What do I need to know about the Maine Coon Cat

What about a Maine Coon cat?

The much loved Maine Coon is one of the largest breeds of domestic cat, known for his intelligence and playful, as well as his distinctive physical appearance. The breed is one of the oldest breeds in North America and originated in New England, becoming the first indigenous of the Cat Show. The Maine Coon Cat is considered as "the gentle giant" and is known for a nice nature.

Maine Coons are very large cats and energetic, sometimes weighing up to about 11-12 kilograms (25 pounds); the average weight is 6 to 9 kilograms (13-20 lbs) for adult males and less (7-11 lbs) for females. Men's Maine Coons can grow to a length greater than 1 metre (40 inches); the longest cat on record is a Maine Coon 121 cm (49 inches) in length. Growth for the maximum size often takes longer than for most cats, with Maine Coons usually reaching full size with four or five years of age.

The breed has a face with a square muzzle, a thick neck, big ears, rounded, large eyes and a large, muscular body. The tail is long and relatively thick.

The origin of the breed (and your name) has several myths surrounding it. A popular story comes from a legend that a domestic cat released into the wilds of Maine coupled with a raccoon, resulting in offspring with characteristics of the Maine Coon. Obviously biologically impossible, this myth, supported by thick tail and most common staining (a raccoon-like tabby Brown) could have led to the adoption of the name "Maine Coon". Another legend is that the cat was named captain of a ship called cat who was responsible for reaching the coasts of Maine Coon.

The truth is much more boring, in the 17th and 18th centuries, domestic cats brought to the new lands of Europe faced very severe winters in New England, only the strongest and most adaptable cats survived. Through natural selection (as opposed to selective breeding), Maine Coon became a large, robust cat with a waterproof coat, thick and sturdy Constitution.
Today, the breed has many more colors are recognized, including black, blue, cream, red, blue, turtle, turtle, white, smoke tabby, Brown tabby, cream tabby, red tabby, blue tabby and bicolour silver.

The Maine Coon is generally a social creature and gets with other cats, dogs and children. These cats have great personalities and are a race of big cat to family homes.

Due to its above-average intelligence, Maine Coons are known to be one of the breeds of cat easier to train. Maine Coons are known for their ability to trill its Mia, which sounds like a combination of a purr and Meow, and they tend to make this sound when happy or scared. They rarely eat alone, preferring to eat in the company of other cats or humans.
Maine Coons occasionally engage in mischievous behavior when bored, such as deliberately pushing things off tables and the tops of the refrigerators with their paws.

Terry King runs pets plot [http://www.pets2home.co.uk], a pet UK leader provides the web site of [http://www.pets2home.co.uk] and had pets all his life. He lives with his wife, Louise, dog Sam, Sabrina and cat 5 fish!