Thread: What made you choose a Maine Coon?

After the death of my best mate of 16 years, Skimbles the Persian, I said I would never have another cat as loosing them was too painful.
Four months later I happened to be working nearby to a rescue cattery and decided to go for a look. As I was being shown around by the owner (who was extremely sympathetic to my loss of "Skimmy") we were being followed around by their residential "guard cat" "Billy" the 25 lb Maine Coon. I had never heard or seen one before and was absolutely taken with his manner, vocal dexterity,stuuning looks and general beautiful character. I wanted one!

After some research I found this fella and put down a deposit with the breeder. As soon as I saw him I knew his name ... Samuel Jackson. (my late fater in Law)





This is now "Sammy".


He could never replace Skimmy but, without a doubt, he is the most entertaining, intelligent, faithful, amusing "numpty" I have ever had to pleasure to befriend. (I cant say own cos he owns me)
He sits on my desk (most of it) every morning whilst I prepare the days work and sytematically knocks things off onto the floor and looks down as if to ask,"How did that happen?"
He's here now looking over my shoulder as I type!

Originally Posted by LeylanTiger

He could never replace Skimmy but, without a doubt, he is the most entertaining, intelligent, faithful, amusing "numpty" I have ever had to pleasure to befriend. (I cant say own cos he owns me)

Our cats will never be replaced! They have allways a place in our hearts but it is good that you found this cute boy!!

So many lovely stories!

When I was very young, 8 or 9, my dad bought me a subscription to CAT magazine. We had always had moggies and i adored all cats. In one magazine there was a story, fictional probably but the cat in the story was a Maine Coon. There was a little 'Fact file' on the breed aswel and it really struck a chord with me, I was fascinated and didnt quite believe it was a real cat! I kept that same one magazine for years, occasionally reading back over the story and gazing at the pictures. (that sounds so cheesy but it's true!)

Fast forward to 2001, we have the internet and it suddenly dawns on me to search Maine coons. I spent hours trawling through pictures and breeders websites, and decided immediately that i HAD to have one. NOW. I happened upon a breeder just 10 minutes up the road from us, and began working on my mum to agree to take me to view a litter. We chose the little brown tabby fella who was tearing about pouncing on all his siblings, he had a wonky white streak right up his nose and looked absolutely devilish! I named him Dude and he was my baby. He was a real chatterbox and loved water! Unfortunately he was only with me for 3 years, he became ill and passed away from HCM in the most gruelling, heartbreaking manner. The breeder claimed it was the first she'd ever heard of in any of her litters. (PAH!!) Traumatised, I thought id never dare have another MC, but ive never really stopped thinking about it.

In January this year my poor moggie was poisoned with Anti-freeze and I realised I could never have another outdoor cat. Cue google... reputable breeders who test for HCM and hey presto.... I am on the final countdown to getting my second gorgeous MC boy

Oh, though, NO REGRETS!

We lost our beloved moggie Charlie to old age in March (he was 16 and basically had just worn out). We were so sad that for weeks any mention of cats was too much for any of us. Our vet was wonderful and told me that Charlie would be impossible to replace, he was that sort of a cat, but maybe we could find room in our home for a different cat?
We all wanted something as far away from Charlie in appearance as possible. He was short-haierd, jet black with white spats and bow tie, very vocal all the time with a deep yowl and the whole universe ran around his ideas or beware! After a lot of looking on the web, in cat books and talking to owners and breeders we settled on a grey tabby MC as being about as far from a "replacement" as was possible, rather a completely fresh start with a new personality.

Weasel, I too feel the same way. My kitties cannot look like any of the others that owned me. My 1st moggie was a cream with hints of peach tabby stripes. My 2nd moggie (son of my 1st cat) was an orange tabby. My 3rd cat was a half-MC with a smoked blue coat. Now we have a classic silver tabby with white. Luckily, there are many more MC colors out there as I have retired these colors. Oh yes, my next cat will be another MC. You just can't have one...

Since I was a child, I have been a cat-lover.

