Thread: What made you choose a Maine Coon?

I always had cats as a child but after going to uni I developed a bit of an allergy and so, although I've wanted a cat for years I've resisted. But every time I saw a cat belonging to one of my friends I felt a longing for a cat of my own. Eventually I decided that my allergy wasn't severe enough to outweigh the benefit of having a cat so I started looking for an adult cat to home. I found sylvie in a local free ad- he looked gorgeous so I did a bit of research on Maine coons. I read that they were dog-like, laid back, friendly etc etc... And also hypoallergenic. Now before anyone shouts 'nooo! Don't encourage allergy sufferers to buy a Maine coon', remember that I wanted a cat whether it was going to cause me to react or not. The possibility that sylvie was hypoallergenic was purely a bonus. Well he's a lovely little character and I certainly don't seem as allergic to him as other cats (he sometimes sleeps on my pillow!). Hopefully it lasts but I not, the anti histamine will have to come out! We're currently considering getting our second Maine coon- sylvie is definitely the most friendly cat I've ever owned.

Technically she chose me. I found her in a shelter. When I turned around to her cage, she was sitting there all pretty just staring at me and wouldn't look away.


I knew I had to have her.

Originally Posted by missdiane

We all know Maine Coons are the best breed ever, but what made you choose the breed?

I will post our story first to get it going.
6 years ago me and fiance at the time moved in together and both loved cats and decided to 'rescue' one, so we found a breed rescue place with every intention of taking in a persian

When we went to view our possible persian, as we walked into where the cages were the lady let out this huge black boy Maine Coon called George, he just followed us around chattering to us whilst we were looking at our persian, we nearly changed our mind and chose George, but he looked really happy and comfortable with life, the persian looked scared and in need of a lot of love, so we took the persian home, she was already named Purrdie and she is a gorgeous white Chinchilla
Think we always wanted a Maine Coon after that and decided (after Purrdie had a short spell of illness in the summer) that we would not want to be without another cat, so took the plunge and started searching for a silver tabby maine coon

No regrets!

An update, now on Maine Coon number 3, finally got a boy and we called him George, he's 8 months old and at the vets today having his nuts off, poor boy :(

The first Maine coon I ever saw wasn't even mine. I was around 9 years old. I went outside and saw one, a big male. He was beautiful, I was interested in them instantly. I remember I wanted so badly to pet him. I would bring him wet food every day.

We owned two sister cats (same father, different mothers) at the time, a female Tabby mix (Minun) and a Bombay with a single white spot on her chest (Angel). Minun ended up going into heat and she went outside and wouldn't come back home for a few days. I remember I went looking for her, and could hear her crying for a male, but I couldn't seem to find her. Finally she came home, and of course ended up being pregnant, and had a bunch of different looking kittens. Two of them looked just like that male Maine coon I saw, and we kept one of those two, and named her Blinx.

Minun, Angel and Blinx are all still with us. Blinx in particular is turning 14 years old August 15th.

Here she is:

What I love most about Maine Coons is their outstanding intelligence and exceptionally cute looks. (And technically I've never actually owned one yet, but I did grow up around them)