Maine Coon

[Baranj]

Hi everyone. I would really appreciate some honesty regarding cat ownership. Whilst I’m mainly interested in hearing from Maine Coon owners, I’d appreciate advice from any feline owners.

I have never owned a pet. My DD has been begging us for a cat for the past three years, and we’ve settled on the Maine Coon breed having read so many wonderful things about them, however, I suffer from major OCDs - I’m a total hygiene freak!

I have read that they are great at cleaning themselves, but being long-haired I understand they can suffer with the occasional messy bottom. (Q1) I would like to know how common this is; and does shaving the area reduce the chances of this happening?

I’m also concerned about spraying. We’ve decided on a male and we will have him neutered between 9-11 months as suggested by the breeder (although this is later than what some other breeders have suggested).

(Q2) Did your male Maine coon ever spray indoors; or ever decide to stop using the litter tray? Even though he will be neutered, I understand they may still spray - and that both males and females can do this.

We will allow our cat access to the garden and the breeder said this would be fine, as long as the garden is cat friendly. We also intend on taking him for walks on a harness.

Again, my main concern is the spraying and if this happened to anyone with a neutered male Maine Coon and, if so, how did you resolve it. We would hate to make a financial and emotional investment only to realise I’m out of my depth.

Thank you.

What about British shorthairs? Don’t know anything about them mind, other than that they have short hair and lovely faces 😂

Not MC but I've had 2 cats over the past 8 years and am a bit squeamish!
I would recommend the dr Beckmann carpet cleaner and also an enzyme pet urine spray (Amazon do a few) you might not need them but I found them really good

Mess wise - one of my cats was prone to being sick but you hear the noise and get quick at running to them and shoving paper towels under
One diarrhoea accident - he was mortified and upset so I was more worried about him
Litter - it tracks but I have a litter mat under the tray (big cat so I use an under bed tray as a litter box) and it's a quick 2 min hoover job
Cats are generally pretty clean

I wouldn't recommend this for you with OCD at all.

I have two - one long and one short hair. Every day there is something to deal with. Vomit/ furballs, pee around litter box, poos to be picked up, rats/birds brought to the back door, fur generally around the place. My cats are in and out door cats.

It's gross and I don't have OCD.

For your own sake please make sure you know what you are getting in to.

Just to add my cats are not maine coons but I think this is standard for cats and I wouldn't expect maine coons to be less work than this

They are definitely not as high maintenance as dogs. I've had both.

You're getting all the bad sides.

They crap about once a day unless changing food or they've eaten human food. Mine were litter tray trained almost immediately.

They are also very sociable, lovely to stroke, and generally adorable.

I've been told that they don't need much grooming. We also have a Norwegian forest cat and she has so much more fur than him and it's much, much denser she doesn't need grooming at all but does moult a lot but maybe it depends on the cat she does hack up a lot of fur balls so maybe if we groomed her more she wouldn't! This photo is her in the middle of summer, she get even fluffier in winter and we've never groomed her because she wouldn't let us!

@octavia64 awe your cats are beautiful

If you’ve never had a pet before, it’s quite a bold jump taking on a pedigree cat.
Have you not considered getting a moggy from the RSPCA? They’d be much less high maintenance and the RSPCA would be there to support you if needed?

Yes, it is a supplement. It comes in liquid or tablet form, you add it to food.

Cat food already contains taurine, which is enough for most cats, but male maine coons, being so large, need more than is the standard dose in cat food. Lack of taurine can cause cardiomyopathy.

I find males have much more attractive personalities than the females, our female is affectionate with us (in fact highly demanding) but awful with our other animals. Our males were the loveliest cats we have ever had. I miss them enormously, but can't bring myself to risk having another.

If I was going to get another cat I think I would get a Somali or an Abyssinian. Similar social personality but a bit smaller and less prone to health risk.

She's bigger than your baby!😀

Our Maine Coon wasn’t nuetered until he was well over a year old, but never sprayed. We were going to breed him but decided he was a bit small.
He is a real personality, much like our half-breed Maine Coon. Always with either my DH or me, loving a lap but heaven help you if you try to move him. He brings in live mice.
I would honestly start with a rescue moggie if you’ve not had a cat before, they shed summer and winter but otherwise generally less in-your-face. If you get an older one they are less likely to hunt.

Also he gets terrible mats underneath his legs, we get him professionally groomed twice a year, he won’t let us near his underneath with a brush.

Oh, yes, the mats. I used to have to shave one of our males he got so bad.

He was great at grooming kittens (he would find and adopt feral kittens!) but not so good on himself...

Our Maine Coon is 4. We neutered him as soon as the vet ok'd it, I think it was around 4 months, it wasn't long after we got him. He's never sprayed in the house. His backside got messy a few times as a kitten and we had to wipe it for him and then trim it. We also had to buy extra large litter trays because he started pooing over the edge of it instead of in the litter tray.

He got matted fur under his front armpits as a kitten. He's grown out of it now because his fur is thicker. We had to use a beard trimmer to cut them off which was funny because he was so relaxed about it.

My biggest warning is that he had to have a hip replacement at 2 years old. The vet said it can happen around that age with the bigger breeds and it's just luck of the draw rather than specific genetics. It's not that common but make sure you have the best insurance possible. We claimed around £8,000 in fees that year.

Oh I forgot the fur balls. Every once in a while he will throw up a long sausage shape of wet fur and bile.

