Calling all Maine coon owners.

[rupertpenryswife]

So, I have a beautiful 6 month old female Maine coon who meows a lot and is extremely loud, she is being spayed next week. My question is do you think she shouts a lot because she is in season? I had read that as Maine coons mature later than other breeds their season normally starts when they are 10 months plus.

At the moment she is an indoor cat and may well stay that way, she goes into the garden with us and I also walk her on harness, I was wondering if she wants to get out!! What are people's thoughts on house cats? I used to say never!! my vet recommends it. I am really torn. We have flat cats at the Windows but it's hard opening doors. We did lose her for 48 hours so am scared of that again.

[DumbledoresApprentice]

Mine has the most pathetically tiny meow. It’s hilarious as our neighbour’s moggy has the loudest meow I’ve ever heard. She yells through the window at our cat who is only able to make the most pathetic squeak back. She mostly makes weird trilling and pigeon-like cooing noises. I was told that’s quite common for the breed.
We got her as a 2.5 year old and she was already spayed so that might make a difference. She’s also indoor apart from lead walks in the garden btw. She’s perfectly happy that way. We live in a built up area with lots of other cats and she finds other cats stressful (I suspect it’s why she ended up in a rescue to start with) so we keep her in. She seems happy enough.

[ImAGoofyGoober]

Not quite a Maine Coon but I have a ragdoll who will yowl and yowl to be let out.
I was determined he would be an indoor cat but he’s actually happy pottering round the garden.
Do you think yours would be ok going out? Is he chipped?

Photos please!

[rupertpenryswife]

She does that cute trilling noise too, spay and chip next week, I feel I want to keep her In as she is so dozy and over friendly we had a few pedigrees stolen around here also so nervous.

[rupertpenryswife]

Am trying to add photos but won't post let me find her!!

[DumbledoresApprentice]

Ours is also very dozy and has no wariness of strangers at all which was something we took into account when deciding to keep her in.

[rupertpenryswife]

How do you cope day by day though making sure she is not around when you open the doors and keeping the Windows shut, I can cope but DH struggles and my father in law just lectured me about how cats are not to be kept indoors. Feels a bit difficult I just want to keep her safe I have always had outdoor cats but the vet told me indoor cats are perfectly happy and in his opinion make the friendliest cats.

[TigerDroveAgain]

We have two: male and female litter mates, who are now 10. They’re both vocal but our boy says “Brupp” mostly and our girl squeaks in a pathetic way. Both got the snip before 6 months. We live very rurally and they are mainly outdoor cats and won’t stay in overnight. The boy doesn’t wander but the girl does a lot. They’re marvellous cats, very gentle unless you’re a shrew, squirrel or pigeon

[fuzzywuzzy]

We had twin Maine Coon cross breeds, one boy is very homely and goes for a stroll in the garden then comes indoors and sits on the stairs (the number of times I’ve had near misses because he’s sitting in the middle of the staircase).

The other was crazy, he liked going off to hunt (came home with a bacon sandwich once, next doors dogs bone etc), he used to sit in the window and cackle cat obscenities at innocent passers by, he also enjoyed sitting inside our driveway and jumping out and hissing at passing dogs/cats. He was a menace!

Yours may want to be going out.

[TigerDroveAgain]

My mum has been indoor cat which is not friendly in the slightest

[fuzzywuzzy]

Two not twin

[Alwayscommuting]

I don't have a Maine coon (I really only came in case their were pictures) I have 2 indoor moggies both perfectly happy and the picture of health. The decision was made as they are so friendly and people aren't always nice to little animals.

[GetToFuck]

I took mine to the vet at about 6 months old because she made so much noise I thought she was in pain. Turns out she was just vocal, and she whinged like that until she died 16 years later. Even after being spayed. Her sister (same litter) was absolutely silent - sometimes you just get a noisy one!

[TigerDroveAgain]

Has an. I wouldn’t want to call my mum a has been. Not really.

[ImAGoofyGoober]

We have velux windows downstairs which is very helpful but I’m sure you can get a mesh for windows otherwise.

I let mine out to play in the garden at least once a day if I can and that seems to satisfy him. He’ll still bug me but tbh he’s a bit of a diva and likes to moan.

[ImAGoofyGoober]

She is gorgeous by the way! Stunning cat!

[PinglePongle]

re: keeping them indoors and stopping them escaping

You just need to be super strict with visitors and keep reminding them - also lock them away in a room with their litter and food when people are likely to be in an out all the time or you have workmen in.

We used to be a bit more relaxed about it until one of ours got out, then immediately hid in fear in next doors garden and it took us 3 days to find her again so I won't take any risks now

[Babdoc]

My DD’s Maine coon was annoyed at her locking the cat flap to keep her in at night, and during holidays (when a neighbour came in to feed her.)
DD came back from her last holiday to find the cat sitting smugly in the garden. She’d worked out that it was the control knob that locked the flap, so she’d carefully chewed around it until she had the knob detached, and dropped it on the floor!
This is the same cat that used to open the fridge door and help herself to chicken - until my DD fitted a childproof lock...!

[DumbledoresApprentice]

We don’t guard windows obsessively or anything. She is chipped, spayed and vaccinated so if she got out I wouldn’t panic too much. If she was really wanted to get out then she could at the minute as our top windows are all open. As I said she seems happy as an indoor cat and hasn’t ever made an attempt to go out of a window. We don’t tend to leave doors open for hours at a time but I don’t worry about leaving the door open whilst we bring shopping in, for example.
If we needed to guard the doors and windows then I’d see that a sign that she wasn’t happy with indoor life and would reconsider letting her out.
Once she’s spayed yours may lose interest in trying to get out and be a happy indoor dweller. If she continues to be determined to go out then you might want to consider letting her.

[rupertpenryswife]

Thank you so much, I agree she may want to go out, her parents were both indoor cats but, I may have to re think. The problem I have is we have already lost her once and today when we were in the garden she went over the fence and straight into next doors house, she is super friendly and it worries me.

[fuzzywuzzy]

Our crazy boy used to go into other people’s houses, the neighbour once found him happily asleep on her bed! Thereafter she always kept an eye out for him.

[DumbledoresApprentice]

For Alwayscommuting!

[rupertpenryswife]

dumble loving that beard how beautiful, I love my cats fluffy feet and massive tail they are such a loving intelligent breed, my cat loves playing In water and fetching toys.

[TigerDroveAgain]

Here’s my best boy in the world.

And DH

[DumbledoresApprentice]

Lovely cats!

[Weedsnseeds1]

A female cat in heat sounds like a murder victim. The noise is beyond anything you can imagine. They also roll around and act oddly.
Your cat is probably just gobby!