Conference misery::feline_v1

    Note 5 has a lot of info about them; see especially reply 5.23,
    which includes an official description of the breed.
    
    -b (who rather hopes that the next stray to pick me out is a Maine
    Coon look-alike...)

I was just about to write a note to the same effect.

I live in Geneva Switzerland and have never seen a Maine Coon in 
any shows over here. They sound lovely.

Could anyone send me a picture of one (magazine clipping etc)?
(Name: Cathy Anastasi M/S: GEC 106C - (Geneva-ClaireVue).
Would be very grateful. 

My favourite breeds are Somali and Turkish Van - are they known 
in the US?  The Somali is like a long haired Abyssinian and the 
Turkish Van is white and ginger and likes swimming!

I am a regular reader of this file but have never introduced 
myself - or rather my cat which is more interesting to you.
Her name is Tabitha and her breed over here is called European 
which basically means no breed.  She is tabby and white and very 
shy - no guests ever see her. She is 10 years old.

Thanks in advance for any picture.
Cathy

    Thanks very much for the info.  They do sound rather lovely!
    
    I wonder, are they particular to the States or is there maybe a
    strain of them in England as one of my mother's cat's seems to
    fit some parts of the description?
    
    Bye for now,
    
    Karen
    

    The description in note 415.23 is very good, a picture would be
    even better but neither of them really describe what a Coon is like.
    If you want a pet, a cat is the best choice. If you want to share
    a life, get a Coon. The cats I've had have all been different but
    the Main Coon is something else, I have two of them and we even
    watch sunsets together.
    
    Zach (or Zack, I never figured which) is a 12 pound male and if
    cats could have freckles and a frog in their pocket he would.
    Minnie is a very feminine female only a half a pound lighter than
    Zach. They were found along with their mother and another kitten
    in the woods outside of Brattlboro, Vermont. Coons are adorable
    as kittens and it's impossible not to pick them up so they grow up
    being used to being handled and carried around. Like all cats, they
    are smart and enjoy playing with water, but unlike a Turkish Van
    which is well known around here, they're not fond of swimming as
    Zach just recently found out.
    
    I could go on but there are at least two books about them that are
    mentioned elsewhere in this notesfile, the one I have is by Marlis
    Hornridge ( I think that's right ) and is very good.

    In regards to the question of where Maine Coons originated:
    
    One of the books mentioned in the notes file (somewhere!) I have
    and have read.  There are several fanciful stories about how the
    coon came about.  The obvious was that a real coon and a cat got
    together (biologically impossible) another was that some ship's
    captian brought over some cats belonging to french nobility
    just before the nobility got their heads cut off in a revolution.
    
    Probably the real story is that all the ships that landed in the
    New England area during the 1600-1800's had cats on them to keep
    the mice down.  Some of the cats stayed in the new world, and
    some of them just visited the local female cat population like
    all sailors are rumored to do.  The harsh winters and local predators
    caused some 'natural selection' and the maine coon type appeared
    from the gene pool.  The breeders have probably just polished off
    the edges a bit.  I think the interesting question is why the
    traits and characteristics of the maine coon caused it to survive
    better than their litter mates.
    
    The fur that is easy to care for (as mentioned in the descriptions
    in note 5) would help - can't imagine a persian being able to take
    care of its fur.  The various lengths of hair on the body must make
    it easier to run, and hunt etc. while still keeping the kitty warm.
    The extra fluffy tail is good for toe warming.  The large size makes
    it easier to keep warm (whales and polar bears are large for this
    reason!)  The personality I can't understand - unless that was
    selected cause the kitties really needed people to help them survive.
    That and the mousing ability would make them useful to pioneer types.
    
    Anyway it is fun to speculate!
    
    Sally

    HI,
    
    I TOO WOULD LIKE AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF A MAIN COON CAT.
    FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD THEY GET VERY BIG, THERE FACES ARE RATHER
    LONG WITH TALL POINTED EARS. AS FAR AS I CAN TELL IT IS NOT A CAT
    YOU WOULD KEEP INDOORS.  I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS AN EXAGERATION
    BUT I HEARD THEY CAN GET AS BIG AS 20 POUNDS!!!!!!!
    
    LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU GET A GOOD DESCRIPTION.
    
    KARLA

    I just went back and re-read note #5 and did find one comment about
    the nose, but I'll repeat here. The nose is not long but somewhat
    shorter than most cats and the ears are wide at the base but about
    average length. There should be a tuft of fur at the top (like a
    Lynx) which would make them look taller. Cat weights can be placed
    in the same catagory as fish lengths, I'm not saying they don't
    get bigger but the biggest I ever saw was placed on a vet's electronic
    scale and came out to 15 lbs.
    
    I have lost too many cats to cars so my two have always been indoor
    only cats, they don't seem to mind it at all probably because they
    have nothing to compare it to. In this case, what they don't know
    really can't hurt them.
    
    Just as an aside, I took them to the vets last week for their annual
    checkup and while sitting in the waiting room struck up a conversation
    with the other pet owners. One of them mentioned that she noticed
    that in doctor's office waiting rooms people seldom talk to each
    other but at the vets they almost always do. Pet owners really are a
    different breed.