Life Expenctancy of Main Coons

Buddy wrote:
You mentioned Royal Canin food for MC. This only comes in the dry
form. I may have misunderstood, but isn't it best to give males wet
food vs. dry?

Jay Jay has never eaten the wet food. I have tried several brands and
flavors. He won't eat much of anything other than kibble. Not even a
good piece of chicken or beef. He might eat something once, and look
like he loves it, and then never touch it again. He's a bit strange.

But he does drink a lot of water. He likes it extra fresh, so I change
his water bowl several times a day, and I see him drink.

The other boys (one currently, and a few in the past) ate mostly dry
with some wet food. And they all did well. I suspect that some cats are
more prone to it than others. I suppose it depends on how much they
drink. Some cats don't drink a lot of water, so they need to get more
moisture in their food.

I would like to find something that doesn't put the
weight on him, but I don't want him to have blockage problems. He is
on canned Fancy Feast now and does have loose feces - which isn't good
with the long hair.

You might try giving him some of each. He'd still have some wet, but
the kibble might help clear up the loose feces. Jay Jay's were solid
before I put him on the Royal Canin, but they were very stinky. I was
having to scoop the litter 3 times a day, and instantly, after he went.
The smell was horrible, and he doesn't cover. I'm surprised the
neighbors couldn't smell it. After switching the food, the smell
stopped. He still doesn't cover, but nobody gags. And he doesn't need
to go as often. So, I am back to scooping the litter boxes once a day,
sometimes twice. It's so much better than before. And no more junk
stuck in his pantaloons. He had one shave done when I first got him,
and it has all grown back with no need to shave again.

Joe Canuck wrote:

Size is not a predisposition for diabetes, certainly not if large size
is a breed characteristic as it is with Maine Coon's and my own cat a
Ragdoll who as a female tips the scales at 18 pounds.


Joe,

Can you post some pics of your Ragdoll? Or send me a couple via email?

friesian(at)zoocrewphoto(dot)com

I'm still trying to learn more about Jay Jay. He has one of the color
patterns of the Ragdolls, but he talks like a Maine Coon. And while he
is a large boy, he doesn't seem to be as large as both of these breeds
get. I don't know how old he is. I'm guessing around 2 1/2, so he may
not be done growing. But I would guess he has attained most of his
size.

I've looked at some ragdolls at cat shows, but they are all younger
cats. Jay Jay has a much thicker head than those cats. I'd like to see
what full mature ragdolls look like.

I suspect that Jay Jay is a mix, and that would explain his smaller
size. But I can't tell which he is more likely to be - part maine coon
or part ragdoll. The temperment is described the same for both breeds.
And he has the look of one and the sound of another.

wrote:
Joe Canuck wrote:

Size is not a predisposition for diabetes, certainly not if large size
is a breed characteristic as it is with Maine Coon's and my own cat a
Ragdoll who as a female tips the scales at 18 pounds.


Joe,

Can you post some pics of your Ragdoll? Or send me a couple via email?


I'm still not "with it" regarding posting pics on the 'net; however,
there is a lot of info on them here which should help you out:

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/ragdoll.html

friesian(at)zoocrewphoto(dot)com

I'm still trying to learn more about Jay Jay. He has one of the color
patterns of the Ragdolls, but he talks like a Maine Coon. And while he
is a large boy, he doesn't seem to be as large as both of these breeds
get. I don't know how old he is. I'm guessing around 2 1/2, so he may
not be done growing. But I would guess he has attained most of his
size.

I've looked at some ragdolls at cat shows, but they are all younger
cats. Jay Jay has a much thicker head than those cats. I'd like to see
what full mature ragdolls look like.

I suspect that Jay Jay is a mix, and that would explain his smaller
size. But I can't tell which he is more likely to be - part maine coon
or part ragdoll. The temperment is described the same for both breeds.
And he has the look of one and the sound of another.

