Feed your Maine coon high-quality cat food and monitor their diet to prevent them from overeating. Check-in with your vet to learn how much and how often to feed your individual cat. Maine coons have a lifespan of 10—13 years and are typically healthy pets. But, as with all breeds, there are some health issues to be aware of. Reputable breeders will screen for health issues in your kitten, but it's important to have them screened regularly into adulthood. HCM and other health problems can go undetected until later in your cat's life.
Most experts speculate that the Maine coon is descended from foreign long-haired cats brought ashore by early American explorers in—where else? Those ship cats then mated with the native short-haired breeds, creating the U. There are multiple theories as to how the Maine coon got its name , including one that traces the breed's ancestors to a sailor named Charles Coon and another that links the name to the cat's bushy tail, which resembles that of a raccoon.
The New England native breed enjoyed some popularity in 19th century cat shows but was later overshadowed by more exotic breeds until a resurgence in popularity in the s. Because the Maine coon breed was left to develop naturally from the s to the middle of the 20th century, it's typically a strong and healthy breed.
The modern Maine coon retains many of the characteristics of the breed's earliest form—from the cold-weather tolerant coats that helped them survive harsh New England winters to the high prey drive that makes these sweet house cats excellent mousers. The silver collar Cosey won was later purchased by the Cat Fanciers' Association CFA Foundation and is now displayed in their headquarters as an important piece of cat history.
Maine coons are large, intelligent, affectionate pets who love their people. Learn more about the characteristics of Maine coons. By Hilary Braaksma August 24, Coat Length Coat Length Coat Length hairless long short.
Pattern Pattern Other Traits Traits Other Traits easy to groom easy to train friendly toward humans friendly toward other pets friendly toward strangers good for first-time pet owners good lap cat high potential for weight gain high prey drive highly territorial hypoallergenic low prey drive prone to health issues requires lots of grooming strong loyalty tendencies tolerates being alone tolerates being picked up.
Temperament Temperament Temperament affectionate bold neurotic shy sociable. Maine Coon. Maine coons come in dozens of colors, color combinations, and patterns, including the striking silver mackerel torbie with white. Credit: Sergey Semin on Unsplash. Left: Allowed to evolve naturally over many years, the Maine coon adapted to her environment. Her large, tufted paws serve as built-in snowshoes that help her survive during the cold, snowy winters of New England.
Right: The Maine Coon's dense, water-repellent coat keeps them warm in wintery weather. Unlike most cats, Maine coons love water! One of the most popular theories is that they are descendants of cats kept on Viking ships and therefore comfortable around water today. Living Needs. Maine coon kitten sitting on scratching post. Left: Like any cat, Maine coon kittens should be socialized early to help them get comfortable around people. But remember, the Maine coon is generally not a snuggler.
Professional breeders are normally more used to dealing with customers and may even be selective as to who they sell to. Financially they are more trustworthy though and can even ship the kitten to you if necessary. Some people believe that the only way to be certain of acquiring a pure-bred Maine Coon is to buy from a licensed breeder. While this is certainly an option, and will likely be the best option for anyone interested in showing or breeding a Maine Coon, it is not impossible to acquire an excellent specimen from other sources.
It is important, however, when buying from someone other than a breeder to follow certain best practices to be sure of getting the a good result. Always ask to see both parents, or at least a picture. If a kitten is advertised as a Maine Coon, it should be possible for you to see at least a photo of both the mother and father. If a seller is unwilling to show one or both of the parents, it is unlikely the cat in question is a pure-bred Maine Coon. If the seller acquired the cat without seeing the parents or getting any assurance of the breed, while the cat may be a wonderful specimen of a longhair and an excellent and loving companion, there is no guarantee it is a purebred Maine Coon.
When buying an adult, be familiar with the unique characteristics of the Maine Coon. If even one of the above traits is missing, the specimen is not a purebred Maine Coon, though it may have quite a lot of Maine Coon in its ancestry.
