Kitty question - is the breed Maine Coon Cats one of the nicest breeds?

[Hawkeye-X]

I went to a pet store the other day (just looking at puppies there) and I was greeted by a huge gray Maine Coon cat, and I petted him for a while, and he started to follow me. I petted him some more, he meowed, and followed me more. I think it's a very cool cat. I'd get one, but my wife hates cats, and I can see why (in fact, she hates anything that sheds, but that's life in a Orthodox Jew - I think she was conditioned to hate pets, even though she used to work at a store that has a store cat - a fat tuxedo named Waldo)

Hawkeye-X

[no name no slogan]

1. Maine Coons are notoriously friendly

They are some of the most people-friendly of cats. Almost doglike in many respects.

[ThomCat]

2. I LOVE Maine Coons.

They're definitely a very friendly breed. They require a bit of maintenance though. That double layered fur snags and snarles easily. You have to be disciplined about brushing.

I don't get to choose the breed of my cats because they're all rescues, but if I chose I'd always choose Maine Coons. :loveya:

[LynneSin]

7. When I was helping with rescues we would regulary get Maine Coon mixes in

We knew they were full bred Maine Coon but they were definately part coon and had the personality & fur of a coon

[ThomCat]

11. I've heard that same thing from some rescuers up here.

When I have room for another rescue again I'm definitely going to ask around. I'd love to have another Maine Coon again.

But all three of my current babies are only 9 years old, so I hope it's many years away.

[npincus]

3. this Jew LOVES cats...

Main Coons are a wonderful breed, but from my experience, not the most intelligent. If you want a cat, I'd try to negotiate w/your wife.. my husband was not a cat-lover, but has come to the Light, and learned to love our beautiful, affectionate, hairy cat(s).

[hyphenate]

4. They're not called

the "gentle giants" for nothing. :)

You might want to head over to Cat Fanciers Association (cfa) or The International Cat Association (tica) websites and check out the breed listings. Another place you might check is catfancy.com, which is the website for Cat Fancy magazine. Or run a google search on "cat breed" information. Be on the lookout for those which have more objective listings rather than those for a specific breed, because everyone loves their own group of purebreds more--you'll want one that really gives all information on all breeds.

P.S.: If it helps, take your wife to the pound and the sights there should melt her heart. And you might be able to pick up two from the same litter which will let each of them keep each other company and you can watch them grow up together. On the other hand, you might want to choose an older cat which won't run amuck, and whose more calming disposition will allow your wife to enjoy cat-kid status and not drive her too insane.

[MissHoneychurch]

5. Big cats with big hearts

AirmensMom's Maine Coon named Sylvester. He has a lot of feline brothers and sisters (non-Maine Coons) and is just like a big brother to them. Cleans them, plays with them, takes care of them.

[darkstar]

35. What a sweetie Pete!!!

:hi:

[AirmensMom]

46. Here's my favorite pic of him ...

with MissHC. :loveya: They are both sweethearts!

[madinmaryland]

6. They are a very peaceful breed.

We had one who passed away a couple of years ago. He was great around children. Just beware that they eat like a dog and are hugh!!1!! Ours weighed 25lbs. Very gentle, except when it came to mealtime. He needed his can of tuna twice a day! You will be very happy if you get one.

[hyphenate]

9. Here's my whale:

[darkstar]

36. Look at that face...

We've had to put our 20 pound girl cat on something of a diet...

[bicentennial_baby]

8. Just an aside but, please don't patronize any pet store that

sells puppies. They come from puppy mills. x(

[Hawkeye-X]

15. I know that. THat's what I told my wife - we'll get a hearing dog

from International Hearing Dog - they use shelter dogs.

[Wcross]

31. I second that recommendation!

Save a dogs life at the pound, he/she will love you forever. They know.

[XNASA]

10. They're really great cats.

Our younger cat is a tom who, although he wasn't advertised by the shelter as a MC, must be judging by his size, his look and most importantly, by his demeanor.

He's a great cat. Really cuddly and cute. Likes to 'talk' and play fetch. His coat is thick and fluffy, but he loves to be brushed so it's not a problem. In some respects, I understand that MC's are very doglike and I can see that in ours.

[no name no slogan]

23. One of mine is part MC, I think

He's got all the characteristics: biggish, fine double-coat fir, extremely friendly, talkative, playful, likes brushing. I know he's not a full MC though because his littermate/brother looks nothing like him.

