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The Maine Coon has always been admired for its beauty, and a Maine Coon was chosen Best Cat at the first major cat show ever held in this country. The transition from easygoing farm cat to CFA finalist was not an easy one, nor did it happen quickly. Although they lost favor and were conspicuously absent from shows for quite a long time, we are now seeing large classes of these beauties in most cat shows and it is not unusual for a Maine Coon to be named "Best Cat."
In 1968, six breeders formed the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association to preserve and protect the breed. By 1980, all nine cat registering associations again recognized the Maine Coon for Championship status. Today, the Maine Coon is one of the most popular breeds in the United States.
Pricing on Maine Coons usually depends on type, applicable markings and bloodlines distinguished by Grand Champion (GC), National or Regional winning parentage (NW or RW) or of Distinguished Merit parentage (DM). The DM title is achieved by the dam (mother) having produced five CFA grand champion/premier (alter) or DM offspring, or sire (father) having produced fifteen CFA grand champion/premier or DM offspring. Usually breeders make available kittens between twelve and sixteen weeks of age. After twelve weeks, kittens have had their basic inoculations and developed the physical and social stability needed for a new environment, showing, or being transported by air. Keeping such a rare treasure indoors, neutering or spaying and providing acceptable surfaces (e.g. scratching posts) for the natural behavior of scratching (CFA disapproves of declawing or tendonectomy surgery) are essential elements for maintaining a healthy, long and joyful life.
Myths, legend and lore surround the Maine Coon Cat. Some are amusing, some are fantastic flights of fantasy and some are merely plausible. They certainly provide good material for conversation. Books and articles dealing with these aspects of the Maine Coon Cat have been well received as people never seem to tire of the subject and are always eager to know more about this wonderful breed.
The Maine Coon is known for its large size, easygoing temperament, and rugged appearance. This native New England breed is well-adapted to that harsh climate, with a heavy, shaggy coat, bushy tail, and tufted ears and toes. They have a long, rectangular body, square muzzles, and an overall look of a sturdy cat who is a great hunter and hard worker.
Despite its name, the Maine Coon cat is not a relative of the raccoon. The name reflects the resemblance of a tabby Maine Coon's tail to that of a raccoon. Cross-mating between raccoons and cats is genetically impossible.
Though the brown tabby pattern is perhaps the best known, Maine Coons are available in a variety of colors and patterns.
Maine Coons can grow to be quite large; it is not unusual to find males who weigh over twenty pounds. Females are generally somewhat smaller than males, though still considerably larger than the average housecat.
Maine Coons develop slowly, and don't achieve their full size until they are three to five years old. Their dispositions remain kittenish throughout their lives; they are big, gentle, good-natured cats. Even their voices set them apart from other cats; they have a distinctive, chirping trill which they use for everything from courting to cajoling their people into playing with them. Maine Coons love to play, and many will joyfully retrieve small items. They rarely meow, and when they do, that soft, tiny voice doesn't fit their size.
While Maine Coons are highly people-oriented cats, they are not overly-dependent. They do not constantly pester you for attention, but prefer to "hang out" with their owners, investigating whatever activity you're involved in and "helping" when they can. They are not, as a general rule, known as "lap cats" but as with any personality trait there are a few Maine Coons that prefer laps. Most Maine Coons will stay close by, probably occupying the chair next to yours instead. Maines will follow you from room to room and wait outside a closed door for you to emerge. A Maine Coon will be your companion, your buddy, your pal, but hardly ever your baby.
A romantic theory as to the origin of Maine Coon is that Marie Antoinette, Queen of France smuggled all her royal treasures on to a ship including her six longhaired cats to be shipped to Wiscasset, Maine during the French Revolution and she was to follow. A seafaring man named Samuel Clough was one of the principals in the plot to smuggle Marie Antoinette. Her royal treasures and cats arrived in Maine but unfortunately Marie Antoinette did not. So her six loving cats became part of the Clough household, and her cats became part of the foundation stock of the Maine Coon breed.
©2007 ~ Sherillyn Flick ~ Flower Mound, Tx ~ (817)917-3993