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Maine Coon Kitten?
I've been looking for a Maine Coon kitten and my co-worker sent me this photo last night from a petstore of a potential Maine Coon. I find that incredulous considering how much kittens cost that anyone would lose a kitten and not be freaking out. At any rate, I immediately drove to the store and took a gander and I'm still not convinced. I called her foster mom and we spoke and she said some ice cream truck driver just found the kitten wandering the streets downtown. She was malnourished and full of worms, but after some TLC and meds she's much better now. She's a fan of Maine Coons and believes she is one, but doesn't know for certain. Can anyone give me their opinion please? She's about 3-4 months old they're guessing. If she is indeed Maine Coon I need to know ASAP, because there's an application process and I have a feeling she will be snatched up rather quickly. She's a sweet kitten with a lot of energy from what I saw. Thank you in advance!!
http://i44.tinypic.com/2ykf4vn.jpg
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Poor little baby, who would let this beauty wander the streets? This is a beautiful kitten, definitely looks like a Maine Coon or mix of MC. I would not hesitate, I would bring that kitty home with me! Wow great big ears!
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I know! I went ahead and filled out the application. We'll see what they say. She has the big ears and appears to have the classic "M". From what I could see she has the bushy tail and big feet. Its just hard to tell at her age. But I really, really want a giant, furry standard Maine Coon. And with unknowns and mixes I can't be guaranteed to get the standard MC personality or the size. She's beautiful all the same.
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Thing is, unless you get an adult you can never be completely sure what you're getting. Being able to see the parents gives you an idea to their likely size, but even then I wouldn't say it's a definite thing.
There are a lot of gorgeous long haired cats. The purebred MC's I've seen have a little point of hair at the tip of their ears and tufts of fur between their toes. Ultimately, IMO it really comes down to how the two of you get on. Hope things work out for you! :)
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I think she is - the ears - the collar - the size, for 3 months - and more specifically that posture and expression that I've only seen on MC's - yup for me it's 98% sure. Can't really see the tail, is it longer than average? tufts under the legs? (if no, then I keep my 98%, if yes then I go up to 99.9% sure)
let us know how you get on!
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Alekto has hit the main pointers,size & tail, a lot of tabby cats carry the M on the forehead so it isn't just MC's..... if she weighs in heavier than would be expected of a domestic kitten then that is a very good pointer even though she has had a bad start the telling signs should be there,bushy tail is not such a good indicator as again domestic fluffy cats have those too but if the tail is longer than a normal domestic cat that also points to being a MC or a cross....... ears being so large in comparison to head is a MC trait..... whatever she looks stunning will look forward to hearing more about her wether she is MC,part MC or domestic.....another trait of MC's is the chirruping they do as well as purring so will be good to hear her voice.....xxxx
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My application was approved and I was told she is still available. I'm just waiting on the foster mom to contact me so I can meet her at the store to actually hold her and check her out. Hopefully, I'll be bringing her home! And I agree, size/age comparison will be difficult given no one knows her exact age and she had a poor start in the growth department being malnourished and whatnot. My feral rescue (and love of my life lol) is now a big boy at 2-yrs of age, but was a relatively normal sized kitten. His father is abnormally large, so I predict that has something to do with it. She did have a long, bushy tail, but I have seen those before. While I was there; however, I did not hear her chirp although she was purring like crazy. She was climbing the cage grate and trying to play most of the time. You could tell she has a lot of energy. She's actually going to be a companion to my feral rescue I hope. And me of course. I rescued another kitten in September and while I fostered him it got me thinking that my boy needs a friend to play with. I would have kept that kitten also as he had an exceptional temperament, but at the time I didn't want a 3rd cat. Ever since then I haven't been able to shake the feeling that now's the time to get another given that my male is still rambunctious and still able to bond with another cat. He needs a playmate and I have always wanted a Maine Coon. So this almost seems perfect. I'll keep you all posted! And thank you for the input and kindness!