[jobycom]

12. Mine reached of her cage and grabbed me as I walked by, at the shelter.

I was at the shelter looking for a cute little kitten type, when I walked by the cage of this behemoth feline. I barely glanced at her, but as I passed, she reached her paw through the cage and grabbed me.

She is very friendly, and at the same time, stand-offish. She will jump on the couch next to me and rub against me, but if I go to pet her, she will duck away. Very odd cat. She talks to me more than any cat I've met, and with her intelligent eyes, you get the feeling she really is talking.

She's also very stubborn. She's clawed me more than once when I pushed her off the couch or blocked her from going outside. Somehow, though, she knew better than to hurt the kids, even when they sat on her.

All cats are different, but I've seen similar personalities in other Maine Coons, too. Intelligent, friendly, and independent.

[Richard Steele]

13. Yes- they're known for being intelligent & friendly....

...and in many cases, very vocal. Ours is.

And I don't mean she "meows" a lot; I mean she talks to us
a lot with a very large vocabulary of sounds- chirps, trills,
squeaks, etc.

One time, I -think- I caught her trying to whistle!

And she's one of the smartest cats I've ever seen.

If you like cats, you'll like a Maine Coon.

[XNASA]

17. Ours does that as well.

Lot's of different sounds that you wouldn't expect from a cat. I swear I hear him say 'yikes' the other day.

Another thing he does is points his front paws out when he sits or stands on all fours, something I think is inherent to that breed. Kinda like this...

[Richard Steele]

19. Sweetie loves to tell the story about when ours first started talking...

She was born feral, and took awhile to get used to living indoors
after we captured her.

About week #3, she had gotten pretty comfortable being
out around us in the daytime, but was still very silent.
I was sitting next to her on the sofa, trying to get her
to talk, saying, "C'mon, meow- you can meow", etc.

Finally, she looked me right in the eye and PRONOUNCED THE WORD "meow"!
(While giving me a look that said "you dumbfuck".)

Sweetie was right there, and agreed that she had heard what I heard-
she didn't "meow", she said the WORD "meow".

I didn't bother her about talking after that.
Pwn3d by a cat- that's embarrassing!

[ThomCat]

26. LOL! That is awesome!

My Maine Coon (Pixie) couldn't make much of a sound at all. We never knew why, but he couldn't meow or make any noise louder than a quiet "ack."

Despite that, you could tell he was telling you exactly what he thought. And he'd do it with an attitude as if to say "Hey, it's your fault if you can't hear and understand me. I'm being perfectly clear." :)

He was my first wonderful beast, and he lived to be 18 years old.

[MissMillie]

14. sweet sweet sweet kitty

for sure

[cloudbase]

16. Maine Coons are great.

My late, great B.T. was a cat that everybody loved.

Spring this on your wife: I recall hearing something about a Talmud passage saying that it was a good thing to keep cats.

[underpants]

18. MY Pepper is beyond expectations of how good a cat can be

I wasn't much of a cat person ever but we needed a second cat for company for our boy (gay cat) so we went and I ended up with Pepper

I say I and MY because she is definitely MY cat. She is fiercely loyal and is in my lap anytime our daughter Josie is not and sometimes both are.

Great mouser - should you need that.

She is just now at age 5 actually maturing and the boy cat can't control her anymore. She kicks his ass all over the place now.

She can be very vocal too-she will tell you if she needs to go downstairs or if she needs food.

Great cat. Best pet I could imagine even if she has scratched Josie a few times (I think that it good for her to learn about limits and turf and such).

Pepper is a bit of a foot fetishist too.

[ThomCat]

28. Wow. Your pepper looks a whole lot like my Pixie

with just a little less ruff than Pixie had.

I love seeing pictures of Maine Coons next to other cats. It really shows off how big they get. :)

[darkstar]

37. Well...she really looks like our girl car (see below)

Our now rules the roost, too, taking no BS from tour male who still doesn't quite get how she grew up and turned the pecking order on him. Poor little guy.

:hi:

[huskerlaw]

20. Yes.

My sister had a Maine Coon when we were kids. That poor cat suffered all types of abuse...and by abuse, I mean, we dressed him up in doll clothes and pretended he was a baby. ;)

He NEVER took a swipe at us. Mostly he would just lay back and let us play, and then calmly escape when he'd had enough. Then, when we got older, he was a fabulous companion/lap cat.

