Characteristics of a Maine Coon

Maine coons are Americas biggest domestic Cat breed, yet despite their size, they have earned the title of "Gentle-Giants" worldwide!

The actual origin of the breed is still quite mysterious! Such mystery spiked a lot of theories, some believe that the cats originated from Maine--like their name suggests--or other parts of North America, while others believe that they are descendants from wild cats, such as the bobcat, or Eastern ship cats, similar to their common associates Norwegian Forest Cats. Though that mystery is still yet to be solved.

Identifying Maine Coon Traits

Despite looking like such a unique, wild cat, they often get confused with other large, long-haired breeds, such as the Norwegian Forest Cat, Siberian, Ragdoll and Ragamuffins.

A few key traits that you can associate with a Maine Coon in contrast to the other breeds, are their large ears, rectangular, long body--with a tail of similar length, square muzzle, and a strong side profile showing off the almost 90 degree slope from the forehead to nose.

Unlike the Maine Coon, the other breeds tend to have shorter muzzles or straight side profile slopes, as well as shorter, more compact bodies.

The Norwegian Forest Cat has an extremely similar body to a Maine Coon, however have a straighter and smaller muzzle, slightly smaller ears, and don't tend to have that wild expression associated with Maine Coons.

Maine Coon Personality Characteristics

Like previously mentioned, Maine Coons have earned themselves the title of "Gentle-Giants". This title comes from their wild appearance, yet personality of a golden retriever!

(Fun Fact: They are also known as the Golden Retrievers of the cat world!)

They are an extremely human-oriented breed, who get really easily attached to their owners. They are generally a very social breed, similar to dogs. They typically get along really well with other animals, and are always open to meeting new people!

They are always super cuddly and affectionate, and despite occasionally looking to be acting aggressive, most of the time they just forget their huge size and act like overgrown puppies!

In addition to the sweetness of a dog, they are also really easy to train due to their high intelligence.

As a cattery, we spend a lot of time with our cats, and have trained many of them to do tasks commonly associated with dogs. A lot of our cats give us high-fives and shakes for treats, are well trained to a leash and going outside and on boat rides, dancing for food--aka spinning, playing fetch and sitting on command. They are also a breed most commonly known as being more accepting of water!

Many Maine coons are really easy to bathe due to their lenience in water, and many even enjoy it! A lot of our cats personally also absolutely adore the sink, and playing and drinking straight from the tap!

Unlike the common misconception, there is actually not much of a difference between a male and female Maine Coon either!

As a breeder, the only main differences between males and females that we have noticed tend to be size--with males having a higher average, and males getting mellow earlier than females who tend to stay playful for longer. However even so, the size and personalities are much more dependent on the breeder and parents of the kitten, and how well it is socialized and raised.

The biggest difference in personality, surprisingly actually tends to come from color! Reds--aka ginger cats--outside of breed, are commonly known to be more easy going and very playful and lively, whilst black and tortie color cats are usually more sassy yet loyal, with having special titles such as the "tortie-ttude" given to them.