Does anyone have a Maine Coon Cat?

[Lola]

So the other day, my husband says to me, "I'm thinking about doing something I said I'd never do."

"Ut oh", I think, that's a loaded statement if I ever heard one. I could reply, "What's that honey?" But that's not me. So I say, "Let me guess, you're going to enter the seminary?"

"No", he says, "I'm thinking of getting a cat."

I am literally shocked, and I stumble backwards. My husband is a dog lover - always claimed to hate cats.

It seems that since our dog died a year and a half ago, he has been missing a pet. However, he like the independence of not having a dog. No walking the dog, or taking him to the kennel when we go skiing, etc.

So he's heard about this cat that is like a dog, the Maine Coon Cat. People walk their cats on leashes, the cat will follow you around like a dog, can be left home alone for a few days, and the like.

So I was wondering if anyone had a Maine Coon Cat and what they though about one as a pet for a man who is strickly a dog lover?

 

[Lilgeorg]

Lola, your father is HIGHLY allergic to cats. If Phil gets one, we will never spend the night at your house again. Oh, is that the idea????

 

[SnowHot]

Are we talking about the same guy who posted this on Epic?

Here...kitty...kitty...kitty...

 

[Kimmyt]

I worked at a vet that had a Maine Coon. They are gorgeous, big cats.

But, like someone else mentioned, if allergies are an issue for a family member, they are not short haired.

They can get very big, and have personalities to match.

Lovely big cats. May be a bit $$ too if you're going full-bred. You may be able to find mixed breeds at a pound, they are very easy to recognize by 1) their size, 2) their tufted toes and ears and 3) their gorgeous big fluffy tails, most Maine Coons I've seen have been striped.

K.

 

[Kimmyt]

p.s. every guy i've ever heard say they are anti-cat, once they got a cat, got completely smitten. yeah, they still make the jokes, but cats know how to work their charms on people that 'don't like cats'.

 

[tcarey]

Well I have one that I feed in my backyard.I guess someone just left him out to fend for himself.He is very large with huge paws.Sometimes he is sweet as pie.Other times he can go postal on you.Maybe he is bi-polar! He is quite beautiful though!

T

 

[SnowHot]

No matter which way you slice it, dogs are loyal, and cats are royal.

 

[persee]

From the queen of the kitties

So I have a bunch of kitties. I'm a bonafide cat lover... I'm also just shy of breeding and I've shown purebred cats so I hope you will trust my advice - I don't let the cats type, besides they're not coherent on the keyboard! :P

As a kid I had a wonderful MaineCoon mix we adopted from the ASPCA. Just the most wonderful cat I could ever have imagined. He was so docile I could dress him up in baby clothes. Too bad he died of a tumor at age 4 :(

Fast forward to more recent times. I'd always done rescue for cats and we had Allegra (my grand dame who I got just after I lost Nermal (the above mentioned Maine Coon mix - all 18lbs of him), Ariella (a MaineCoon/NFC mix), and Teddy (a Siberian mix). Well we have a big house and a friend was looking for a new kitty and we got smitten with one at a shelter and brought her home. Unfortunately it was not meant to be as she was petrified of all other cats. :( :( So we brought her back with the new information that she needed to be the only cat. I was very sad - not that I did not love the 3 I had, but I had gotten very attached and the 3 were quite OK with a new sibling.

This is when my love affair with Norwegian Forest Cats (NFC's or wegies) was born. We went ot a show to see a few kittens and ran into Bandit - it's really all his fault he is such a love and all. Lets jsut say we couldn't have "just one".

So what I can tell you about Forest Cat breeds - this includes Wegies, Maine Coons (the American Forest Cat), and Siberians (the Russian Forest Cat). They're all a bit larger than your average house cat - MCs (18lbs+ males, 13-15lbs females), NFCs (9-14lbs females, 12-18lbs males), Siberians (10+lbs females, 12+ lbs males) - and they mature more slowly. Wegies don't mature (ie aren't fully physically or mentally grown) until they reach 5 years old, Coons at 4, and Siberians at 7. This means they are still very much kittens for a long time. All three breeds evolved naturally in the "forests" of the area designated so they will have thick coats that get heavier in the winter and while they should be brushed they don't need the obsessive attention of a persian since the coats had to survive in the wild. All 3 breeds are very loyal - my boys wait for me to come home from work and they love to be near me and follow me around. All due to this very loving/bonded nature people often refer to them as "dog like". As for walking on lead this is something you'd want to train them from a young age to do. My boys are petrified of the outdoors so even when I bring them out on the harness they really just want to go back in, however many people do "walk" them.

