This is a love story...be warned, you may get bitten by the love bug yourself...

Come with us as we take you back to the nineties, the last decade of the last century...a care-free decade indeed. A decade where Australia's Olympic medal count in 1992 was the highest since 1956, where Craig McLachlan had a hit with "Mona" (who knew what we were thinking back then), where the movie Titanic was a worldwide hit (and took longer to watch than it took the actual boat to sink) and where a couple of adventurous souls decided to import the first of the so called “Gentle Giants” from the UK and the USA.

Welcome to Australia the Maine Coon...

Bigger than Texas

The Maine Coon are currently the second most popular breed in the USA, and just like Texas, where everything that is biggest is best, Australia has developed a similar love affair with this, the largest of the domestic cats. With their laid-back nature they are almost purpose designed with the Australian attitude and way of life in mind, nothing is worth getting too worked up about – except for that special food titbit of course!

The Maine Coon is not only the one of the largest breeds of domestic cats, it is also known for its playfulness not just its distinctive physical appearance (be advised; it is big, very big!). Also due to their above-average intelligence, Maine Coons are known to be one of the easiest cat breeds to train.

Fingal

Many animal-loving Australian have found them the ideal way to deal with a busy lifestyle that is unfair to the demands of a dog – a Maine Coon is about the same size and friendliness, but a lot less needy!

As Jann Merchant of Blue Mountain Cats says, " I can’t count the times that men, dragged to a Cat Show by an enthusiastic partner, has stopped in front of the cage of our big brown tabby boy Fingal (WNCA Diamond DB GD CH; Gold DB GD National CH Hurklecat Fingal of Tanglewood), and have remarked 'Now that’s a cat!' " Jan goes on to say, "Unlike many breeds, we have a very large ratio of men making enquiries for kittens!"

Australian Pioneers

DJ

Merlin

Cath’s DJ (Diamond DGC Kititas Durango Jnr ACF Award of Excellence WNCA Cat of the Year 2000 and 2001) or 

Fiona’ s Winston (CCCA Db Gd Ch Gl Db Gd Ch Kititas Spellbinder (Imp UK) - black silver classic tabby and white Group 1 Cat of the Year) or

Winston

Wizard

These truly dedicated breeders and their award winning show cats have introduced Australia to the massive “kind wild-cat” look that is the trade mark of this breed, and these honoured ambassadors are in the lines of many of the best cats that you see on today’s show bench.

Origins

As with most things in life, there is some conjecture and perhaps a little mystery as to the actual origins of the Maine Coon. One tale comes from a story that a domestic cat released in the wilds of Maine interbred with a raccoon, resulting in offspring with the Maine Coon's characteristics. Though biologically impossible, this fable, bolstered by the bushy tail and the most common colouring (a raccoon-like brown tabby) could have led to the adoption of the name "Maine Coon."

Another story is that the cat was named after a ship's captain named Coon who was responsible for the cat reaching Maine shores, or that the breed sprang from the six pet cats that Marie Antoinette sent to Wiscasset, Maine when she was planning to escape from France during the French Revolution.

Stories like these, somewhat romanticised (and shall we say, stretched) over the years, do simply enhance the reputation and awe that owners, breeders and the public have for this Gentle Giant of the cat world.

However, most breeders today believe that the breed originated in the mating between pre-existing shorthaired domestic cats and overseas longhairs, perhaps Angora types introduced by New England seamen, or longhairs brought to America by the Vikings.

Maine Coons are similar in appearance to both the Norwegian Forest Cat and to the Siberian, however this may be attributed to convergent evolution - the shaping of unrelated species by similar environments, selecting for similar characteristics, resulting in similar animals.

Mistaken Identity 

It is not uncommon for many people with a large, longhaired tabby to claim their have a Maine Coon. Some people are even lucky enough to get a wonderful “Maine Coon Wannabe” from their local shelter (the look is often due to the size gained by the feral tabby cat in Australia mixed with the heavy boned Persian in its ancestry).

But there will be little chance of people having an accidentally cross-bred Maine Coon in Australia, as breeders have spent a lot of time and money protecting their breed with early de-sexing.

The true Maine Coon has a very specific temperament and look, a goofy sweetness and friendliness (and perhaps a bit of clumsiness!) that immediately endears them to people, dogs and usually even other cats. They love the smell of dogs, the feel of water on their paws (be prepared for puddles around the water bowl!) and the massive hug that you can only give a truly big cat!

The Maine Coon head is distinctive - very broad and long and the chin and muzzle should be deep and wide with large, upright ears. Breeders like them to look massive and kind – with what is sometimes referred to as the “carved in granite” look.

Their coat is described as shaggy and uneven, unlike a Persian, and while they are often tabby, they come in many colours and patterns.

The future of the Maine Coon 

Australian breeders still must regularly import new lines into Australia to maintain the genetic diversity required for a healthy breed. They also need to test regularly for some genetic issues that have affected the Maine Coon and this requires a degree of real dedication – and just a bit of money!

Maine Coons are very healthy and robust cats but like many larger breeds of dogs, they should have their hips scanned early for any signs of Hip Dysplasia, and the breeder should have bred their cats using this information intelligently.

They should also have had echocardiograms taken of the hearts of breeding cats from about 1-2 years of age and every year or two thereafter to ensure that they have no thickening of the heart wall, or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. This is a disease which affects many breeds, but has been identified and worked with in Maine Coons for some time. Most breeders should also have done DNA tests for this condition, but this is only a supplement to the scanning procedure as it indicates a likelihood for the condition rather than a symptom and covers possibly only 1/10 of the genetic information for HCM.

Maine Coon breeders always encourage any buyers to make sure that their kitten comes from a breeder who has shown a history of health and age in their cats and demonstrated a practice of this testing, maybe giving specific information on their websites and/or copies of the parents’ testing with their kitten. 

So come to a show or visit a breeder and get to know a Maine Coon first hand if you can – but remember, it is a slippery slope from there…

Australian Maine Coon Links

United Maine Coon Fanciers of Australia

Australian Cat Federation Maine Coon Standard

Co-ordinating Cat Council of Australia Maine Coon Standard

Health Research

Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Update on the Genetics of Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Cat Fanciers Association Inc (USA)