question about a maine coon..

scoobydoo2345

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ok for the first 4 yrs of my cats life i thought he was a normal house cat, im unfamiliar with cats breeds dont know much about them. well i watched a show on animal planet called cats 101. they had a profile on the maine coon. my cat seemed to fit the profile. they say if the cat has a "M" marking on the forehead then its a coon.

i looked and he had it. then i started to research the breed and he started to match the profile for the cat. he weighs in at 17 lbs. hes about the size of a small medium dog. i dont know much of his background and where he came from.

i got him for free from an abusive owner and i walked out the door with him. and i was wondering if theres any way to tell if hes a pure bred? i didnt get no papers or anything i no that some backyards breeders dont give papers. the owner couldve thrown them away if he had papers. thank you
 

cjh27

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Hi,


and WELCOME to the forum.

no, there's no way of knowing if he's a maine coon or not- most likely he isn't, not with that history


The classic tabby M can be found with many cats and is one of the more common fur patterns, have a look at what wikipedia has to say about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabby_cat

You haven't mentioned your cats fur- is it short or long?

For the fun of it you could browse the web sites of MC breeders and see how closely your cat resembles a coonie
but without papers there's just now way to know.


regards,

Christine
 

goldenkitty45

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When a tv show says a Maine Coon is a MC because it has the markings of an "M" on the forehead, then I would not put much confidence in anything the program said!

While the majority of MC's tend to be tabby cats, the "M" is a sign of a tabby cat - NOT a breed of cat. MC's come in all colors except chocolate/lilac and the pointed patterns. So if you have a solid black MC or a black/white MC you will not have an "M" on the forehead!

I do not go by personality when judging if a cat might have purebred in the background. You go by the looks, bone structure, etc.

There are many "look a like" MC's in the shelters and the chances that they are really purebred are very very small.

Just enjoy your cat for who he is. BTW - all cats have pedigrees; some we know, some we don't
 

cjh27

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Oooh- he really does have a lovely M on his head


For me he doesn't look that much like a coonie- but he's still purrfect


regards,

Christine
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by scoobydoo2345

they say if the cat has a "M" marking on the forehead then its a coon.
Sometimes people confuse pattern with breed, as you seem to have read.

Your cat is beautiful, but doesn't look like a MC to me.
 

dragulescugirl

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He could be a mix! Two of my cats have many of the personality, looks, attributes of Maine Coons but because they were strays I'll never know for sure. Most people who see them go "Oh what lovely Maine Coons" (happened last night in fact) but I'm quick to say "uhhh, maybe."

No matter what, Cartman looks like a charmer and if you think he might have a little Maine Coon in him, then why not. I think that way about my older two and don't give a toot if they really are or not. Because I love them either way.
 
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scoobydoo2345

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i love him. i take him for bike rides all the time and he enjoys them. i took him to the pet store to get him a new harness b/c i lost his other one. we got another one for him. we went to check out and the cashier said hes wear a medium dog harness? i told him yup he is. the cashier got a kick out of that one lol.
 

nekochan

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He doesn't look like a Maine Coon to me but he is very handsome!
He doesn't seem to have the type of fur (length) of a Maine Coon.


Many cats have the "M" -- it means they are a tabby, not a Maine Coon. For example my feral rescues all they have the "M" because they are tabbies:



Church





And my cat Roxy is solid black so she doesn't have an "M" but she is a purebred Maine Coon (from a breeder):

 

cala171

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I am the proud owner of a very friendly, large black cat with long hair, and all the right physical & temperment traits to be a Maine Coon. I have no idea of his background, as I didn't get him from a breeder. I'll upload pics when I can.
 

lizzie

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I was told that the "M" stood for mackerel,which is supposed to be the type of "ticking" in their fur.I don't know if that is right or not,but he's a BIG boy and very handsome,whatever he is!
 

northernglow

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Originally Posted by lizzie

I was told that the "M" stood for mackerel,which is supposed to be the type of "ticking" in their fur.
Mackerel is the striped tabby pattern. The 'M' can be (should be) found in every tabby patterned cat's forehead.
Ticked tabbies are the ones who seem to have no pattern, like Nekochan's kitties in the pic she posted in this thread.
 

cala171

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Hey,

I just put a picture of my possible Maine Coon named Anubis as my avatar. :)

Nate
 

orientalslave

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Remember that the Maine Coon is a 'natural breed' which means it was selected from the cats in it's place of origin.  As such, you will get non pedigree cats coming along with lots of it's traits.   I've had a look at your photo and at photos of pedigree Maine Coons and his head doesn't look at all like a Maine Coon. 

He is beautiful, but I doubt there is any pedigree blood in him.
 

andromache

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Hi there,

I was also wondering what type of cat Ronnie is...he's a diluted faun long haired tabby cat that I got at the SPCA...He weights 17 lbs and he's very long. He's not too tubby, and he has a huge fluffy tail.

Thanks for your imput!





 
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