I really can't say enough positive things about the breeds. They make wonderful companions. If you decide you're looking for a purebred you should go visit a cat show - I can help you wiht that if you like (I have shown all my boys (they are all snipped)) so I know my way around the listings, if you were to decide on a wegie I could probably suggest a breeder depending on your location. Most breeders will place slightly older cats (6months - 3 years) whom they have kept while evaluating whether to breed or show for a significantly reduced cost to a kitten. This has many advantages - first you don't have to pay for the neutering surgery, second they are out of the annoying kitten habits (climbing furniture etc), and you can get a real feel for the size/personality. So honestly go meet some purebreds and see if he's still ready for it and don't hesitate to PM if you need more info.

BTW one thing to remember about an 18lb cat... just cause he's 18 lbs doesn't mean he wont' want to sleep on your head/chest/legs

 

[Robyn]

I don't know much about Maine Coons but I did want to through out another option for a breed. My mom has an Egyptian Mau that is fantastic and may have a number of qualities that your hubby is interested in. He doesn't lay around all day, that's for sure. Here's a link to the breeder where they got theirs (a wonderful operation that I had the pleasure of visiting before they moved from West Virginia). The silver mau, Abu, on the site is incredible, very much grandpa to all the kittens!

https://www.mauraj.com/

 

[Kiragirl]

Dogs have owners, Cats have staff.

I'm allergic to cats and lived with a Maine Coon for a while. I tried to stay away from it, and I think because of that it liked me and always came up to check me out and rub against my leg. It was pretty cool for a cat, tho, but could be scaryish at times, not it's fault. It trapped me and my husky in the basement once, too friggin funny. Husky would slink against the wall to get away from it.

 

[pinto]

This thread is making me sneeze.

 

[Gloria]

Dogs have owners, Cats have staff.

I'm allergic to cats and lived with a Maine Coon for a while. I tried to stay away from it, and I think because of that it liked me and always came up to check me out and rub against my leg. It was pretty cool for a cat, tho, but could be scaryish at times, not it's fault. It trapped me and my husky in the basement once, too friggin funny. Husky would slink against the wall to get away from it.

According to the woman at our local humane society we have a huge mongrel Maine Coon population. I found this out because I asked about the size of the cats there. They are huge. Your post reminded me of one that I really wanted to take home "Stetson". He was so huge and just really cool looking. I ended up not taking him home because he was so big and a little older and set in his ways. I was honestly scared that that cat would hurt me and/or the dogs if I took him home and he decided he didn't like us. He had been there for 8 months so I felt really bad, fortunately or unfortunately his original owner ended up finding him and reclaiming him. The unfortunate part was, she was on the board at the humane society! How the *&!$ she could have missed seeing him in there for 8 months is beyond me, he was just that big...Anyway I ended up with a male part maine coon and I am now relating to exactly what Persee was saying about kittenhood. For the longest time he had these huge fangs that were always present out the side of his mouth, the vet would always laugh and assure us that he would grow into them and that he wouldn't always look that funny. He is now about a year and a half and has probably gained 7 pounds this month. Not fat either, his feet have gotten huge and his head is actually finally starting to catch up. He has grown into a two hander now, you can no longer pick him up with one, he'll just ooze out.

 

[Bravosarah]

I've had 2 Maine Coon's 'Chat' (pronounced Shaw) and 'Zack'. Zack wasn't really my cat, but he lived in my home while a friend of mine went to college.

Chat was 12 when he died of an aneurysm. I bawlled my little eyes out! He was big and beautiful 22lbs. His hair was long and shiny. He loved to be brushed, which was good because if you don't brush a Maine Coon he'll get knots in his fur.

They both had wonderful dispositions. I always said that Chat was such a gentleman he was so good with people and other animals. My friends daughter would play with him, pulling his tail and fur, he would just sit there and purr. He was a nice guy. I miss him.:(

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I've had 2 Maine Coon's 'Chat' (pronounced Shaw) and 'Zack'. Zack wasn't really my cat, but he lived in my home while a friend of mine went to college.

Chat was 12 when he died of an aneurysm. I bawlled my little eyes out! He was big and beautiful 22lbs. His hair was long and shiny. He loved to be brushed, which was good because if you don't brush a Maine Coon he'll get knots in his fur.

They both had wonderful dispositions. I always said that Chat was such a gentleman he was so good with people and other animals. My friends daughter would play with him, pulling his tail and fur, he would just sit there and purr. He was a nice guy. I miss him.:(

Feeling your pain.....I had an enormous gray tabby that everyone thought was part Maine Coon but wasn't (19#!), as he hailed from the Midwest (as did we). He was almost 16, died last spring :Cry:

 

[retromaven]

I love Maine Coons. I had one (Kiwi) and now, TEARS, he lives with my aunt, who is also a pet lover. Most lovely, gorgeous, huge cat. My daughter is highly allergic to animals, so I had to farm out my cats about 5 years ago, which killed me, but they all went to relatives (mom and aunt). My Maine Coon was the favorite of all the cats I ever owned. I also love dogs, and had 2 dogs and 4 cats at one time, and the Coon was "boss" of them all! My aunt says he still is and can beat her Border Collie into submission with one paw! LOL