On the flipside, he was an indoor-outdoor cat and he was a ferocious mouser/bunny catcher. He also kicked the shit out of the neighborhood strays with regularity.

Overall, he was the best cat we've ever had, and that's saying a LOT.

[racaulk]

21. I love my Maine Coon!

My Nevada is the first Maine Coon I've ever had, but if she's any indication of her breed, then I would say that Maine Coons are a very friendly breed. The posts upthread seem to confirm that as well.

And a plus for you if you like dogs, Nevada has to be the most "doglike" cat I have ever owned! She meets me at the door when I come home from work, every single day. She doesn't seem to be afraid of water, and she likes to try to play in the sink if I'm brushing my teeth, shaving, washing dishes, or whatever. She just loves running water. Also, when I'm drying off from my shower she loves to rub up against my legs like she's "marking" me, getting her head wet in the process. And she will also play fetch with her "plastic ring" toys. I'll throw it out to her, she'll chase it until it stops moving, then she'll pick it up in her mouth and bring it back to me. No joke!

Aside from this, Nevada is also a very affectionate and playful cat. She loves to play and she's very good with people. She's also a very good companion for my other cat, a Tonkinese. And man is she VOCAL!!!

My experience owning a Maine Coon cat (or does she own me?) has been very positive, so if you have the chance, I would definitely recommend getting one for your home. There's lots of love in those big, fluffy cats!

Here are a couple of pics of Nevada, if you're interested: :loveya:

[Richard Steele]

29. Our YoYo does the same thing at shower time.

Every morning, she waits outside the bathroom while Sweetie
showers for work, then rubs against her wet legs. I don't know
why she feels the need to do that, but it's a very regular habit.

As long as I'm talking about her so much today, here's a pic
of her napping on her beloved chenille spread:

[darkstar]

38. Way beautiful cat. Ours likes running water too.

Ours isn't pure-breed, but I wonder if that's a trait?

[Taverner]

22. I had one and used to be indifferent to cats - now I love them!

Maine Coons are sweet gentle giants, who sometimes act more like dogs than cats.

My favorite thing they do is let out a trill meow, then suddenly, almost forcefully, plop on the ground.

[TommyO]

24. YES, YES, and YES!

One of my boys is a Maine Coon (probably not purebred, but that's fine with me). He is the epitome of friendly, loving and attention seeking. I adopted him after he stretched his paw out of the crate he was in, doing the "pick me, pick me" thing. Almost every morning he wakes me up (too early, I might add) by nudging my chin, and then curling up under my right arm.

[SoxFan]

25. Maine Coons Rock!

My Brianna is part Maine Coon, and she is a big, sweet goofball. Very, very, VERY talkative, too. If you say something to her, she'll chirp right back at you. It freaks people out the first time they see it.

She's not pure blooded, so her head is rounder and her face not as "pointy" as a full blooded Maine Coon, but she has the long legs, the ruff, the fuzzy ears, and the "puppy cat" personality.

[grasswire]

27. absolutely

Maine Coons (and even those who are mixes of MC) have lovely, sweet personalities and are smart and intuitive. The one I had was a loving critter, full of personality and verve.

Another charming cat is the marmalade tabby. That's my current #1 cat, and he is a dear thing.

[Joey Liberal]

30. I had one when I was a kid

They are great cats. The name should be changed to "Maine Cool Cats".

[BlooInBloo]

32. I wish I had a kitty!

[Alexander]

33. Norwegian Forest Cats are even friendlier.

They're a similar breed.

[darkstar]

34. I got a photo of ours with her tail in action...

[davsand]

39. Geniph was a DUer that bred Maine Coons.

I haven't seen her around of late--but she raised Maine Coons. She posted some pics of her kittens one time and they were just lovely.

I want to join the chorus singing the praises of Maine Coons. Tillie (You Bitch) was at least partly a Maine Coon (according to the vet, anyhow.) I called her a medium haired float with a terrible attitude--but I also forgave her for it because she was a rescue that had been abused very badly before she came to me.

Tillie(You Bitch) was a very smart cat, and would answer the phone if I forgot and left it anyplace where she could get to it. She'd hear it ring and she'd run up and smack it with her paw and then MEOW. I kept finding the phone off the hook and couldn't figure out how it was happening until one of my friends called me up and bitched at me because she'd called long distance only to chat with the cat. Finally one day I watched the cat do it. I was blown away.

