Maine Coon Personality

Maine Coon. Photo by Helmi Flick.

Intro 

You have to be realistic and sensible when discussing Maine Coon Personality or the personality of any cat breed. All domestic cats have similar personalities, whether they are mixed breed cats, feral cats or purebred cats. Wild cats including early generation wild cat hybrids have different personalities but even then the underlying desires and motivators are the same so most of the character is the same too. All humans have similar personalities, why should cats be different? In humans you get some fairly slight variations from country to country but the variations from individual person to individual person is greater, much greater. The same applies to cats and cat breeds.

Clowns? 

All that said, Maine Coon cats have noticeably nice personalities. People who keep Maine Coon cats say that they act like clowns. They may act more foolishly than other domestic cats but I doubt it. All domestic cats do things that are charming to us but seem a little silly sometimes. We find this amusing and it is a major reason why we like living with a domestic cat. 

Meow? 

A meow is not quite part of the Maine Coon Personality but a trait nonetheless. The Maine Coon has a distinctive voice, more a chirp than your standard meow. They are fairly quiet cats and the cats I have seen at cat shows (the best ones, perhaps) are very laid back, well behaved and quiet.

Smart? 

Some breeders say they are intelligent. Once again I think a bit of caution is required when talking about cat intelligence. To differentiate in intelligence from breed to breed seems almost impossible. Some cats are less active perhaps because they are more naturally anxious. This may give the impression that they are less intelligent. This applies to the Persian cat for instance. At the opposite end of the spectrum the Sphynx and the skinny cats (e.g. Oriental Shorthair) are more active and considered intelligent. I can confirm that the Sphynx cat acts intelligently and is active. Higher levels of activity can be seen in the wild cat hybrids too (e.g. Bengal cat). These cats may have brains that are perhaps used more (more stimulation) which makes them seem more intelligent. A survey found that the Maine Coon was mid range in intelligence for what it is worth

Water babies? 

Unlike many domestic cats the Maine Coon likes to play with water. This may be a throwback to the semi wild barn Maine Coon cats of the 19th Century, who know? Feral and wild cats will like water because it is a source of food and drink. While most domestic cats don't have the same need to depend on natural resources to survive. 

Laid back? 

The Maine Coon Cat Club says that this cat breed is affectionate and doesn't mind being loved by any member of the household. I think this a well balanced cat and quite laid back provided she/he is well socialized as part of the breeding process. 

Combo 

I think that the attraction to the Maine Coon (and this is a very popular cat - the second most popular currently based on the Pictures-of-cats.org popularity poll after the Siamese) is the combination of characteristics meaning the Maine Coon Personality plus the fantastic looks and that ever so touchable tail and fur. Maine Coon Personality to Maine Coon Cats

Maine Coon Cat Rescue

Introduction

Photo copyright Helmi Flick

I think we all realize that we owe it to the cats to start at a Maine Coon cat rescue center or organization if we are thinking about adopting a Maine Coon cat. It may take a little longer to find a cat that suits but the rewards are much higher. The underlying pleasure of rescuing and re-homing a cat, any cat, purebred or not has a very valuable and enduring benefit to the person, which adds immensely to the relationship with the cat. I should know as I have lived with a cat that I rescued about 15 years ago. She has been a wonderful companion.

I've made several posts about the Maine Coon cat on this website. They are about the Maine Coon cat's appearance, character and health. You'll also see some great pictures if you follow these links:

• The main page on Maine Coon cats with links to the other pages.
• A great slide show of the best pictures by the best photographer of the best cats - true....see for yourself.
• Maine Coon cat colors an overview on the coat colors and patterns allowed by the cat registries.
• Orange Maine Coon cats are great looking, see some here.
• Large Maine Coons - This breed is the biggest in the CFA register but there are probably some exaggerated claims going on. See some large Maine Coons here but they are not giants. This cat is more long and flexible than pure bulk.
• Maine Coon health issues are always important. Most people consider them important to very important when selecting a cat breed and some cat breeds are healthier than others.
• MC cat facts - an overview of this famous cat breed with links.

Based on a popularity poll of a large number of votes the Maine Coon cat is the 2nd most popular cat breed at the date of this posting.....

Maine Coon cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick

And now down to Maine Coon Cat Rescue:

You will find and see Maine Coon cats in your search for rescue cat. Lots of them will not be purebred or have a pedigree. They will be mixed breed cats with some Maine Coon. If you don't mind this, it's great as the cat doesn't mind either. In fact the cat doesn't know whether he or she is purebred, it is completely irrelevant to a cat and adopting a cat is always about what is best for the cat.

Another point. There are fewer rescue operations than breeders. It is easier to find a purebred Maine Coon than a rescued one. And rescued ones could be mixed breed. The reason is money. Breeders are essentially in it to make money. Rescue is run by volunteers. If there was more money in rescue there would be less rescue cats.