If acquiring a pure-bred Maine Coon is important, do not buy any cat without pedigree papers and registration as well as medical history. When buying an adult cat , it may be impossible to determine for certain whether a particular cat is a true Maine Coon unless the seller has papers to back it up.
When rescuing a Maine Coon, it is important to remember that many older cats can make perfectly wonderful pets even if they exhibit some unusual behavior at the shelter. A feral Maine Coon may or may not adapt to domesticated living, and the presence of other cats in the home may certainly help the process; or harm they may harm it depending on the situation.
Declawed cats can also be an issue, as cats scratch to cope and deal with boredom. When it can no longer scratch, a declawed cat may turn to far worse behaviors in compensation. Additionally, the declawing process can cause a cat great pain, and this may have caused stress in the past, or may even be continuing to cause a cat great stress. While it is less common than with some other breeds, Maine Coons, like any cat or dog, can be abandoned by irresponsible owners.
There are several Maine Coon rescue sites where it is possible to find excellent individuals who have been abandoned for a variety of reasons.
Reputable sites include mainecoonrescue. Most of these sites will also rescue cats of other breeds, especially other long-haired cats, so it is important to check carefully if a purebred Maine Coon is desired. At least one site, www. Rescue sites and shelters will generally also go to some effort to screen potential owners to ensure the safety of their rescue cats, so be prepared to give personal information. Many of the cats available from Facebook are from breeders, and Facebook can be a reliable way to find a safe and recommended breeder to buy from.
There are also Facebook pages dedicated to Maine Coon lovers in general where someone may be forced to sell or give away a beloved pet for legitimate reasons, such as a catastrophic illness or the death of a loved one. Additionally, others on these pages may have information on the best places to find a Maine Coon in any particular geographic area.
Craigslist and similar websites. While it is possible to acquire excellent pets via Craigslist and other websites that feature classified ads, it is important to exercise extreme caution when doing so. Like all cats, Maine Coons are susceptible to bacterial and viral infections such as panleukopenia, calicivirus, rhinotracheitis, and rabies, which are preventable through vaccination.
In addition, vaccines are available to offer protection from other dangerous diseases like feline leukemia virus FeLV. All kinds of worms and bugs can invade your Coon Cat's body, inside and out.
Everything from fleas and ticks to ear mites can infest her skin and ears. Hookworms, roundworms, heartworms , and whipworms can get into her system in a number of ways: drinking unclean water, walking on contaminated soil, or being bitten by an infected mosquito. Some of these parasites can be transmitted to you or a family member and are a serious concern for everyone.
One of the best things you can do for your Maine Cat is to have her spayed neutered for males. In females, this procedure includes surgically removing the ovaries and usually the uterus; in males, the testicles are surgically removed. Spaying or neutering your pet decreases the likelihood of certain types of cancers and eliminates the possibility of your pet becoming pregnant or fathering unwanted litters.
Both sexes usually become less territorial and less likely to roam, and neutering particularly decreases the occurrence of urine spraying and marking behaviors in males. Performing this surgery also gives us a chance, while your pet is under anesthesia, to identify and address some of the diseases your cat is likely to develop.
For example, if your pet needs hip X-rays to check for dysplasia or a thorough dental exam to look for stomatitis, these procedures can be conveniently performed at the same time as the spay or neuter to minimize the stress on your cat. Routine blood testing prior to surgery also helps us to identify and take precautions against common problems that increase anesthetic or surgical risk. Cardiomyopathy is the medical term for heart muscle disease , either a primary inherited condition or secondary to other diseases that damage the heart.
The most common form, called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is a thickening of the heart muscle often caused by an overactive thyroid gland.
Another example is dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM, which can be caused by a dietary deficiency of the amino acid taurine. While DCM was a big problem in the past, all major cat food producers now add taurine to cat food, so DCM is rarely seen in cats with high-quality diets today. Catching signs of cardiomyopathy early is important, but a cat's normal tendency to hide illness can make symptoms difficult to spot.
