Tell me about your Maine Coon cats

[Tiggeroo]

It has been a few months since we lost our 16yo cat and I am ready to get a new one. I am considering getting a Maine Coon. Any suggestions. It seems a bit difficult to track down a breeder. I am in NJ but would go to NY, Pa, Del. and possibly Maryland. I am also going to coastal NC in March and could possibly pick up a baby there but I would not be able to do a visit ahead of time.

 

[Serena]

Beauty would be a good person to ask. I just know they are big and beautiful.

 

[nealymouse]

For our 18th Wedding Annv. I bought my DH a Maine Coon Cat. He was not impressed at 1st. He knew Ari was coming weeks before we got him but was still not really thrilled, Would have been happier with some sort of tools LOL.

We have 6 non breed cats ( I am a huge cat lover) but really wanted the Maine Coon breed. Spent about 6 months finding a breeder that I would be happy with and waited for Ari to be born.

Coon Cats are much more like dogs, Ari will come when called, will let anyone pick him up and just love him like a dog. We have friends who live 200 miles away so when they come they are here for a few days. Their 11 year old DD walks into the house and starts looking for Ari right away, when she finds him she flops him over her shoulder and there he seems to stay for her intire visit.

Ari has the long silky hair that never tangles, If we brush him the combs just glides right threw, so unlike our other long haired cat. He has the lion mane now which takes about 2 or 3 years to grow in.

A Maine Coon grows for about 3 years I was told. Ari is just reaching his final growth and he is beauitful.

When people say a Coon is different from another cats they are not kidding,

Find a good breeder, Not someone who just has liters, Find a breeder that knows the breed in and out. Know that the parents are all health checked for everything before they were breed, Most breeders wont let a kitten leave home intill they are 12 weeks old and have had their 1st set of shots.

I used to work for a Vets office and I could not believe what people came in with as far as Maine coon cats that THEY PAID MONEY FOR !!! Everyone thinks that if they have a long haired fluffy cat then its a coon and they can sell the kittens WRONG !!!

Oh and my DH who like I said is not the best cat lover is so in Love with Ari its not even funny, Ari just stuck himself to DH and has yet to leave his side hehehehe. DH will come in the house and say REEEEE and Ari will come running LOL.

 

[Robinrs]

I have a Maine Coon cat that was born on my Mom's carport. I had never heard of them till I took her to my vet's office.

I found some helpful info on this site,http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-faq.html#Desc

They come in a wide range of colors and types: http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-colors.html

My Xena is considered a brown tabby Maine Coon, which I think is the most common. Her mom was a tortoise shell. She slept in a dog house my Mom had out on the carport, no dog, just a dog house, and had two little adorable babies. My niece took the boy and I took the girl after they were weened.

The boys grow very large! My niece's boy, Rex, is about 18 pounds now! Xena is smaller but still a big cat.

They are WONDERFUL pets. Xena is more like a dog than a cat. She answers immediately to a call, will greet all visitors happily, just a lovely creature. Michael gets so mad because I call her my "perfect cat", but she IS! She never, ever does anything wrong, and seems to make sure of it. She nurtures and punishes the others, and demands their respect. But mostly, she is very regal and queenly! She has a look on her face that says "do you KNOW WHO I AM?? You better RECOGNIZE!"

You cannot go wrong with a Maine Coon. They are awesome animals.

Uh oh, I've been up for a half hour and Xena just reminded me that I didn't feed the cats. After all, she makes sure we ALL do our jobs.

 

[crs7568]

I also have a Maine Coon who is the sweetest cat in the world. My husband, who does not even like cats, will stop and pick Samantha up to pet her because she is such a love. I bought her at a cat show in Matamoras, PA. She does have hair that tends to mat and we need to brush her at least twice a week. I have a feeling that I have the type of cat that nealymouse is referring to Although we paid $600 for her, she is quite small and probably not the best physical example of the breed. Oh well, we adore her and she does have the best personality. Good luck finding a breeder. I am happy to hear that your cat lived such a long life!

 

[Disfan1]

Don't forget to check your local shelter if you just want one for a pet and will not be breeding. We had an adorable male kitten wander up to our door a year ago, and now that he is grown, I realized he is at least part Maine Coon. He is HUGE and beautiful! His fur is so long & silky and he is the most loving cat I had ever had. I can't believe someone let him wander around like that when he was such a tiny kitten.

 

[stormi65]

They are also Big kitties that grow up until about 3 years old. My 2 males are about 20 lbs. each. Ragdolls are very lovable and have wonderful personalities.

Maine Coons are wonderful cats. In Sanford, NC there is a cattery called Megacoons. I saw his maine coons at a cat show and they were beautiful. I think this breeder has a website. I went back and forth trying to decide between getting a Maine Coon or a ragdoll. I ended up going with the ragdolls because of their big blue eyes.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

I used to have a Maine Coon.....unfortunately, she was very sickly and small, and my other cats would pick on her horribly. We found her a new home without other cats.

Like the previous poster, I also have a Ragdoll. He's a big boy, and gorgeous. He is the most mellow cat I've ever known, he really lives up to his breed.

 

[helenabear]

Have two here... they aren't pure bread, but they are prime examples of the Coon bread. I love them both to death. Cleo is smaller of the two at 10 pounds (which is more than an average cat) and Gwenie is just about 15 pounds (very massive cat... not fat, but just big). Both are gentle souls and such a dear to have around. Neither really ever meows like a cat... Cleo "squacks" and Gwen "squeaks" They are very dog like... come when they are called, will sit up and beg, wag their tails when happy, follow us around and like to be near us often. They both have beautiful silky fur that doesn't tangle near the way that my old persian did. Both are very loving and very affectionate, but they do like to wrestle like dogs do. I would definitely get another Coon when the time comes. I will look through PetFinder.org and check around some other places. But no matter where I go, this breed is one I love and will probably stick with for a long time.