I forgive him of everything because he's so affectionate and loving but that might be the final straw for you with OCD.

They do love attention and generally you would have someone at home all day (can be different people at different times) or another MC as they love attention and hate being alone. The chattiness is one thing I love, I love a cat that trills and chats all day, sometimes Floof does it at night too but generally it's in the day. Super sociable will trill as soon as any of us come back home and rush to anyone at the door. Loves nothing more than several peoples attention at once. Attention is mainly cuddles, games, food or wants you to compliment him. It's lovely but it can take a few hours a day and he will poke you with his big fluffy paw until he gets attention. From a breeder they come litter trained. There's the odd bit of litter comes out but no more than any other cat other than maybe proportional to size. Compared to our old moggie he's much friendlier, many more noises, much more fun, much more wanting attention. We would definitely get another MC. He is also more expensive for everything, in first place, insurance, food etc but he's worth it and more. Its a bit like an extra super cuddly toddler without the tantrums in terms of looking after them. Everyone who meets Floof falls in love and we often have men come round to work on house who fall in love and ask how they can get one. And when we had cleaners they tell him he's the best cat ever, he loves that and believes it. My husband is away this weekend and I am fine with looking after him but will be super careful he doesn't have different food, it's generally when food is changed items or he licks some creamy human food he's found somewhere he shouldn't have you get an issue. If you are very careful with that you are likely to have minimal issues.

I've got a Maine Coon and a Maine Coon Cross. They are both outdoor cats who prefer their own digging patch in the garden to indoor litter trays. The purebred does get matts which we tease out by hand or remove with a hand clipper. We groom twice a week with a comb grabber in the winter and daily when they are moulting. There's rarely any problems with diarrhea or hair balls.

They are gorgeous cats. I usually wake up with one on my feet and one snuggling my back. They are very vocal and people-orientated but no more work than a standard cat. They do eat more (buy in bulk) and they usually adopt one person as "their human" for total adoration and fusses.

@MrsSkylerWhite Can I ask if you’ve owned any of the breeds others have suggested? And why Jude was the best? What made him different from the others? I can’t get my daughter to see past Maine Coon. She’s got DH on the bandwagon now and they’re very stuck on this breed. Thanks

@TheABC I am happy to groom him. I have been told twice weekly too. The breeder said less chances of furballs if you groom them regularly? She also has cats that have never thrown up and one that does around 4 times a year. I’m glad you too haven’t had this problem either.

if you are getting a pet i think its the least keen person in the household who should have the most say, particularly as you are living with a pet for many years!!! I absolutely adore maine coons ,they are gorgeous floof balls indeed but they are a whole lot of cat hence why i suggested starting with a non-pedigree that might not be quite such a challenge...i dont have OCD but i personally hate litter trays and wouldn't want to have one in my home permanently. There are always breed characteristics but cats are individuals with their own personalities , you could have a pair and 1 be messy, prone to all the yucky stuff and the other be totally fastidious and clean. The good thing is that living with a cat may possibly help you adjust, they have far many good points than bad and theres nothing like having a cuddle with a main coon.

At the end of the day OP, although there are some breed characteristics all cats are different and you don’t really know what you’re going to get in terms of personality, gut sensitivity, spraying etc. It’s a bit of a gamble getting any pet.

I can see you’re looking for reassurance here but other’s experiences with their maine coons aren’t necessarily going to match yours because every cat is an individual.

Have you actually got OCD or are you just clean freak? Have you sought treatment for OCD? CBT is available for free on the NHS through the Talking Therapies services that are in every locality.

@Silkiebunny I WFH and homeschool my DD, so no shortage of attention. My DH also WFH three days per week so the cat will always be around people. Like you, cleaning the messy stuff isn’t a problem. I’m not squeamish. My mind goes into overdrive when body waste and elimination is concerned. I have to bleach and disinfect everything nearby. I also have problems with lingering smells, so cat pee would be an issue. I will look into the Apple flash you recommended. I heard of people resorting to ripping up carpets and ply as the smell was so intense. I couldn’t deal with that. Thankfully, I don’t have carpets. This is why I wanted to ask owners, like yourself, what it’s really like. You get only horror stories when you google anything.

I too like the idea of a chatty cat. I know this can be a put off for most people. I’m glad Floof loves the attention. His personality is why my DD is drawn to Maine Coons. I understand and have explained to DD that they all have different personalities, but generally the breed is considered gentle and social, which is why she wants one.

@JudyGemstone I’ve never had it diagnosed as I don’t think of it as a negative quality; until my DD asked for the cat. I am a clean freak, but it is a little obsessive. I am aware that not all cats will be the same, and we may end up with one that might not fit the bill. I wouldn’t want to give up on it, so I wanted real experiences and solutions to possible problems. Obviously, if I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t and would have to put my foot down. So far, it seems doable knowing that messy bottoms don’t happen often and neither does spraying.

@volunteersruz I love animals, but have never shared my home with one. My DD is very fixated on this breed. I do get a say on if we will get one or not, just not on the choice of breed! She has already made her mind up. It will be a family effort, so I won’t be doing it alone. I hate the idea of litter trays too, but I am prepared for occasional mishaps. I wanted to gauge how often these mishaps occur from the owners perspective. I am not unrealistic in expecting them to never happen. Just how often and how they would affect my routine and OCD.