Thread: Stunted ear growth

WOW, they are sooooo cute! They they almost have a Scottish Fold look. Definately Maine Coons going by their muzzles.

Antonia, I didnt realise some MC's don't have lynx tips. I'm learning something new every day!

Strange-looking kitties. Haven’t got a clue what could have happened to their ears. Can’t imagine momma cat did that… at least not to the entire litter.

I found the seller’s cattery website and they don’t seem the type who’d try to pass off cross-breeds as pedigrees.
This may sound a little morbid, but maybe a small kid in the household took scissors to the kittens’ ears and the seller is reluctant to admit it…?

Originally Posted by Antonia

Strange-looking kitties. Haven’t got a clue what could have happened to their ears. Can’t imagine momma cat did that… at least not to the entire litter.

I found the seller’s cattery website and they don’t seem the type who’d try to pass off cross-breeds as pedigrees.
This may sound a little morbid, but maybe a small kid in the household took scissors to the kittens’ ears and the seller is reluctant to admit it…?

Lol sorry that made me giggle if a child done it i really dont think they would all be so uniform they would be haphazard lol
maybe momma cat licked em off or is there a gene that has done this and it has showed only in this litter i suppose we will never know there still adorable and i persume there hearing is fine,
is hoping someone might join with one of said kitties and we can see them grow

Originally Posted by Clairiscrazy

if a child done it i really dont think they would all be so uniform they would be haphazard lol

LOL, actually the reason why I thought of a kid with scissors is that to me it *does* look haphazard. Some kittens' ears are shorter than others', and it even looks like one ear is shorter than the other on some individual kitties. But that could be just the way the photos were taken of course (on another website I saw more pics of the litter than the two you posted).
I have been searching for genetic issues which could cause this but couldn't find anything.

Persians have small ears exactly like these babes. However if they are a cross surely it would be odd that all 5 have inherited a MC face with Persian ears, or would it? Then again, why not just say they are a cross in the first place (unless it was an accident and the breeder is embarrassed).

I can't find any genetic issues either. But, there is a few bits on the net about cats and dogs biting each others ears. But as Clair says, the ears are fairly uniform so i'm not sure this adds up! Also, once the biting started surely you would separate the kittens from the offending cat/dog before they all ended up like that??

It's a brainteaser!

I had to register when I saw this thread on google, trying to find an answer to why their ears are like that...

So, I went to visit the kittens from this advert on Sunday, hopefully I can explain what the breeder told me.
As the advert says their mother over-groomed them so their ears have become stunted, he removed the kittens from their mother once he realised this was happening. He also said that the mother of this litter tried to clean one of their bengal kittens ears, and ended up over grooming so it too also has a slight nick in it's ear - the mother was moved away again after they realised.

They have only maine coons and bengals in their house, and I have seen both the mother and father of this litter (as well as their many other maine coons!), all of which have normal ears - it is just these 5. They do have children in their house, but I think the youngest is around 14, and she was perfectly helpful throughout the visit - showing us the kittens, doing feeding and cleaning duties etc, So I don't think scissors are the issue. The housing facilities seemed to be great for the cats, plenty of food/litter trays/toys/cat trees on all three floors of their house.

Either way, they explained that because their ears are the way they are nobody would want to pay full price for them, when they could get one with "normal" ears, for the same amount - hence the reduced price. They are going to the vets for their vaccinations in a few weeks as well as an overall health check, he is also going to find out what the vet thinks about their ears - whether they'll grow back, whether they'll have health issues, and what the cause was. Should someone leave a deposit on the kitten and the vet deems it unhealthy, they said the deposit will be refunded.

The only other case I have heard of with over grooming is on Animal Park, with a giraffe called Gertie (think it's on BBC iPlayer), the mother groomed the ears too much, Gertie got septicemia and evenutally died despite their best efforts.

Hopefully that helps! They are really cute though! We have left a deposit for two of them, subject to a healthy Vet check, so will let you know what happens, and can also provide some more pictures

PS, sorry for the lengthy post!

Hi & welcome to you & you have answered clairiscrazy's wish,will look forward to updates & seeing what their ears look like as they grow....x

Kaasutii WELCOME thank you for your post will look forward to watching these lil guys grow they are just adorable, i two have litter mates ronnie n reggie there 15 weeks old now

glad you found this site lots of cute piccies to browse through and see what our kittens will grow into

do you know if the mother of the kittens has done this before to a previous litter of hers? Or be bred from again because she may do it again lol

me personaly if the cat was not for show then lil ears would not put me off buying (after a thourogh health check that is lol which is what iss being done with this litter)

let us know how you get on with them look forward to more piccies xxx

Originally Posted by Clairiscrazy

do you know if the mother of the kittens has done this before to a previous litter of hers? Or be bred from again because she may do it again lol

me personaly if the cat was not for show then lil ears would not put me off buying (after a thourogh health check that is lol which is what iss being done with this litter)

let us know how you get on with them look forward to more piccies xxx

Thank you for the welcomes :D

I'm pretty sure the mother has not done this to her litters before, if I remember correctly she's had two previous litters. I'm not sure if they plan to breed from her again, can't remember.
The ears are not an issue for me, I think they're adorable, if the vet says they'll grow back that's great, if not that's fine too - as long as they're healthy and not going to cause any problems it's fine by me. We've reserved two brothers, (see the pic below) they're adorable and soo playful, I'm really excited. Their father is absolutely huge though, as are his offspring from previous litters, so hopefully these two will eventually be his size!

I took some pictures from when we visited so I'll try upload them...


These are the ones we placed a deposit on, we plan to name them Franklin, or Frankie for short (the darker one, no white) and Bailey (the one with white chest and paws).

My mum is picking them up on the 7th (again, subject to a healthy vet check, which we also get the vet record card for), and I'll be seeing them on the 16th (University etc), so I will definitely post some more pictures then too, would be nice to see how their ears grow over time. Gives us time to start maine coon-proofing the house at least!

Since they come with their pedigree papers, and we have seen the papers for the parents, they must be full maine coons, regardless of the ear issue?

Sorry for the lengthy post again!