 

[Dodie]

My Maine Coon, Abby, is almost 3 years old. She is the light of my life.

Her color is officially "blue." She's a big girl, but not huge. She weighs about 13-14 pounds. I got her when she was 8 weeks old from a breeder here in Indy after losing a precious mixed breed cat to heart problems. I had done some research on Maine Coons and had decided that was the way I wanted to go.

She has the best disposition. She is just a sweetie pie. She loves our 3 German Shepherds, plays with them (tough - like a dog), eats with them, sleeps with them, etc.

Here is a picture of her "holding her own" as a tiny kitten up against all 90 pounds of Opal, our White German Shepherd:

She cuddles on my lap when I watch television and under the covers up against me in bed at night. She follows me from room to room, like a dog.

Maine Coons "talk" instead of meow. They kind of chirp. It's a very different sound. Abby is particularly talkative.

The only negative that you need to know about is coat/fur care. I've had other long-haired "mutt" cats before, but this fur is different. It's very soft, fine and "clumpable." If you don't brush it, it will mat up. That's no fun.

 

[Kimberle]

Our coon is about 6 years old.

We adopted him at 6 mths. He was a stray. Someone found a litter under their house. They think the mother must have been killed. They nursed him for 6 mths. We could not figure out what he "was" till he was over a year. He was a strange looking kitten.

He's a great cat. We have to constantly brush him because his long hair tangles. He's extremely gentle. He lets our 4.5 yo drag him all over the house & ride him like a "horsey".

He does not "meow". He chirps like a bird.

He's just a great cat!!

 

[Robinrs]

Stormi, I have a ragdoll, too!! Cutest little thing, we found him wandering around our new house. Obviously not a street cat he just walked right into my house and made himself at home. No one ever claimed him so now he's a big part of our world!

Beautiful blue eyes!

 

[Rajah]

I've got Siberians rather than Maine Coons, but my grandparents have a half-Coon and she's a beautiful girl. And I've heard fantastic things about the breed. All that's been covered by the others so far, though.

In addition to breeders and the shelter, you might try looking for a Maine Coon Rescue near you, too. The Rescue would be more likely to get a pure-bred but still be a rescue if you're interested in rescue. Beauty can also give you some info on rescue since I think one of her Maine Coons is a rescue.

Good luck, and enjoy your new furbaby, whoever picks you out.

 

[Mary Ellen]

We had a Maine Coon who was almost 18 when she died a few years ago. As others have mentioned, they are pretty slow to mature (we've heard 3 to 5 years until they reach adulthood). She didn't even start acting 'old' until she was at least 15.

In June we adopted 2 adult Maine Coons, 4-yr old male and 7-yr old female, through a Vet who is a friend of a friend. They came from different homes so they had to adjust to each other (and us). They have done a wonderful job of adapting.

The female went to a cat specialist last week. She told us that Maine Coons do tend to have more problems with heart disease (and inflammatory bowel disease) than other cats (she was explaining why she spent so much time listening to Mimi's heart).

We've been very happy with our Maine Coons (but we've also considered Ragdolls)

 

[wdw4us]

sisters. One is long haired and one is short haired but they look exactly alike. The are not purebred but your can't get much closer to Maine Coons than them.

Zag is a big fluff ball of nothing. She's about 16 pounds here sister Zig is sleek but timid. She comes in at 11. They get along great with each other. Zig will groom her sister until Zag gets tired of it then swats her away.

We have another cat - a black female named Jet. Some how they know that the two of them are sisters and Jet is not "one of them" and treat her accordingly.

I have trained Zag to be on a tether outside and walk with a leash. Zig is to afraid of her own shadow to do any of that.

Good luck, you can't go wrong with a Maine Coon. The long haired (most common) are a lot of work in the brushing dept but she is beautiful.

denise

Here is Zag:

 

[pattyT]

As a kitten he was WILD as they come -
he attacked people when they walked in the door etc...just playing a lot!

He was an indoor cat til I moved out to the woods and had a big slider - well no keeping him in then - he was a HUNTER! He brought me small birds, and field mice mostly!

but he was really good about coming in at dark! Then he was mellow and slept with us every night -

then one night he never came in

I drove the area for days , put up signs, searched endlessly -
inconclusion we heard that their were fisher cats in the area and had to assume we would neer see him again

 

[CourtasanSatine]

Dodie and wdw4us: you both have cute kitties

 

[PigletsPal]

SassyGirl adoped us. Just showed up at our house one day. Such a petite little thing. She lets my youngest son carry her around like a sack of potato's, sleeps with him. I've always had common short haired cats growing up, but I have to say she is the best cat we've ever had. When we took her to the vet he told us she is about 4 years old and he then told us that she was a main coon.
Good luck on finding one for yourself.

 

[Lanshark]

I have two Maine Coons that I love. I asked my vet for the name of a breeder he trusted. I found a wonderful woman who told me she didn't have any kittens but I was welcome to visit her home and meet her Coonies. She specifically asked me to bring my children. She had no cages and her house was spotless. We played with her babies and she watched my kids interact. A week later she called to say she would put us on her list for her next litter. Come to find out she was interviewing us as much as we were interviewing her. When my oldest cat died we called her and were put on a list for another kitten.

I can't say enough good things about the breed. They are big, beautiful, very easy going and playful. They are almost like a dog in cat form.

 

[stormi65]

I would post a picture of my ragdoll but I have not mastered on how to get the pictures to show up here.