Advice on Mainecoons please

Okay, now firstly I am ONLY entertaining the idea about maybe, possibly, in the near future...purchasing a Mainecoon. I am a realistic person and I already own 6 cats ! However having said that, I am home all the time, most days, all day, so the time given too my furbabies is never an issue. Now I have only not long ago, purchased 3 kitties, 2 from the SPCA lovely tabbies , 1 stripped , 1 classic, love them too bits. Most recent a RagDoll, which too be honest, has always been a...how do I say...dream cat of mine, personally anyway. I surely feel I now own all the basic colours of the cat world ! only by accident though, they chose me hehe. Only recently , say in the last month or so...I discovered the MaineCoon, this was also the time I discovered the RagDoll, well in depth anyway. As above the RagDoll really did seem too suit my lifestyle e.g...NO outdoors ! Lost my special one a while ago too this nasty road ! and of course I love the look and nature, and they seem content indoors, which is very important too me, whilst I love seeing my cats play in the garden...the price to pay, being the road is not far away....just isn't possible cept onna harness, cept for my 2 older boys, they are seasoned outdoor cats, they can not be made too be inside ( cept on cold winter days n nights ) hehe, and I respect that, 1 is 7 and 1 is 10 and of course my *Special ones* brother has come too adapt too being inside happily, he is only 8 months old. Recently I went too some shows, I wanted too see the MaineCoon up close and also maybe see their behaviour, of course I liked what I saw, although in cages hard too tell on the behaviour part, but looked so handsome. Of course the owners/breeders said all the right things too me about them, but I would like other opinions, hence posting here too all you lovely, helpful, experienced people My questions are this...IS the MaineCoon okay too be inside ALL the time cept onna harness?...ARE they good at settling into a home with a few cats already?...I am neutral on the sex of the cat, does it make any difference, Male or Female ?.....I am NOT interested in breeding, for the record. Only for a pet, a life long one. I love my *moggies* I own 5 already the *dream* cat is my RagDoll, maybe that sounds silly, I dunno hehe. The MaineCoon I find to be a stunning cat, of course I would love too add one too my furbabie family...but NOT if it is going too be unfair to the cats, in my already, unified fur family, or on the MaineCoon, referring to questions above..^^. ANY advice on this is greatly appreciated from anyone ! I am in NO rush right now for purchasing one, because as stated above I am a realist, and I won't be hasty, with something as important such as this. Thankyou for reading my *rambling* !!!

Maine Coons do NOT have to go outside - in fact, most MC breeders have in the contracts that the cat is to be indoor only (this goes for just about EVERY purebred cat).

They fit in fine with multiple cat/dog households, so you shouldn't have a problem. Just do the normal introductions as with any new cat.

If you like the bigger cats, then I would recommend a MC male as they can get 16-18 lbs . You will have to comb them about twice a week (depends on how much they tend to mat).

What color are you considering?

Thankyou very much for that advice GoldenKitty ! Okay that sounds good then, yes I have seen that most breeders DO require their kitties too stay indoors, the breeders of my RagDoll required this...although I weren't sure about the MC, as I thought them too be quiet active, and maybe they would get *itchy feet* stuck inside cept on the harness, TY for putting my mind at ease there. The couple of breeders I spoke too also said the same, but they were only 2, hence asking here as well as for color....well...I particulary like the grey tabbys, although I have seen the white ones, and they are lovely as well, I am partial too grey I don't know why , maybe because my Special one was a grey tabby , none the less, yes grey tabby or white, but having said that, as long as kittie would be healthy and loving, matters not to me too much, I would have too see them in person too decide I feel. Brushing twice a week is no problem at all. Oh yes the males get HUGE hehe, can't deny I wouldn't mind a male for that reason hehe, at present I own 3 females and 3 boys...which is it too tip the scale as I stated though I will not be hasty, I will take my time and fully look into this, with the help of this gr8 site and the ppl here. Thankyou again, GoldenKitty !! much appreciated.

Silver MCs (with our without white) are nice I have one Brown Tabby white at home - taking care of her while we hit the shows before she goes back to her breeder (in other words, I'm agenting the cat overseas). As a LH breed, you can't go very wrong with MCs but I'm partial to reds myself

Definately indoor cats - most breeders will require this. As for size, the 2nd Best cat in Asia for the last show season is a MC ... he's currently about 7.9kg/18 lbs or so (entire) and is about 3 feet nose to tail.

Lovely temperaments, and a bit goofy at times.

Thankyou very much Abbymummy ! I am starting too get keen on the MC now Yes the silver I feel is very attractive, although now that you mention it, the red's are lovely as well, although I have not seen one in person,only in pics. I have only seen a Brown Tabby and a Silver one at present in person. Yes their size is most appealing, I have too say what a great giant of the cat world ! I am partial too long hair breeds even with the brushing hehe...and the fact that all so far agree indoor is good for them, means alot, for that is very important too me, I will NOT lose another kitty to an evil road Thankyou very much for your advice..keep it comming Thankyou muchly again

"grey" would be Blue Tabby (for breeders). I think the Reds tend to be bigger then most, and love the stricking contrast of the Silvers. Browns use to dominate most shows, but lately we've been seeing just about every color and only 1-2 browns. The Silvers and Smokes seem to be more popular (especially the Silver Patched Tabby females or Smoke Calicos)

Well I would be fibbing if I didn't want too consider showing hehe, I used too show horses for many years...showjumping/dressage/eventing. My mother used too breed persion cats, when I was growing up, and they also bred birds animal galore here but I don't know..pets are all I really desire, but hey, maybe in time I might show my kittys, my moggies can be shown in the *pet* catagories I believe ?, and my RagDoll in purebreeds?..and IF IF, I get a MC maybe try that too ..yes Blue Tabby, sorry I am not up too date on the terms, forgive me mind you I also seem too be leaning towards the Reds too now decisions decisions I have a ginger and white boy, C'For and I LOVE his colour, even if it is not the same as the MC red....but I also love the Blue tabbys, I always have ....hmmm the mind spirals says too self * patience is a virtue* Thankyou very much Golden Kitty! so much appreciated

Of course you MIGHT change your mind on color if you see the beautiful CAMEOS (those are my favs) Like butterscotch color poured over white undercoat. Friend of mine out east bred cameo MC's and I would have loved to have owned one.

Ooooooh ! Cameo ??? I have not seen that color in the MC ( shows how much I know ) any ideas where I can see a pic of one GoldenKitty ? Thankyou muchly again for your responce

Here's a picture of a cameo and white - check out the kittens and the pictures below that - especially Sahara

http://www.verismocat.com/htmscripts/uk.htm

Naughty you GK! My dream red tabby MC would be something on the lines of Verismo's Moose!!!! What a gorgeous hunk of cat he is!

Sorry about that But she asked to see a picture of the cameos.

If given the choice between cameo or red tabby MC - I'd choose the cameo. Too bad Ocicats don't come in that color

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Here's a picture of a cameo and white - check out the kittens and the pictures below that - especially Sahara

http://www.verismocat.com/htmscripts/uk.htm

Click to expand...

Good lord those cats are beautiful

All of the Verisimo cats are just stunning.

Thankyou very much GoldenKitty !!! WOW yes beautiful indeed I appreciate you posting that for me I will have to see how many are available here, I have only seen blue's, browns and whites so far. I will have a look around on the web me thinks

Maine Coons come in a number of colors, you should be able to find some websites with photos of all the colors... I am planning on getting a solid black MC myself, although it seems I will have to wait longer than I expected, because the breeder's litter I was waiting to hear about turned out to not have any black kittens. Ah well, we've been waiting about 2-3 years already, so we'll just have to wait some more...

Black sounds nice as well Good luck with another litter too find your black fur kitty !

I only had to read about someone with a liking for Cameo (we call the colour red/silver in the UK) Maine Coons to post some of my Bruce!

They are in the fur pics thread, here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...81#post1881681

Good luck with choosing a Maine Coon - they're a wonderful breed.

Ohh nice boy

Thankyou very much Bruce and Sheila ! Wow they are so appealing aren't they, large and so much character in their faces ! Thankyou for posting those pics, lovely kitties indeed