Purebred Cat Rescue
However, if you do really want to keep a purebred Maine Coon, I have a fairly comprehensive page on the website that lists a lot of ways to find one from specialist purebred cat rescue centers, to non-purebred organizations and Yahoo Groups of which there are a considerable number. Click on the sub-heading link above to go to this information.

Here are some Maine Coon cat rescue organizations by country. A lot of the organizations do not ship (for the sake of the cat) so location of the cats and distance is all important. The location of the Maine Coon cat rescue organizations is not always relevant as it doesn't tell you where the cats are unless they have a proper shelter facility:

-UK-

The Maine Coon Cat Club has a re-homing section. I don't know how current the page is and there are only 2 cats available at the time of this post but this is a nice and valuable service. They say where the cats currently are.

-USA-

Texas Maine Coon Rescue and Friends
I have a personal interest in this rescue center as some of the proceeds of revenue from this website goes towards a monthly payment to this shelter. Click on the link to see where the money goes. See also donations to Texas Maine Coon Rescue. Here is a picture of me and Christie at her place of work with one of the rescue cats. He is not a Maine Coon cat as this rescue group handle all breeds including Maine Coons.



Photo above: Christie Montgomery on the left who runs Texas Maine Coon Cat Rescue with me on the right with Meeney a lovely boy cat. He is not a Maine Coon just a great and lively cat. He was in the cage to the left for customers to the shop to see. The boarding cattery attached to the shop where Christie works also boards some of the rescue cats. Other rescue cats stay with foster people.

United Maine Coon Cat Rescue League
I really don't know how current this operation is as "recent placements" are dated August 2006! The website when visited at the date of this post has faults so I am not sure about this rescue operation. I am not sure where they are located. This really should be clear from the beginning.

Maine Coon Rescue
This seems to be the premier Maine Coon cat rescue in the USA. They work with Petfinder to publish available cats and have a Yahoo group. I'd certainly recommend joining their Yahoo Group. They are located in Franklin, Kentucky.

Maine Coon Rescue Alliance
This group of volunteers seem to be active recently, which is a good sign. The website indicates activity in re-homing cats in June 2008. As expected and mentioned above the cats in their charge are Maine Coon mixed breed cats, so not purebreds. They are needy and lovely cats all the same. This group is located in Austin, Texas although that doesn't mean much sometimes as many rescue centers/groups are simply making arrangements from a base and the cats are located elsewhere in various places. The catchment areas though will be Texas.

Arizona Maine Coon Cat Rescue
Once again I have difficulty in working out how current things are on this website. Located Scottsdale, Arizona. So I guess the catchment area in Arizona.

Maine Coon Adoptions - Cat Rescue Northern California
Adopt a Maine Coon Cat. This rescue center produces videos of their rescue cats needing rehoming. Here is one of their cats for adoption at 24-2-09:

Maine Coon kitten -the cats photographed by Helmi are show cats. This cat probably isn't but I love the expression, very Maine Coon and so much a cat. Photo copyright Vironevaeh

Yahoo Groups

Yahoo Groups are a network of people working in the field of cat rescue (in this case for the Maine Coon) and those people looking to adopt. In fact, anyone interested for whatever reason in Maine Coon cat rescue. You'll need to join with the administrator's permission but this is usually a formality (but not always).

Some of these groups may be part of the organizations listed above but I don't think they are. One last point, I have selected these. A number of groups have memberships that are too small to be useful, which I have rejected. These have substantial memberships and activity as a result.

Maine Coon Alliance Rescue Network
This group seems active; 22 new messages in the last 7 days. This group will also educate people (if they feel they need it). You can learn a lot from the best Yahoo Groups. I don't know how good they are but activity levels are important obviously.

MCATS: The PEDIGREED MAINE COON CAT
This is not a Maine Coon cat rescue group but a network of people who want to exchange information about pedigree Maine Coon cats. You might therefore get some ideas about adoption. Nice and active with 48 messages in 7 days.

Maine Coon cat rescue to Maine Coon Cats

Savannah cats

Savannah cat - photograph copyright Helmi Flick

Savannah cats are fantastic looking cats but some people are not so sure about them. We know how well controlled the borders are in Australia (for humans that is).

Well, the same rules are in place for animals too. Some people in Australia think they have a feral cat problem. Feral cats in Australia kill native species such as snakes and lizards apparently.

The fear seems to be that if Savannah cats are imported or bred in Australia, this fine looking domestic cat breed, may turn into a nationwide pest. It is hard to see this cat being a pest. The concerns come from environmentalists.

The argument goes that if an ordinary sized feral domestic cat can harm native species then a large domestic cat like the Savannah (in fact the largest domestic cat breed in respect of the earlier generation such as the F2 - second generation from the wild) will potentially cause even more damage if the cat becomes feral. It would, though, seem highly unlikely that this cat would become feral due to the rarity of this cat breed and expense. They are expensive cats. Although this breed is relatively large compared to other domestic cats, they are relatively small compared to other animals including humans.