I think I will go out and try some Royal Canin and do the half and half
routine for awhile. My MC does have a very stinky feces and the
looseness is messy on his back side. Took forever to clean him up the
other day and I don't want to cut it off - it is so fluffy and pretty
when clean! He acts like he is burying it, but it clumsy and ends up
with it on his front paws - just another mess. If it were more solid,
this wouldn't be such an issue! Every day scooping is a must!

I took the strap off of my camera. My kitty was more interested in
playing with the "string" than anything else. Now, he sees the camera
and starts posing! I also give him lots of praise, etc. while doing
the "photo shoot" - like they do for the professional models, you
know?!! He loves it.

You might try giving him some of each. He'd still have some wet, but
the kibble might help clear up the loose feces. Jay Jay's were solid
before I put him on the Royal Canin, but they were very stinky. I was
having to scoop the litter 3 times a day, and instantly, after he went.

The smell was horrible, and he doesn't cover. I'm surprised the
neighbors couldn't smell it. After switching the food, the smell
stopped. He still doesn't cover, but nobody gags. And he doesn't need
to go as often. So, I am back to scooping the litter boxes once a day,
sometimes twice. It's so much better than before. And no more junk
stuck in his pantaloons. He had one shave done when I first got him,
and it has all grown back with no need to shave again.

Joe Canuck wrote:

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/ragdoll.html


I've checked out some websites, but unfortunately, most breeders show
their cats early, and their show photos are all taken when they are 8
months to 2 years, before they are fully mature. On the website you
mentioned, the top cat has a similar head to Jay Jay, but it is a side
view, so I can't see it straight on. It appears to be thick like Jay
Jay's head. The other two cats have smaller heads, but they may just be
younger.

I had planned to hand out coupons for a discount on a photo session to
Ragdoll breeders if they have older mature cats and want to teach me
about the breed. But there weren't any Ragdoll breeders at the last
show. I hope to get a mailer out tomorrow to the breeders I have seen
at previous shows. I would love to see some older Ragdolls. I want to
see if they have the same walk as Jay Jay, the same sounds, and some of
the other "quirks" I see with Jay Jay.

Buddy wrote:
I think I will go out and try some Royal Canin and do the half and half
routine for awhile. My MC does have a very stinky feces and the
looseness is messy on his back side. Took forever to clean him up the
other day and I don't want to cut it off - it is so fluffy and pretty
when clean!

When I first got Jay Jay, the vet ahved his rear, but they only did a
small area, just enough to prevent messes, but not real obvious when he
was walking away. And he still had plenty of fluff. You could probably
ask a groomer to do a very slight shave. If the food works for you, you
may not need to. Jay Jay wasn't too happy with me cleaning him in the
rear, and it was less than a week after I got him, so I figured the
shave was better for both us. Less stress for him, and no fight for me.

He acts like he is burying it, but it clumsy and ends up
with it on his front paws - just another mess. If it were more solid,
this wouldn't be such an issue! Every day scooping is a must!

Jay Jay attempts to cover, but he hasn't realized that he has to move.
He's so long that his front feet are nowhere near the pile of poo. So,
he's covering clean litter and leaving the pile out in the open. And he
was having to go 2-3 times a day since it was so soft. It's so much
nicer to have one good pile a day. (great subjects we talk about,
huh?)


I took the strap off of my camera. My kitty was more interested in
playing with the "string" than anything else. Now, he sees the camera
and starts posing! I also give him lots of praise, etc. while doing
the "photo shoot" - like they do for the professional models, you
know?!! He loves it.

Jay Jay doesn't mind the camera. He just doesn''t like being asked to
pose or perform. He's great for the "laying the walkway" or "snoozing
on the cat tree" poses. Not so good at being asked to sit on a table
with a backdrop. And he really pouted with the grass skirt. Chase and
Chester actually performed when wearing the grass skirt. I was going to
a cat show with a Hawaiian theme, so I took photos of the cats doing
the hula and used them in my display and my computer slide show.

He'll get used to it eventually. It would be easier if he actually
liked some form of treat. He just doesn't seem to have a favorite treat
or toy. I haven't found his form of currency yet.