Pros and Cons of Maine Coons

I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.

Thanks
Bruce

I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.

Thanks
Bruce

Just my experience. Maine Coons aren't jumpers. The males are just big goofy
love sucks really. They're very laid back and tend to bond to one person in
particular. They are quiet, and don't meow much at all; they "trill" more. The
coat maintenance varies from cat to cat; one of my grandcats has particularly
oily fur and matts easily. The other one doesn't. But it's still not a big
deal. Daily brushing takes care of it just fine. They thrive as indoor cats. As
far as caveats, I really don't know any. They are delightful cats. I believe
there are issues concerning hip dysplacia (sp?) and PKD, probably other genetic
things common with that breed, you'd have to ask a breeder; I don't know much
about that.
Now. That said, and all pretentiousness aside, a "Maine Coon" is nothing more
than an extra-large jumbo sized furry cat with a bushy tail. Wanna-be Maine
Coons are in shelters everywhere.
Sherry

"Sherry " wrote in message
...
I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.

Thanks
Bruce

Just my experience. Maine Coons aren't jumpers.

In my limited experience (my parents' Maine Coon) I don't think they are
jumpers, either. Maybe because they're so big/long that they can reach a
lot by simply stretching? ;-)

snipped

Now. That said, and all pretentiousness aside, a "Maine Coon" is nothing
more
than an extra-large jumbo sized furry cat with a bushy tail. Wanna-be
Maine
Coons are in shelters everywhere.

I second this. My parents' cat may well have not been a purebred Maine
Coon - my father found him in their driveway, wandering around, when a tiny
kitten. Otoh, all of his physical characteristics certainly matched those
of a Maine Coon.

Cathy

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 10:30:45 -0500, "Cathy Friedmann"
wrote:


"Sherry " wrote in message
...
I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.

Thanks
Bruce

Just my experience. Maine Coons aren't jumpers.

In my limited experience (my parents' Maine Coon) I don't think they are
jumpers, either. Maybe because they're so big/long that they can reach a
lot by simply stretching? ;-)

snipped

Now. That said, and all pretentiousness aside, a "Maine Coon" is nothing
more
than an extra-large jumbo sized furry cat with a bushy tail. Wanna-be
Maine
Coons are in shelters everywhere.

I second this. My parents' cat may well have not been a purebred Maine
Coon - my father found him in their driveway, wandering around, when a tiny
kitten. Otoh, all of his physical characteristics certainly matched those
of a Maine Coon.

Cathy

Is the cat being used as a pillow by the Bengal a Maine Coon?

http://frontpage.visi.com/~blink/images/Henry%20001.jpg

Or this kitty?

http://frontpage.visi.com/~blink/images/Henry%20005.jpg

Nope. Mutts, both of 'em.

At one point I'd heard it explained that the common type of
mouser/ratter that was brought to the new world from overseas had most
of these characteristics. It shows up very frequently in arbitrary DSH
matings.

Tiger (first cat above) had short-haired parents, one solid black the
other tortoise-shell. Who knows who Henry's parents were.

Maine Coon breeders have simply selected the nicest of these
characteristics and bred for it, AFAIK.

BLink

Sherry wrote:
Just my experience. Maine Coons aren't jumpers. The males are just big goofy
love sucks really. They're very laid back and tend to bond to one person in
particular. They are quiet, and don't meow much at all; they "trill" more. The
coat maintenance varies from cat to cat; one of my grandcats has particularly
oily fur and matts easily. The other one doesn't. But it's still not a big
deal. Daily brushing takes care of it just fine. They thrive as indoor cats. As
far as caveats, I really don't know any. They are delightful cats. I believe
there are issues concerning hip dysplacia (sp?) and PKD, probably other genetic
things common with that breed, you'd have to ask a breeder; I don't know much
about that.

Maine coons are known for sleeping in odd positions, like half
on and half off an object, or twisted so that they look as though
they fell off the furniture and just stayed the way they landed.

Mine is not a jumper, but he had mild hipdysplasia such that he had
some difficulty jumping higher than a chair until he was more than a
year old. He had the habit very early of sitting up like a gopher to
look around, probably because jumping was difficult, and instead of
lying down normally, he tended to pick a spot and let himself fall
over (with a "boom" on the old wood floors where we lived when he
was young). In old age he finally started lying down normally,
I guess letting himself fall over eventually became painful on old
bones, even though we have carpeting.

He likes to be in the room where the people are, but is too big to
be comfortable in a lap. He prefers to either lie at our feet or on
the puffy top of the couch above us. He also doesn't meow, he sort
of bleats like a baby goat.

His coat was never a problem until he was over 12, even though he would
never tolerate more than a few strokes of brushing with any kind of
brush or comb or shedding blade. But he became less active and got
rather round when he was 12, which interfered with his own grooming
of his lower half, and his hair became finer and somewhat frizzy.
He likes to lay on damp grass in the warm weather, and the frizzy
hair almost instantly mats when it gets wet. I do my best
to work a flea comb under the bottom of the mat, so I can cut it off
without catching any skin.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 16:38:12 +1100, Bruce Maguire
wrote:

I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.

Heh. Bengals and Maine Coons are *entirely* different.

