Maine Coon any tips

[joshcowin]

Looks like we may be adopting a 10month old Maine Coon, we know the person who is moving and therefore may have to give the cat up.

Has anyone got any tips specifically about the breed?

I am aware they are large and will eat a lot. I have a great vet locally and I will insure this time.

If there is no pedigree paperwork can I insure as a mixed breed or pedigree? Whats best, not looking to cut corners tbh!

[8bit]

We have two cats which came from a rehoming centre, they were advertised as Maine Coons but with nothing from the previous owners to support that. We insured ours with PetPlan and noted them down simply as "domestic long-hair". This was on the suggestion of our vets, as insuring them as a specific breed would likely push the premiums up significantly.
There's never been any issue in terms of paying out for a claim.

[joshcowin]

8bit said:

We have two cats which came from a rehoming centre, they were advertised as Maine Coons but with nothing from the previous owners to support that. We insured ours with PetPlan and noted them down simply as "domestic long-hair". This was on the suggestion of our vets, as insuring them as a specific breed would likely push the premiums up significantly.
There's never been any issue in terms of paying out for a claim.

That is great info thanks! Looks like we are in the same position!

How do you find them? this would be my first non moggies cat!

Any tips on food?

[eybic]

joshcowin said:

How do you find them?

Call their names, surely?

[essayer]

Ours used to climb in the toilet, they love water!

[joshcowin]

essayer said:

Ours used to climb in the toilet, they love water!

HAHA our old cat was obsessed with water also!

Any tips on food? how did yours get on with a standard size cat flap?

[eybic]

One of our old moggies would rather drink rain water out of a dirty, rusty, moss covered manhole cover than out of his water bowl. They're strange creatures

[Rh14n]

This is my in-laws' Maine Coon. He's huge and very beautiful.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Rh14n said:

This is my in-laws' Maine Coon. He's huge and very beautiful.

I'd get that lump on his back checked out!

[Rh14n]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Rh14n said:

This is my in-laws' Maine Coon. He's huge and very beautiful.

I'd get that lump on his back checked out!

[joshcowin]

Amazing, just beautiful.

[garythesign]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Rh14n said:

This is my in-laws' Maine Coon. He's huge and very beautiful.

I'd get that lump on his back checked out!

That made me laugh out loud.

Fabulous looking cat

[primary colours]

Hi Josh

I can only use our 8 year old Maine Coon as a reference, so my experiences may not be representative - nevertheless here they are:

They are very vocal and very loud with it, over time you'll get to know which sounds mean "I'm hungry now - get into the kitchen", "I'm about to throw up, clear the area" or "This is the noise I make at midnight when you're trying to sleep".
Not the brightest of animals - our Norwegian Forest cat can, and will, run rings around him.
The least cat-like cat I've ever known. No grace whatsoever - think bull in a china shop and you're 1/2 way there.
Running water is a must - will only drink from a dripping tap and would rather die of dehydration than drink from still water.
In the same vein, he can be as stubborn as stubborn can be. If he's not 100% bought in it just isn't going to happen.
Hip dysplasia is a thing - 2 ops for ours so far.
If they vomit they take no prisoners - ungodly amounts are produced and liberally sprayed.
Their long fur at their rear can lead to problems with 'stragglers' which will result in a very smelly cat and skid marks on any light-coloured carpet. Check regularly.

Opinion only - I'd be wary of letting him (?) roam, they are very attractive cats and, I'd imagine, desirable for the type of scrote that would see this as a few hundred quid on legs. All of ours are indooor cats (variety of reasons - busy road, thick as mince etc etc) but I'd not let the Maine Coon or NFC out just on the basis of looks.

I wouldn't worry too much about food - ours has been on a number of different diets (raw, urinary, wheat-free etc) and has hoovered anything and everything up - volume appears to be the key, quality a distant second.

Keep the claws cut - ours is a placid, laid back chap but an accidental or playful swipe with claws extended can produce a fearsome looking wound

Just to add that the look in the picture above must be the default, as it's how ours looks all the time, a kind of "I know you're going to piss me off at some point, I'm just waiting for it."

[8bit]

joshcowin said:

That is great info thanks! Looks like we are in the same position!

How do you find them? this would be my first non moggies cat!

Any tips on food?

No problem

Ours are two of the gentlest and most sweet-natured cats I've ever known - we had a number of cats over the years when I was growing up but these two are the first ones I (well, my wife and I) have had ourselves. Most of them were friendly and well tempered but these two are really lovely pets. They're mostly fairly patient with our children (the cats were here before the kids arrived) which is good.

This is Snowy, the older one, he's about 12. If he does have any Maine Coon in him I suspect it's a cross with something else:



This is Sasha, she'll be 9 now, can see more "Maine Coon" (or similar) in her appearance:



They're pretty close and we'll find them cuddled up together fairly often:



At the end of the day they're cats and there's nothing too specific to Maine Coon's really, other than that they can get quite big - ours are a bit bigger than your average domestic cat but not huge. Maine Coon's fur is relatively low-maintenance compared to other long-haired breeds, my folks had a couple of Persians over the years, lovely cats again but require a lot more brushing.