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Love it! she is so pretty, and really does have that Clever-Pirate look on her! PLEASE do post more news about her and how she gets on with that Feral-Love-of-your-Life ;-) Pictures very welcome ;-)
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oh she's so pretty! and the love of your life too, they look like each other!
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Well thank you! And yes, they do look a LOT alike lol. If I ever got a Maine Coon I was hoping for a solid or a silver tabby, but I couldn't beat $85 in an adoption fee for this cutie. Still think she's Maine Coon?
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In addition to the above...I will say if she is, she's small then. Her vet paperwork says she's 18 weeks and only 4 lbs, 4 oz. My feral, non Maine Coon, short-haired male weighed 5 lbs, 10 oz at just 17 weeks. I would expect her to weigh that much by now. I notice she doesn't eat much either. Thoughts anyone?
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Jphantom00, Wow that is such a beautiful kitten and I dare say you keep a very immaculate bathroom! I have Ginger potty trained, yes she poos in the loo, so we have walnut litter in the last ring (litterkwitter see post for more info) and she kicks the stuff all over the room, its in the sink, its in the tub its, on the floors. You will be so happy when they are getting along together!
Gotta run Monster is on trash patrol she just dumped the trash in the office! hhhhhmmm I think she is stealing my cc info for more cat toys ;)
Attachment 7317
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I couldn't really tell, JPhanton, could you try to take a picture that shows clearly the length of her tail? her ears sure are huge and I think that's a good indicator - but one thing that I found striking when we got Neevie is that her tail looked really really long. Also, have a look under her paws, see if she has tufts of fur between the pads, that's also usual for MCs.
if she has been a bit malnourished, I would say she might not grow big - she might remain a mini-coon. ;-) I had one of those, they're great too - you get the cuddles, but you don't get squashed in the process, win-win.... ;-)
Attachment 7318
that's for an idea of the proportion of the tail - it looked even longer when she was little, she's grown into it since..... (she's watching birds on TV... apparently one of the most interesting programs on, these days ;-))
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Donnad-thank you! I'm a tad OCD, so I am constantly walking behind them with my little handheld vacuuming up cat litter and whatnot lol. Its a fulltime job it seems to keep up after all these critters. That's amazing that you have your cat toilet trained! Does she flush too?
Alekyo-here are more pictures of her tail and feet.
http://i44.tinypic.com/2hcdz5i.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/2cfv69z.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/5k0xhj.jpg
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I love how in the second photo your other cat appears to be sneaking up on her! That is so funny! Yes she has such a long tail. It is hard to see her snow shoes with her fur being so dark. Gingers fur stick out between her toes.
Attachment 7319Ginger has large feet with thick fur between her toes.
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Lol yes they've been playing all evening. The photos showing the hair between her toes were in the previous set of photos I posted. She has tuffs of hair there too. Ginger is a doll btw :-)
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Jphanton00, awww thanks! We like her most of the time ;) I am glad to hear your furries are getting along so well! They are so cute when they play with each other. I am seriously thinking of getting another MC. Ginger needs a cat pal to cuddle with. Being a only cat can be tuff in a 2 dog household. I think if we had just one dog, she would have someone to cuddle with beside me and the OH. She has taken to him since he is home from work recovering from hip surgery.
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ah sorry - I responded to this thread Jphanton, but I think I must have forgottent to press "post"
large ears, intelligent eyes, a little bit of tuft between the toes but not a lot, and in one picture the tail looks really long, in the other it looks really short so hard to tell. So, because I can't tell about the tail, and because it looks so far like there is only a bit of turft between the toes, I'm going to say "mixed" now. :-) but she has the SAME expression as Neevie - I don't know how to explain it, it's more MC, less cat...
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Donnad-I wish your husband a speedy recovery! Whomever said that cats are independent didn't know what they were talking about lol. They are extremely social and its been my experience that they need a friend and by friend I mean an appropriate friend like another cat of similar age and size. For years I had a dog and a cat and while they were companions, they couldn't play together. And Sebastian and my little dog, Bailey, played for a while until Sebastian outgrew him. Sebastian would start getting rough and scare Bailey and he'd growl and then scare Sebastian. So they no longer play. And my older cat, Angel, won't play with any of them so its like having 3 only children. That's why I got this kitten, Mishka. Granted she's a little more playful than Sebastian is, but they've been playing and I think it will be a great relationship.
