Tell me about Maine coons

[ocelot41]

Hiya, we are thinking about getting a pair of cats and would like ones which are kid-friendly and fun to play with for our only DS. I work from home 3 days a week so they wouldn't be left alone all day every day whilst we worked. Other than MCs getting big and needing regular grooming, what are they like to live with? How do they cope with a cattery when owners on holiday? Any experience on the whole inside/outside debate?

Both our Maine Coons were huge, chatty and would fetch balls of paper thrown for them. One of them had fur that had a very woolly undercoat which needed a lot of grooming. The other only really needed grooming when he moulted. They had very different personalities with one very people friendly one and the other quite standoffish. Ours coped with the cattery as they went in a chalet/pen together and had company. We kept them in at night but they roamed through the cat flap during the day.

One of our Maine Coons was very child friendly and a wonderful companion but the other one walked his own path and with the size of his paws I wouldn't have trusted him with any child under ten as he would only play on his terms.

Neither were long lived. I've had moggies live to 17 but my Coons both died around 10 years. They are expensive to buy and you need to get them from members of the recognised breed society as they are now so popular that many of the kittens I've seen advertised as Maine Coons online from hobby breeders clearly are not.

Thanks greenheart. Did you get yours from the same litter?

I have two 6 month old Maine Coons, following the death of my beloved Morpheus last summer.. who was a magnificent 22 pound giant. He was THE most loving, soppy cat I have ever encountered ..and I have had cats all my 47 years. He slept with his paws round my neck. If the children were ill he refused to leave their side, and he was just gorgeous.

My babies are still developing their personalities. Ophelia is dainty and quite timid but gives the bes tummy rolls and is a lap snuggler. Oberon is going to be BIG and he likes to slump down next to us and has a massive purr. He also likes to pounce on toes, can open doors and can be naughty!

Morph went to the cattery every summer for a week, two weeks once, and was fine.. he became a bit of a celeb there due to his size . We only needed to groom him when moulting, otherwise he was low maintenance really.

None of them have been wanderers (all neutered obviously) Morph had a patch of about 4 houses and the babies barely bother going outside for more than 20 minutes at the moment, which is nice. I do think they need a bit of fresh air tho as when they are having a mad half hour they are a lot of cat to have indoors!

ALl chatty and inquisitive.

They are a wonder ful breed and worth every penny for the amount of love they have brought our family. Morph was 12 when he died of cancer but I'm hoping the babies will outlive that!

Do you catproof your garden folks or not bother?

No... there is no point.. they can climb and jump! We did sort of proof it at first as our garden is very enclosed so when they started going in it at 4 months they couldn't escape, but now they can. We trained them to come in for Dreamies, and now they just come at their names :)

I think we really need Talkin here to talk about how best to get that second mortgage to pay for the groceries.

What weight is Obie now, Medusa ?

Mine were from the same breeder but not the same litter. We have litter mate moggies at the moment and they get on very well.

OK, hit me with it! How many ££££ do you guys get through in cat food?

Have you thought about a Ragdoll, they're amazing with children. We have a 7 month old and it is amazing to see him with the children.

Yes, I have thought about them too. Have a v active DS though and thought Raggies were more laid back than playful?

I have British Shorthairs and my sister a Birman - all lovely family friendly cats that don't wander off much.

I buy from zooplus and pay £25 a month for Animinda Carny (higher quality wet food) That feeds two coons and my torty, though I do also leave dried down. MUCH cheaper than buying through the supermarkets!

The MC favourite toy is the flying frenzy and they go NUTS... I have to hide it when I want some peace!

Cozie.. I'll weigh him later

We have two. A boy and a girl. One brown white tabby, one grey mackerel. Playful, chatty, loving and curious. They make a gorgeous chirrup noise. And hold their tails up for food and it vibrates/shimmers.

We use pet plan insurance. And I love the breed. Very gentle.

Ours are from here : www.majesticoon.com

Our cat litter is "the best cat litter in the world" and it really is!

Thanks Medusa. I appreciate the tip!

Food? Bags of fish from Iceland £3 for a kilo. Or £1.67 for 500g from tesco approx. Bag of purina biscuit £40 and lasts months. Felix £3.50 approx a box. 12 packs I think...

Really food is up to you.

Our boy weighs a stone and a bit. Girl a stone. Nice chunky animals. Withstand a bit of love by our two under five kids.

Well that's good news! I have a DS who LOVES cats. He is very gentle but would love cat who wanted to play with him and be stroked by him. Any good tips to get kitty to regard him as 'her person?' Or do they just pick who they pick?

Also, when I am home during the day, I do have to get work done. I definitely don't mind a puss on the sofa in my study or by my feet and could play a bit at lunch time but would that be enough attention for them? I would end up getting annoyed if I was being bugged to play every 5 mins!

Get him to feed it. Ours are led by their tummies primarily!

Yes tats fine. They sleep a lot. Both ours work their routines around whose busy and about. They are always near by, little shadows, but unobtrusive and self contained/content.

The boy:

We have a half Maine coon, so she isn't as big but she has all the other features.
She is such a soppy cat, and adores dd 8. Dd feeds her most of the time and gives her treats, can pick her up and carry her about like a baby. The cat sleeps curled around DD's head at night and pats her face to wake her up in the morning.

I think it depends on the personality of the individual cat.

My Coonie boy wants to be on me/next to me whenever I sit down. He's quite the lap cat, despite the fact that he's clearly too big for my lap.

It's a good job I'm single as I don't know how I'd ever manage to get 'his' half of the bed back on an evening

The problem that we had when we tried letting him out to roam freely is that people kept stealing him (he's very trusting, and our neighbours took it upon themselves to shut him in their house on purpose).

Gorgeous cat Boomtown