I’ve had moggy rescue cats my whole life. I had three indoor cats from March 2003 to August 2016, when my dear old Ghost had to be euthanased, aged nearly 19. Down to two cats. In early July this year, I got up to find 14-year old Jack lying dead on my bathroom floor. Down to one cat. For a while, I’d had a plan for once I was down to one cat - a Pedigree, Silver Tabby, Maine Coon boy. Can’t really explain why regarding the specifics - I just knew what I wanted.
In late August I found a breeder about an hour and a half’s drive away with a litter that they were taking reservations for. So, a few messages, a visit, a payment of a deposit, some paperwork, and on Saturday I collected Sheldon (my choice of name, and not his full Pedigree name).
My remaining girl, 14-year old Meg, is hiding a lot and being cautious, but it’s going OK so far. Sheldon is a total wee sweetheart and does everything a cute cat should.
TL;DR version - I’ve got a three month old Maine Coon and I want to show him off.
These days I’m a dog lover, but I have to say that Sheldon is super cute! Years ago I had friends who were wild about Maine Coot cats, but I haven’t heard the term in years. I just looked up the description now, and they’re said to be large, sociable cats, and were given the highest honor that could be bestowed on a cat: they are said to be “dog-like” in personality!
I’ve had several MCs and crosses and they are definitely doglike. Their vocal expressions are odd–they don’t sound like normal cats and don’t really “meow.” They chirp and warble and make all sorts of odd noises, but I’ve never heard one do a pissed off cat yowl either. This could be because the males especially get freaking huge and don’t seem to be afraid of much of anything. They also tend to be mouthy and will often give love bites and chew on people they like. They’re funny and silly and smart and HUGE. Love them to death!
Sheldon is freaking adorbs and those giant paws say he’s gonna be a monster when he grows into them.
Oh yeah, and the breed standard says the tails must be at least the length of the cat’s body, if not longer. Also very poofty!
I did read a lot about the breed before shelling out on one, but first hand info like this is great, thanks. Especially the vocalisations - this afternoon he was curled up on my lap, deeply asleep, and started making the oddest clicking, chirping sounds that I’ve never heard from a cat before. He does a pretty good standard pathetic kitten “miaow” if he’s shut out of the bedroom and wants in, though.
He has read the manual on how to be adorable. Every purr, every floof of the tail, every sideways bounce.
Fair warning regarding the floof, though–MCs are very rough coated and they can have a hard time grooming properly. Especially tom cats when they get older and less attentive to it. They can get knots and mats really fast and really bad, especially in spring when they’re blowing coat. I’ve taken to having my current MC mix tom cat bathed and shaved into a lion cut in late spring. It’s not only freaking cute, he super appreciates being relieved of the burden of that insanely heavy coat for the summer months. A hygiene buzz around the bunghole area is also a very good idea. You haven’t grossed out until you’ve had a twenty pound cat with a half pound shitball stuck to his butt do the scooty-boogie all over the couch. And the rug. And the dog beds. So disgusting!
Wow, what a cutie. He made himself right at home! I hope your other kitty adjusts soon. I look forward to seeing more pics of him as he grows up! (Hint, hint :D)
I had one once. Great personality, fearless critter (would face down a pair of dobermans and a black lab who had been living there first), adorably silly. I named him Tail because he had this magnificant fluffy one.
I’ve currently got two males (18 and 20 pounds). Paperwork from the catteries and everything. Yours actually looks a fair bit like my younger one. Get yourself a really good vacuum cleaner and be prepared to disassemble the roller brush assembly to get all the hair off the roller. It’s also good to be ready to groom him if he sits on you. Find what he likes–ours tend to like a human-style comb–and get him used to it. Also make sure you can work on cutting out mats, as ours tend to get matted in various places. You might be able to actually give him a clipper cut yourself with some help–we used to do it with the older one.
You’re going to be stuck buying bigger stuff. Our carriers are sized for small to medium dogs. The beds are also for dogs. They’re rough on toys. There’s going to be little commercially available cat furniture and we’ve found that they really need a tall scratching post to stretch while scratching. You’re even going to need to find a really big litter box.
They’re a wonderful breed, with lots of personality and some odd behaviors, but they’re definitely more work than some cats. I honestly don’t know if I’d get another one (I kinda want an Exotic) but Sheldon has all the cuteness you’d expect of a Maine Coon kitten.
Oh yeah, and get him used to having his claws clipped and his feet handled because once he grows up those claws are going to be incredibly long, strong, and painful shithooks. The Captain sometimes even gets his stuck in carpet as he’s just walking because they curve so much. Lucky for me he’s pretty nice about having me take clippers to get the ends off and he kinda likes having his feet handled because if he play grabs my arm it can be incredibly ouchy to get him off–he has no idea how big and strong he is. I’m lucky he’s so chill–my previous MC, Pratchett, was quite a bit more high strung and if he had ever decided to mess someone up, they’d be messed up. He put the hurt onto the dogs when they were younger and inclined to try their luck with the big orange bastard. The Captain really likes dogs and keeps his claws in but he can put an Ali-level bop onto a dog nose if they get too fresh.
Thanks for all the practical information (as well as the general level of “Squee!”). I knew he was going to be hard work, and I’m sure there will be times I will regret it. I’ve been brushing him daily already, and he’s totally fine with it. So far.
It’s very telling that the breeder that I got him from has a sideline in bespoke, hand made, Maine Coon-sized cat beds, cat trees and scratching posts.
As for the vacuuming… well, I’ve just seen one of the funniest things ever. He was having a mad half hour across the hall, and jumped on the Roomba, switching it on. With hilarious consequences. At least he’s trying to help…
I have rescue cat, no pedigree, who is obviously from the same gene pool that Maine coons were selected from. She’s huge (for a girl cat) with long hair, tufted paws, etc., and has the general shape of a Maine coon. She’s also super social.
She mostly sheds in the spring and fall. Especially the spring. She also mostly grooms herself, but we have removed the occasional clump, sometimes poop-enhanced.
I can’t recommend a good cat-tree strongly enough. Tree, it costs as much as a cheap couch. But your cats will use it like a couch, and it’s just such a perfect scratching post that they usually prefer it to, say, the couch.
<ThelmaLou falls to the floor>