Regards food, bigger cats will have bigger appetites, ours like Gourmet Perle. They would get through two or three pouches each of wet food (assuming the usual 85g sort of sized pouch) per day and we gave them unlimited access to dry food too although we've stopped that now on vet's orders.

A 10 month old Maine Coon will still potentially have a lot of growing to do, apparently males can continue to grow up to 4 years old or so. You could end up with one of these:



A former colleague of my wife has/had a fairly large Maine Coon, he is/was a PHer too (Jason? You still here?). I don't have the photo to hand but it was about Ewok sort of size

[joshcowin]

primary colours said:

Hi Josh

I can only use our 8 year old Maine Coon as a reference, so my experiences may not be representative - nevertheless here they are:

They are very vocal and very loud with it, over time you'll get to know which sounds mean "I'm hungry now - get into the kitchen", "I'm about to throw up, clear the area" or "This is the noise I make at midnight when you're trying to sleep".
Not the brightest of animals - our Norwegian Forest cat can, and will, run rings around him.
The least cat-like cat I've ever known. No grace whatsoever - think bull in a china shop and you're 1/2 way there.
Running water is a must - will only drink from a dripping tap and would rather die of dehydration than drink from still water.
In the same vein, he can be as stubborn as stubborn can be. If he's not 100% bought in it just isn't going to happen.
Hip dysplasia is a thing - 2 ops for ours so far.
If they vomit they take no prisoners - ungodly amounts are produced and liberally sprayed.
Their long fur at their rear can lead to problems with 'stragglers' which will result in a very smelly cat and skid marks on any light-coloured carpet. Check regularly.

Opinion only - I'd be wary of letting him (?) roam, they are very attractive cats and, I'd imagine, desirable for the type of scrote that would see this as a few hundred quid on legs. All of ours are indooor cats (variety of reasons - busy road, thick as mince etc etc) but I'd not let the Maine Coon or NFC out just on the basis of looks.

I wouldn't worry too much about food - ours has been on a number of different diets (raw, urinary, wheat-free etc) and has hoovered anything and everything up - volume appears to be the key, quality a distant second.

Keep the claws cut - ours is a placid, laid back chap but an accidental or playful swipe with claws extended can produce a fearsome looking wound

Just to add that the look in the picture above must be the default, as it's how ours looks all the time, a kind of "I know you're going to piss me off at some point, I'm just waiting for it."

Thanks for this, my previous cat was also obsessed with running water, the bath became his tap/watering hole, this helped keep him off the kitchen sink!

Glad to know about the diet, I will probably just get something decent in large quantities!

The stragglers sound grim, hope its not a regular thing!

We do live on a fairly quiet road, however there is a park directly opposite, terrace house so a fair few cats directly in or around the garden (4-6). Will ask the current owner what it is used to, I will have to upgrade my cat flap by the look of it (if we decide to let him out).

Read about the hips, I will be getting him insured 100% on a lifetime policy, takes the stress out of vet visits. We have an expensive but vv good vet.

Thanks again

[joshcowin]

8bit said:

Epic cat content

You have lovely cats, love the photos!! Thanks for sharing!

[Baron von Teuchter]

We have 3, (along with 2 random farm cats, 4 burmese, a fat old lab, a romanian street mutt and a pile of chickens)

I can echo what has been said:

Vocal
Dribbly
All are affectionate with people
1 loves the other cats and the dogs
1 likes some of the other cats but not the dogs
1 would very much have been better as an only cat and avoids them like the plague. Loves the dogs though.
They only drink running water
Clumsy (very, very clumsy)
One is really scruffy, one is utterly pristine, one is in-between
They love being high up and looking down on the two-legged plebs. We have bookshelves that go maybe 10 feet up. They are always knocking books off the top shelf.
Ours don't barf that much, no more than any of the other cats
They hate closed doors. Close a door, any door, and they will open them.
One in particular suffers from hair ahole syndrome and always has some "Klingons aft captain".

[Nik da Greek]

We had one and he was the best cat ever. So bright and just wanted to be involved in everything, all the time. He had more personality than any three "ordinary" cats we've had combined.

Sadly, despite being neutered he was still a massive wanderer... we'd have phonecalls from people over a mile away saying they thought he was lost, faffing around in their garden and could we come and collect him. That was his downfall... the only way to stop him roaming was to keep him shut in and then he was miserable and just whinged and scratched to get out all the time. And then he got run over and killed


I would have another Coon like a shot, they're the best feline company you can find. But I wouldn't want one living where we still do, in the centre of town

[8bit]

primary colours said:

They are very vocal and very loud with it

I'd concur with that!

primary colours said:

The least cat-like cat I've ever known. No grace whatsoever - think bull in a china shop and you're 1/2 way there.

