremely playful. They kinda chirp instead of meow. It sounds strange for a 17lb cat to sound like a kitten but he does.