Anyway there are real fears and there appears to be a growing concern. I would have thought that the sensible solution would be careful control and management which should be the case with all domestic cats. In fact it is this that is being put forward as the best way forward by the importers Savannah Cats Australia. Another point is that they are importing and breeding (it seems to me from what I have read) F5 Savannahs, which are obviously far more like a domestic cat in character (98% domestic cat Kathrin Stucki of A1 Savannahs says) than for example F2 Savannahs. In the USA some people like to keep F2 wild cat hyrids. It would seem that the concerns some people have in Australia are in relation to the F2 Savannahs. This would seem to be misguided.

Savannah Cats Australia are working with the founding cattery, A1 Savannahs, which is located in the USA.

As usual it is a balance between human rights at a fundamental level (freedom of choice) and animal rights, including the rights of wild animals.

Burmilla Breeders

Burmilla cat - photo copyright perlmonger. Published under a creative commons license which allows for the cropping that has taken place. Thanks for license.

I've wouldn't be doing this mini-website justice without listing some selected Burmilla Breeders. Here are some websites that I like. I can only filter breeders from their websites. Thereafter it is a matter of visiting, which is pretty much a must do (note sometimes people remove web pages and websites so although these are live links as at the date of the post they may no remain that way):


GEMS's and Araboth Burmillas and Asians
This is a well established cattery (about 9 years or more it seems) based in Polegate . This is on the south coast of England, a nice part of the country.

Burmilla Cat Club
This is a UK cat club with a fine list of Burmilla breeders in the UK. The link takes you straight to the breeders page.

Miamber Burmilla and Burmese
Located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A well established small hobby cattery - probably the best kind of cattery as profit is not usually the prime concern.

Aaralyn Cattery
Located in Wollstonecraft, New South Wales, Australia.

Note: I had difficulty, as you might realize, in finding many Burmilla Breeders. This is a relatively rare cat - ranked 9 out of 10 on my analysis of the rare cat breeds. I could not find a USA breeder. And I looked on the internet for a good 30 mins. The breeders mentioned were the easiest to find and the UK is possibly the place for Burmillas judging by the number of breeders there. I am sure that there are US breeders but they don't jump out at you on a Google search - sorry.


Burmilla Breeders to Burmese cat

The history of the domestic cat

Photo copyright polandeze - Abyssinian cat see below

The history of the domestic cat includes, this time, a brief look at the second national cat show in England at the fine Crystal Palace. It took place in early December 1871.

There were 349 entries. The competition was divided into 4 divisions: Short-haired cats, long-haired cats, "cats of no sex" and "working men's cats". A highly interesting and unusual classification by today's standards. "Cats of no sex" must mean altered cats (spayed and neutered) which implies that the other cats were not altered. This would equate with the neuter class at cat shows today, it seems.


Divisions

The idea behind the 4th division was "to encourage the kind treatment of domestic cats". In 1871 cat fanciers were feeding their show cats the same kind of luxury food as now despite cats of that era being much more of a useful working animal catching mice and rodents for their keepers. One person fed 2 "smelts" (a small fish) "exquisitely" fried in breadcrumbs and a roast chicken leg.


Male Tortoiseshell

The number 1 cat of the show was a male tortoiseshell cat. He was described as the first and last of his kind. In other words an extremely rare cat. They are rare because of the manner in which the genetics work and are inherited. For a tortoiseshell cat to be male there has to be a genetic aberration or a foetal abnormality. They are still very rare as only females should be tortoiseshell but their rarity does not make them valuable.

The male tortoiseshell cat mentioned above took a prize of £1 and 10 shillings (£1-50) at the 1871 value. An interesting thing the author said was this.


Wild cat Hybrids

He referred to "hybrid wild cats" from that were in cages next to tabbies and which came from a Zoo (perhaps Regents Park zoo if it had been built by then). Are these domestic cat/wild cat hybrids or wild cat to wild cat hybrids? I would have thought the former and if so the first wild cat hybrids were not the Bengal cats of Jean Mill or the scientist experimenting on the Asian Leopard cat from whom she acquired her first hybrid but these perhaps.

Indeed in the Crystal Palace Show of 1873 the organizers made sure every possible type of domestic cat breed was represented including a new class being for any hybrid between domestic cat and wild cat. There were no entries that year but clearly they were well know enough for the organizer to make up a class for them in the competition. This predates the Bengal cat by almost exactly 100 years.

Abyssinian cat

The author usually described cats by their coat type. He does, though, mention an Abyssinian cat, called "Zeyla". The author says that an officer of the 102nd Fusiliers took the cat (but didn't say from where - presumed Abyssinia - to India and then to England. The author also said that this cat (described as a tabby cat) would drink from a cup with her paw a lot of the time.

This supports the stories of The history of the domestic cat in relation to the Abyssinian cat.