The first thing a pet parent usually notices is rapid breathing, lethargy, and a poor appetite. These symptoms may appear to come on suddenly, often between a few hours to a few days, but in most cases, the cat has actually been suffering quietly for weeks to months and is now in serious trouble.
In addition, HCM can cause blood clots to form inside the heart. These clots can then leave the heart and become lodged in the major arteries that transport blood to the rear legs. If this happens, the cat will suddenly lose the use of both rear legs and the tail—the legs will become cold to the touch and will seem extremely painful. In either case, whether rapid breathing or painful paralysis, the cat is experiencing a medical emergency, and needs immediate veterinary care.
For a few breeds of cats, genetic testing is available for a specific gene abnormality that causes HCM. Most cats with cardiomyopathy have a heart murmur that can be detected during a wellness physical exam, but a specific diagnosis requires more advanced medical imaging. Finding this problem early, when treatment is most effective, is another important reason to have your pet evaluated twice a year for life.
The stifle, or knee joint, is a remarkable structure that allows a cat to perform amazing feats of agility like crouching, jumping, and pouncing. Thus, a luxating patella is a kneecap that slips off to the side of the leg because of an improperly developed stifle. A cat with a luxating patella may not show signs of pain or abnormality until the condition is well advanced; signs of this condition appear gradually and can progress to lameness as the cat grows older.
Early detection of a luxating patella is key to effective therapy, so getting your cat an x-ray at the time of her spay or his neuter, around three to six months of age, is a good way to check.
If the problem is mild and involves only one leg, your pet may not require much treatment beyond typical arthritis medication. When symptoms are more severe, surgery may be needed to realign the kneecap and prevent it from popping out of place.
Although the tendency for patellar luxation seems to be inherited, developmental problems in joints have complex inheritance patterns, and genetic tests have not yet been developed for this condition. Patellar luxation occurs in many breeds, but Coon Cats are at higher risk for the condition.
Most commonly seen in dogs, hip dysplasia may also occur in cats, especially in Maine Coons. Dysplasia is an inheritable condition that causes malformation of the hip joints and subsequent arthritis. Usually a cat shows very few clinical symptoms as an adolescent, but begins slowing down and acting like an older cat prematurely within the first few years.
Severely affected cats, however, may show lameness by six months of age. Pelvic X-rays are needed to detect early hip dysplasia; cats should be anesthetized or sedated for this procedure, in part because the radiograph machine is a frightful and stressing situation for cats, but also because X-rays of the pelvis should be taken while the cat is perfectly still. Anesthesia allows for proper positioning of the cat to produce a clear, diagnostic radiograph, without the pain and fear most cats experience with X-rays, especially if they already have sore hips.
Hip dysplasia is best treated when detected early, so initial X-rays of the hips are recommended at the time of your kitten's spay or neuter, usually around three to six months of age.
If necessary, hip dysplasia can be alleviated by surgical restructuring of the pelvis to help relieve pain and allow greater mobility for your affected cat. Gingivitis is inflammation of the gingiva, or gums. Just like in people, it causes redness and pain in the gums and is often linked to other diseases. In mild cases, gingivitis can be treated with a mouth rinse and represents only a minor problem, but without treatment it can progress to more severe afflictions such as periodontal disease or stomatitis.
Gingivitis has also been associated with resorptive lesions and retrovirus infections such as the feline leukemia virus FeLV and the feline immunodeficiency virus FIV. One of the best things you can do for your friend is to have his mouth evaluated by us often.
Remember, cats are superstar actors and are great at masking illnesses, so you may not realize he is having any oral problems at all without an examination. With our trained healthcare team, we can safely look in his mouth to see if he is experiencing any pain or tooth trouble. Even though your cat may look great and act normally, he may be hiding a real problem in the back of his mouth!
Renal failure refers to the inability of the kidneys to properly perform their functions of cleansing waste from the blood and regulating hydration.
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