Tillie would also talk to me in that variety of trills and meows that was unique to her. I've lived with Siamese and even with the rep they have for being noisy, they didn't come close to Tillie for chatty behavior. She would get PISSED OFF if I left her for anything much more than an afternoon. She would wait behind a door and then smack me with a paw when I got home. Then she'd follow me from room to room bitching at me...

She was a terror of the vet's office and shredded me any number of times when I'd just walk across the room. She also NEVER batted an eye at anything Material Girl did as a toddler.

I loved that cat. She lived with me for 17 years, and I am certain that a great part of her intelligence and quirkiness was due to her breed.



Laura

[graywarrior]

40. All these Maine Coons are so awesome.

Mine is pissed most of the time. And he runs when the doorbell rings.

[Digit]

41. LOL!

He does indeed look like a pissed off fellow!
I am laughing so hard I am almost crying.

[Digit]

42. Yes!

I had never heard of the breed until I adopted a stray female and a neighbor informed me it was a Maine Coon. (she showed Maine Coons)

When she would go into heat, she would walk around the house screaming, "Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" over and over, or sometimes, "Oh Mommmmma". It was very distinct and people hearing her over the phone would crack up.

She is the most affectionate cat I have ever known and as everyone else says, they are very doglike.

If I am on the computer late at night, she will come and yell at me to go to bed. I know she is right, and I will laugh and comply (sometimes).

She sleeps next to me in my bed with her head on my pillow facing me. She likes to be under the covers, too. If she gets up and comes back to bed, she will use her paw to tap me a couple of times on the nose to lift the covers so she can get back to her spot.

I love her dearly and she has been with me 14 years now.

[astral]

43. Yep, they love to talk with you in that tiny squeaky voice

For the poster who said their cat has no voice -- that's a Maine Coone trait, too, they can't meow much more than a squeak, no matter what they would like to say. But they'll make all kinds of gurgles and two-syllable chirps and sounds that make it sound just like they know what you said and they are giving their opinion.

Mine cracked me up today. I was talking to him about the new bunkbed and how he needs something to get on to get up and down so he won't hurt himself, and all the while he was purring very loudly about it (oh he loves that high bed!), and then I said 'because we have to watch out for the cat!' one of my regular phrases I use with him -- at which point he quit purring and growled at me.

I know he knows alot of what I say, like when he was looking at how far the chair was down from his halfway perch and I told him he can jump to the couch, and he immediately reversed his direction and jumped down to the couch instead.

But when he growled at me today it was hilarious, like I was saying one thing and he was hearing another, so people-like, isn't it!

Two-way conversations are very common, and mutual 'good mornings' (he's quite the morning person just like me) and, of course, he has to follow me to the toilet to say good morning one more time and get his little affection fix before walking out to the catfood bowl to wait for me to take care of that before I even think of putting on the coffee~~~

He's used his razor sharp claws on me both on accident and in a fit of grumpiness over me making the wrong comment occasionally, not very often, but give him a bath? (I do this a couple times a year is all) He'll use all the muscle power he's got to try to get away (and he's pretty big and strong) but never, ever, would he claw me nor bite me during the wash-the-cat war. The first time I tried to wash my kitty and he didn't hurt me I fell deeply in love with my Gentle Giant --- there's no better breed to have than a Maine Coone, pure bred or not. . . . (and I'm not sure if mine is or not, I got adopted by him later in life).

[fudge stripe cookays]

44. After reading this thread...

I'm thinking Molly may have some Maine Coon in her. She fits a lot of the characteristics. And after seeing everyone's pix, I mean...

well, just look at her.

[Guava Jelly]

45. I think my cat Obie may be a Maine coon

He can fluff up his tail like a racoon and he is a big boy

He sure was a cute kitten

[spinbaby]

47. We have one 18 years old

Purebred Maine Coon. Still a very social cat even though he's gone deaf and has bad arthritis and worse teeth. I pamper him dreadfully because I know he won't be with us much longer. I'd have another coon cat anytime.

A thing to watch out for is the tendency to call every large, long-haired cat a Maine Coon cat. We also have a big fluffy cat, but she's not at all the same as a coon cat. A coon cat has a very distinctive coat--long and silky, but not at all fluffy.