Personality :

Bengals are confident, affectionate cats. However, they are blurs of
energy and not lap cats until they have tired themselves out. Then
they want to crawl into your lap and cuddle, but not a moment before.

Maine Coons are love sacks. They are much more lap cattish than
Bengals.


Grooming:

Bengals have short, tight, plush single coats. They shed very little
(though they *do* shed) and don't require much more in the way of
grooming than a 'polishing' with a sisal glove occasionally. Bengals
have what are called 'pelted' coats, and they're totally different
from anything you have felt before.

Maine Coons have long, heavy, profuse double coats. They *must* be
brushed *and* combed at least every other day, preferably daily.
Since Maine Coons have the more normal double coat, they shed
undercoat pretty normally, which is what generally causes most
matting.


Ca

Bengals and Maine Coons need the same sort of dietary care --
high-quality cat food. Both do extremely well on a raw diet, or with
raw treats supplementing their food. Canned food is best. Bengals
tend to highly prefer running water to drink (and play in).


Health:

HCM has shown up in a few lines of Bengals, so any breeder you buy
from should test their cats (and have the printed results to show
you).

Maine Coons should be tested for PKD, HCM, and Feline Hip Dysplasia.
Again, breeders should have the printed test results.

Note that breeding cats should be tested yearly for HCM, as the test
is simply a colour doppler echocardiogram and thus gives a snapshot of
the cat's current state. If the results are more than two years old,
they're worthless.


Habits:

Bengals are the Border Collie of the cat world. Extremely
intelligent, extremely active, and *definitely* not for everyone.
They have enormous energy levels. Having a single Bengal is a Bad
Idea. They need the mental stimulation and energy sink of a friend --
either another Bengal, another high-energy breed (Aby, Siamese, etc),
or a high-energy moggy. There is no shelf a Bengal can't find a way
to -- a 16-week old Bengal can jump from the floor to the top of a
refrigerator. My Bengals can open baby locks, lever-style door
handles, and are mastering the round doorknob. They are into
everything, and must be part of what you are doing, whether that be
cleaning, making beds, doing laundry, or cooking. They are greedy,
food-motivated kitties, whcih makes clicker-training a Very Good Idea
for this breed.



Do a Google Groups Search for "Orchid Top Ten Bengal" and read my Top
Ten Reasons You Don't Want A Bengal. If you still want one, I highly
recommend joining the Yahoo Group 'Bengals-L' -- you'll be able to
hook up with many of the most responsible breeders working in the
breed today.

No matter which breed you decide on, read my 'Guide to Finding a
Responsible Breeder' -- the link is in my sig. Follow the directions.
There are a *lot* of BYBs producing both Bengals and Maine Coons, and
buying from a BYB is the ticket to getting a poor example of either
breed, in health, temperament, conformation, and everything else.




Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 09:39:25 -0500, Orchid
wrote:

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 16:38:12 +1100, Bruce Maguire
wrote:

I'm thinking of purchasing a Maine Coon and would appreciate any tips
on care, grooming, indoors vs outdoors, etc., as well as caveats. The
no.2 on my list is a Bengal, and so I would especially appreciate
comparisons between the two in terms of personality, habits, and the
like. For example, my impression is that the Maine Coon is not a
jumper like the Bengal.


I have a Maine Coon that is just 1 year old. He is still kitty and
playful. He is very lovable and very smart. When I am watching tv and
he wants my attention he will grab my face with his paw and turn it to
him.

He does jump, contrary to what everyone said here. He keeps getting on
the tv and the highboy in the bedroom so I bought a tattle tale. He
saw me put it on the tv and has not jumped on it all week. He heard it
make noise when I put it there and thats all it took.

He prefers to lay next to me not on me. I groom him daily just because
he has so much hair. And he is a talker. He meows to me all the time
almost like were having a conversation. When I come home he greets me
at the door with meow meow...until I reach the bedroom & give him his
treat.

Karryl

I had a Maine Coon for 15 years and he was the love of my life. Main Coons are not lap cats, but are so very affectionate. He was always with me and very devoted. I never had a problem with his long fur tangling. He became rather deaf at about 12 years of age. I noticed that he was not afraid of the vacuum cleaner any longer. But if I ever get to choose another cat(versus the cat choosing me), I'd get another Maine Coon in a minute.

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

I can't be certain of Tiger's lineage sine I got him at a shelter at age
4 months. He sure looks like a Maine Coon, He has very long hair,
extra hair at his feet and ears, a heavy clump of hair around his neck,
"pantaloons" , a long bushy tail, and he weighs over 20 pounds. He IS a
lap cat. He doesn't "follow" me around. What he does is try to
anticipate where I am going and get in front of me. Then he is liable
to hiss as I go around him. He is a love bug!


---MIKE---

My main coon isn't a jumper but he is oh so lovey! He trills and loves
to lay next to me (leaning on me that is). He's also an avid player.
He loves his toys and really likes a lot of attention. He gets along
really great with my other cat who is a completely different
personality. He is an orange type and has had a few teeth issues. I
have to clean his teeth regularly. If you've dreamed of a loving,
faithful, fuzzy cat, then a main coon is for you!