Maine Coon coat length

Hi, I wonder if any of you guys know the answer to this one. We have two wonderful Maine Coon kittens who are 4.5 months old. My query is about the length of their coats.

Sheila (silver tortie tabby) has quite long, silky fur with a rugged appearance, while Bruce (red/silver tabby) has shorter, neater hair. They are litter mates.

Is Bruce likely to develop a longer coat as he grows up, or is this likely to be how their coats will stay for life? Do some Maine Coons have shorter coats?

We're just interested really - we love them just how they are, and we don't intend to show them.

If pics would help, let me know and I'll post some on fur pictures - I don't seem to have the option to post on this forum.

Not necessarily shorter but what I would term as a "tighter" coat. Some MC lines do have tight coats which makes the coat appear to be shorter whereas other lines have "looser" coats which makes it look longer.

Since they are litter mates, I would assume that at least one parent has a tight coat and the other a looser coat.

Thanks for that info, Abymummy. I didn't know there was such things as tighter or looser coats.

I have posted pics of Bruce and Sheila on the fur pictures section here: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=128892

Their father is Archie, the silver tabby on this page:
http://www.mainecoonkittens.co.uk/studcat.htm

Their mother is Deya, the second queen on this page:
http://www.mainecoonkittens.co.uk/queens.htm

I would say that Deya definitely has a looser coat. Not sure about Archie though - what do you think?

We think Sheila is a lot like Deya, in both looks and personality, and has Archie's eyes. Bruce is just unique!

Wow, first of all let me express how beautiful your kitties are. Sheila is definately the traditional longer coat type of main coon, but Bruce has plenty of time to keep growing hair. I don't think he'll ever be as full as she is, but they can get longer appearance, particularly around the neck as they get older.

My Stanley, who is not a purebred, but does obviously have some maine coon in his family tree, has continued to grow his ruff and coat longer in the time I've had him. He's just about a year now and I expect he'll keep growing for at least another year.

At 4.5 months old it is to early to tell how they will turn out imo. Maine Coons take up to 4 years to fully mature. But I know in the Somali breed different coat lengths and texture can vary with different lines so I would assume that is the same in the Maine Coon. And males mature slower than females. My 7 month old male Somali has a completely different coat than what he had at 4 months old.

Not only does it take years to be totally mature, but coats vary with the seasons. I would not worry about coats on a 4 month old kitten. Did you get them as pets or as show?

Checked your breeder's website and LUCKY YOU!!!!! You have Verismo is your babies lines! I would also confirm that Verismo cats did have the tighter coats as well according to what reseach I've done on Maine Coons (Malaysia is now Maine Coon country and I've had to research the "competition" ).

Don't worry about your babies coats too much, it will come in sooner or later - and with Maine Coons being a slow maturing breed, later is more likely.