When I moved together with my partner, we knew that we would like to have a cat.
Firstly, we adopted Puma and Lauda, the two domestic cats. But since they were already grown-up, we decided to get a baby-cat.
So we got a Maine-Coon/Norwegian Wood Cat-Mix from a friend of mine. His name was Fussl.
We live at the country on the edge of a village, there are lots of meadows and almost no traffic. Therefore, we allowed Fussl to go out. But unforutnately he was run down by a car, when he was a bit more than one year old.
We were very very sad, because we loved this furry little thing so much.
A bit later, we decided to get a Maine Coon.
Almost a year later, we got Nika, our first Coonie. One year later we got Diego, the second one.

We love this cat breed, because they are so lovely and they have such a great character. One has a lot to laugh with a coonie. Sometimes they are clowns, thieves or divas. They are friendly and well-tempered. And they are chatting and cooing very often. I also like their intelligence.

Need I say more?

Hi everyone. I am new here. Now I hope I don't give the impression by the end of my story that I am stupid.

I have always loved cats and rescue them frequently. I live in the country in an old farmhouse and have cats and kittens abandoned frequently at our place. About 10 years ago, I was in the garden picking strawberries when a longish, tabby-colored kitten came up alongside me and batted at my hand. At the same time, I heard a noise from the direction of the shed where we keep our firewood. It was an identical-looking kitten. They were just gorgeous. The kitten in the woodshed was a bit more timid than the one who came to play in the garden. I already had 4 kittens in the house and several more as outside kitties. I took these two kittens to the vet, and they went ooh and aww because they were so cute. Kept saying how perfectly their ears were tipped and look at those big paws. A lady where my husband worked was looking for a kitten for her daughter, and I gave her the kitten who wanted to play in the garden, as he was a bit more friendly than the woodshed kitten.

I named the woodshed kitten Bugs because he was always chasing bugs, and he was as cute as a bug. He grew and became a big, very handsome cat. Now, I never knew there was such a breed as a Maine Coon. I always knew that Bugs was different than my other cats. He looked different and acted different, always following me around, playing fetch. He sounded different. It wasn't until this year when Bugs was 10 years old that I figured out that he was a Maine Coon. I was reading about cats and the physical characteristics and personality of Maine Coons and knew that was what Bugs was. Everything about him is Maine Coon. I took him for his yearly physical a few weeks ago. The vet said, "I know." "We have him listed as a Maine Coon." "Look at his ears, his huge hairy paws, that furry belly and tail." They never told me this when Bugs was a kitten. So, dummy me didn't know my cat was a Maine Coon for 10 years. What I would love to know is why anyone would abandon 2 Maine Coon kittens at my country farmhouse? Lucky for me they did though.

A feral cat had a litter behind my grandparent's house when I was six years old, and we took in the runt of the litter. She was a wonderful friend for 18 years, a tough, street-wise calico with half a tail, and I still miss her terribly. When the time came to get another furry friend, I looked up the shelters and free ads to find a moggie. My hopes were raised and shattered again and again (no, the cat's taken already/ you live too far away and cats can't ride two hours in a car/ even if you want an indoor cat, if you live on a main road we won't give you one). My cat broodiness was getting out of hand, so I figured the only way I'd get a cat is to get one from a breeder.

I was taken by the Bengals, and went to view a couple. I find it funny that quite a few posters looked at Bengals before settling on Maine Coons, because they seem to be such different cats now. I suppose they both are known for having "dog-like" qualities, and a wild look, but I found the MC temperament to be much nicer. I got deeply scratched by the first Bengal I ever saw (a year on, I still have a scar from the encounter). One I saw after that stared at the wall for about five uninterrupted minutes, and wouldn't let you touch him. After that I looked again at the various breeds. I never wanted a long haired cat because my first was short haired and I liked the feel, but after doing research, I decided that I'd check out coonies. I wanted a cat that would be a good companion, that would sleep on my lap and be cuddly, and from what I saw, figured they might fit the bill.

My husband and I visited a MC breeder who was a convenient 20 minutes away. All of the gorgeous cats were absolutely lovely in every way. They head-butted us to get petted, purred loudly, were playful and alert. We put our deposit down for one of the kittens that same day. He's now 14 months, and is a true delight. He follows me into whatever room I'm in, and loves being involved in what I'm doing, from making the bed to making dinner and everything in between. He doesn't always jump in my lap, but if he's sleeping, I just need to pick him up and plop him there and he's as happy as a clam. And I love taking care of his beautiful coat!