Alekto-Mishka has tuffs between her toes and on her pads. When I pull this thread up on my computer, the pics show the hair quite nicely; however, when I pull the thread up on my phone its difficult to see because her feet are so dark. Her tail is very long too. She curls it up when she walks sometimes its so long. And when she crouches and starts to run it flows behind her. Its really quite pretty. The only MC trait she's missing its the point of hair at the tip of her eyes although if I look in the light I do see hair there, but thin and light. I almost wish they hadn't spayed her, because I would pay to do the genetic testing to see if she was pure MC. I'm convinced she is, but at this point does it really matter? I mean she's spayed so it would be for the sake of knowledge and nothing more.
I appreciate all the input and advice and kind words! You guys are great! I'm on a fish forum and the people on there aren't near as nice as you guys are.
P.S. Do MC's lay weird? I ask because I've noticed Mishka laying on her belly with her legs spread and I've never seen a cat do that before.
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exactly - at this point she's a lovely baby, if she is MC it's just something you can say when you explain how lovely she is ;-) I'm quite proud to be able to say "yeah, she's beautiful, and she's naughty, and she's all that, and she's a maine coon don't you know...." heehee
hehe mine doesn't lay like this - but my mum's cat (not MC) used to, when it was hot especially, seems to be more cooling to the underbelly.... :-)
Neevie, when she lays down, more or less throws her backside on the floor first. All the cats I've known in the past would be very careful to be quiet, slow, try to make as less noise as possible.... this one looks like she's say "well, since you're not taking care of me, I'll just lay there then! boom! teach ya a lesson, human slave!" - Not sure if that's a MC thing either, or a Pirate thing...
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Wonderful pictures - they are both gorgeous! :nod:
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Alekto, Ginger does the same thing it is like instead of laying down, she throws herself down. Very funny, she walks over and just falls sideways :)
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Jphantom00, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Maine Coons have webbed feet. At least mine do and all the ones that I've had the pleasure of meeting. Also, the big round eyes is another trait. BTW, our male Maine Coon was only 2 lbs at 9 weeks. He is now a very lean 18 lbs at 3 yo. Maine Coons don't reach their full size until they are between 3 and 5 years old.
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Thank you Puzzles! Yes, she has webbed feet as best as I can tell anyway. They're so furry that I can't see, but had to feel for the skin between the toes. I also read that they can have fur that gets oily which I notice she has around her neck and chest. I'll be curious to see if she keeps this downy coat into adulthood; I read they have that too.
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for Neevie, the oily part is more on the back - the downy coat is still there on her tummy and between her toes! ;-)
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So here are the most recent pictures of Mishka...she's not 14 months old and weighing 10 lbs.
http://i60.tinypic.com/29nezid.jpg
http://i58.tinypic.com/14te84.jpg
http://i60.tinypic.com/2qnw5di.jpg
I still think she's Maine Coon, thoughts anyone?
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Hmmm.... not sure tail is long enough and coat looks quite short... I wouldn't say definitely no though. She's gorgeous, anyway!
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I am no expert but... Question, does it matter? Because your cat seems gorgeous and lovely anyway!! :)
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Hiya - jury's still out I'm afraid lol but I think I'd say she's a mix. I'm only going on what my too look like, but they both have huge bushy tails and their coats look longer. Does Mishka have the tufts of hair on the tops of her ears? Anyway, I've attached two pictures so you can see what I mean about the tails & ear tufts - not trying to be awkward, just trying to help! Beau (the tabby) is male and Dixie (the tortie) is a my girl, they're both just 1. You're never going to get a definitive answer so just enjoy her - I love all cats and she's beautiful regardless!
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Thanks guys! :-) she is beautiful regardless, but this just gives me an excuse to show her off hehe. Did you seethe video I posted?
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PandK your cats are beautiful!!!
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