Again concur, at least for our older chap, the younger lass is a bit more dainty. That being said she'll combine this point and the one I've quoted above - fairly often she'll slip silently into the room you're in, approach you very close and then yell at the top of her voice - I think she's trying to off me by inducing a heart attack.

primary colours said:

Running water is a must - will only drink from a dripping tap and would rather die of dehydration than drink from still water.

Ours are the same, steadfastly refuse to drink out of a bowl. We got one of those constant running water fountain things from an online pet supplies store (I think is/was run by a PHer?), they seemed to like this for a while but once the novelty wore off they would walk literally right past it where it sat on the utility room workshop, sit beside the sink next to it and bellow until someone came to turn the tap on...

primary colours said:

Hip dysplasia is a thing - 2 ops for ours so far.

What are the symptoms of this?

primary colours said:

Keep the claws cut - ours is a placid, laid back chap but an accidental or playful swipe with claws extended can produce a fearsome looking wound

Another very good point. Our older chap has to have his trimmed once every 3 or 4 weeks otherwise you can hear them tapping on the flooring.

[anonymous-user]

joshcowin said:

Looks like we may be adopting a 10month old Maine Coon, we know the person who is moving and therefore may have to give the cat up.

Has anyone got any tips specifically about the breed?

I am aware they are large and will eat a lot. I have a great vet locally and I will insure this time.

If there is no pedigree paperwork can I insure as a mixed breed or pedigree? Whats best, not looking to cut corners tbh!

We have an MC coming up to 8.5 yo. Had him from about 4 months. What I can tell you is more about him than the breed, but some of it you will find repeated on MC websites.

He's a pack animal and we are his pack. He isn't fond of strangers in the house unless they have been round a few times, or they know cats quite well. He gets a bit hissy when the inlaws come round for example. He might take a little while to settle with you.

With us he is great. Different meows for different things (I want to go out, I want food, I want water etc). Will sit on your lap (great for hyperextending the knees as he is no lightweight) for heads rubs and snoozes. He is often keen to "help" - for ex sit on the work top watching food be prepared, or sit on homework that my wife is about to mark/has marked.

Elegance and grace aren't really words you associate with a MC. When he comes down off the work tops he does so with a thud. And if there's anything around him when he is spooked wave bye bye to it.

He snores loudly, purrs loudly, chirrups at birds in the garden (never has shown any interest in hunting anything). When he doesn't want to be picked up he will let you know (he'll take a swing and/or hiss). When he wants food or to go outside and see you leaving the room without having attended to him, he will chase you and give you an ankle tap (no claws though).

He has times in he day when he wants things. Forex: you can rub his tummy first thing in the morning when he is rolling on his back. Don't try it any other time. Touching the rear 3/4s has taken a lot of time and trust to get to. Don't touch the tail. Head, jawline, neck, chin ears are always open for business. He is calmed by having your hand cover his eyes (it's a proxy for his tail, I think - he covers his face with his tail when he curls up).

He doesn't roam far. We let him into the garden, and it's difficult from there to get more than a couple of gardens away. Not really interested in going out the front. Territorial: he has fought a few of the other local cats. Usually comes away with marks on his front end (apparently the sign of the winner according to the vet) which is how he got the nick in his left ear. Will stay out all night maybe twice a year, in the height of summer.

Drinking: in order of preference, it is the kitchen tap (running), a bathroom sink (filled), the garden tap (running), a bucket in the garden filled with rainwater, his water bowl. Most often his waterbowl is used as a finger bowl and them tipped onto the floor.

Food: we give him Royal Canin MC food in the morning, fish/chicken/other meat in the evening, and a bit more Royal Canin late evening. He eats a lot. He is always hungry. He loves roast meat leftovers - beef, pork, chicken, turkey. Quite partial to duck. Tinned tuna in springwater too; also Sainsbury's frozen white fish fillets are a go to for his supper. Utterly resistant to cat treats or any description. But will eat smoked salmon from your fingers (one of the few things he will eat from my hand) until the end of time.

Grooming. This is the downside. He doesn't really shed; he just pulls clumps out of himself and dumps them around the house. But he has a very soft undercoat that can mat quite badly, esp around his hips and behind his front legs on the torso, and on his chest. He *hates* being groomed. I mean truly hates it. Meows turn to hisses then to growls (yes, proper growls), and then the highspeed teeth and claw whirlwind starts. By that point you're only beginning to loosen the first mat. He is banned from the grooming salon at two "Pets At Home" now for being uncontrollable when being groomed. Two summers ago he had to go to the vet, be sedated, and have a lion cut to get them out. He looked absurd, but there was no other option. So if you can get yours used to being groomed frequently and firmly, with something that will dislodge mats that are close to the skin.

They are great cats. Some random crappy iphone pics:







And here you see the ultimate predator, blending into his surroundings so as to be almost invisible just before pouncing on his unsuspecting prey: