Yesterday, just for fun, I was browsing Wikipedia's list of cat breeds, looking to see if my cat, Heather, resembled any of them.
I came across the Maine Coon page and read with great interest as Heather exhibits almost all of the typical physical and behavioral traits. I did some googling and found more sites that list other typical traits, and Heather continues to have lots in common with a typical Maine Coon.
I have no information about her parents, as she was part of a litter that was discovered in an abandoned house. Her mother was a stray. She and her siblings all looked alike.
I'd like to share some pictures and anecdotes with all of you, and see if anyone out there agrees with my totally uneducated opinion.
First of all, here's Heather as a kitten (about two months old):
Already she has a bushy tail, tufts of fur between her toes and in her ears, and a ruff around her neck. Her fur is extremely soft -- softer than I've ever felt on any other cat.
Here's a good shot of her eyes. She's about eight months old in this picture. You can see the "M" marking on her forehead, but it's not as pronounced as on some MC's.
She has the two-layer fur coat. Her outer layer is the gray-brown tabby that you see in the other pictures. Her inner layer is a light, creamy brown, the same as on her tummy.
Here's a more recent picture, showing how bushy her tail is now. She still has the ruff around her neck as well, and the "M" shows up nicely here too.
She doesn't have the long, wide face that's apparently typical of MC's, but I read that they don't reach full size until 4-5 years, so maybe that's still coming.
She also doesn't really have the "lynx tips" on her ears, although she does have little tufts of light-colored hair there.
She weighs about 9 pounds. She grew very quickly as a kitten. We had to take her off the fatty kitten food at seven months, because she was getting fat!
Heather is very smart. She comes running when I call her name from anywhere in the house. We have "conversations" where she'll meow at me and I'll meow back. She trills frequently, follows me around the house, and plays fetch with her toys, dropping them at my feet when she wants to play.
I figure she has to have at least some Maine Coon in her. Anybody with me?
I know it doesn't really matter, but I'm interested, and it never hurts to know about breed-specific health considerations before they become an issue.
Thanks!
I came across the Maine Coon page and read with great interest as Heather exhibits almost all of the typical physical and behavioral traits. I did some googling and found more sites that list other typical traits, and Heather continues to have lots in common with a typical Maine Coon.
I have no information about her parents, as she was part of a litter that was discovered in an abandoned house. Her mother was a stray. She and her siblings all looked alike.
I'd like to share some pictures and anecdotes with all of you, and see if anyone out there agrees with my totally uneducated opinion.
First of all, here's Heather as a kitten (about two months old):
Already she has a bushy tail, tufts of fur between her toes and in her ears, and a ruff around her neck. Her fur is extremely soft -- softer than I've ever felt on any other cat.
Here's a good shot of her eyes. She's about eight months old in this picture. You can see the "M" marking on her forehead, but it's not as pronounced as on some MC's.
She has the two-layer fur coat. Her outer layer is the gray-brown tabby that you see in the other pictures. Her inner layer is a light, creamy brown, the same as on her tummy.
Here's a more recent picture, showing how bushy her tail is now. She still has the ruff around her neck as well, and the "M" shows up nicely here too.
She doesn't have the long, wide face that's apparently typical of MC's, but I read that they don't reach full size until 4-5 years, so maybe that's still coming.
She also doesn't really have the "lynx tips" on her ears, although she does have little tufts of light-colored hair there.
She weighs about 9 pounds. She grew very quickly as a kitten. We had to take her off the fatty kitten food at seven months, because she was getting fat!
Heather is very smart. She comes running when I call her name from anywhere in the house. We have "conversations" where she'll meow at me and I'll meow back. She trills frequently, follows me around the house, and plays fetch with her toys, dropping them at my feet when she wants to play.
I figure she has to have at least some Maine Coon in her. Anybody with me?
I know it doesn't really matter, but I'm interested, and it never hurts to know about breed-specific health considerations before they become an issue.
Thanks!
