Am I a Maine Coon????

Hi, wondering if my kitty "Smokey" is maybe a Maine Coon or what he might be?? He is about 13 months old, about 12-13 pounds, very talkative and "chirps" a lot.  Very sweet and loves to be carried around but not a "lap cat".  Absolutely LOVES water. His coat seems to be water repellent, water just beads up and rolls right off of him, never seen that before in a kitty??  He has big mop-like feet with tufts of fur and a big fluffy tail.  Very curious and friendly!  He "found me" as a stray when he was about 3 months (estimated age by vet).  He refused to leave our house and was very persistent, wanted to be loved on etc.  He just keeps getting furrier and thicker and prettier!  .  Thanks for any opinions!  (the little spots on his face are water droplets from him playing in the sink)

All of those traits seem very main coon, though it is turkish vans that supposedly love water (my aunts purbred van HATED water )

certainly he's not a purebred mainecoon, but somewhere in his bloodline there was likely one, or more, as your typical run of the mill cat rarely gets to 12-13 pounds, not even males.
 

Thanks!  I'm mainly wondering about all of his fur!  I guess maybe he is just a long-haired cat?  I've never really seen one with such a "mane" like his. This is my first long-haired cat.   My last cat was a HUGE kitty, a DSH Tabby and a very solid 14-15 pounds, but I lost him at age 10 due to a brain tumor

He's a domestic, Maine coons are a naturally derived breed so its not unusual to find a moggie who appears similar to a pedigree without any pedigree blood

Maine Coons are descended from domestic long-haired cats like Smokey, right? A lot of those Maine Coonish traits are floating around in the general kitty gene pool, and Smokey got some of them. Despite the probable lack of registered Maine Coon in his lineage, he probably does have Maine Coon cats as (very distant) "cousins". I don't know when long-haired, thick-furred cats first came to the US, but there must have been an original first few that many of the others descend from, including the ones that became the Maine Coon breed. The US is such a newly settled country, especially compared to anyplace in Europe; so our cat breeds haven't been around particularly long, either. It's no wonder that there are cats of no particular breed who so resemble Maine Coons. You can't call them Maine Coons, because they don't have the predictable genetics you expect from a purebred cat, but they have some of the same beauty. That mane, especially--gorgeous.

We dont see his face in all this black.  In the first pic I get the impression the nose must be very short.

If so, he must have much of a persian in him.

Perhaps a mix persian - MCO?   

I had known some semi-serious BYB breeder in Sweden, who did such mixes - she said the result gave healthy, nice pets.

A combination not necessary good for long term breeding, she didnt had such ambitions, but very suitable for good pets, who would be neutered.

ah I love Smokey, but I am partial to big fluffy black kitties. I have a rescued one myself, who is maybe a month older than Smokey and a pound or two heavier. Most cats are not breeds, unlike dogs. So if the cat is not papered, he almost certainly has  no breed in him. Many regular non breed cats can resemble maine coons though. I want to adopt a Maine Coon sometime myself as I think they are beautiful cats.

But Smokey and Magnus look like they could be cousins though

Here's my guy from a few months ago

I love Smokey's ruff. I'm hoping Magnus develops more of one, though now that winter is coming he is getting a lot more fur so it looks like his ruff is getting bigger). The below photo was taken late summer so he's relatively less fluffy here.

Be sure to show us more photos of Smokey! Love black cats....

Gibbly said:

All of those traits seem very main coon, though it is turkish vans that supposedly love water (my aunts purbred van HATED water

)

certainly he's not a purebred mainecoon, but somewhere in his bloodline there was likely one, or more, as your typical run of the mill cat rarely gets to 12-13 pounds, not even males.
 

Click to expand...

i hate to tell you i have a male nueterad red mackerel tabby that is longer then most males he is 8yrs old before he got uti he weighed 16lbs+ and my vet said he was skinny and needed to gain weight and i can see his hip bones now he is around 13lbs and still gaining

yeah, all my previous cats were males and 15 lbs or so. Only one was fat (he was 19 lbs at his most overweight, but when he lost weight due to Cancer he got down to 13 lbs and he was way too skinny as you could see his ribs and hip bones. His ideal weight was 15-16 lbs according to the vet). 

The cat in my picture above is over 13lbs (not sure his exact weight as I don't have a scale) and he's not fat either.

So I do think there are a lot of large "mutt" cats running around that aren't Maine Coon. (Granted some of them need to lose weight).

My males are also around 14-15.5lbs and they're not large for their breed (natural breed, Brits can go easily up to 18lbs, but silvers tend to be a bit smaller).

My Sammy (RIP) was a very large, very active cat. My vet told me that he was MainCoone but I knew better as his Mom was my neighbours white DSH, and his brithers and sisters ranged from red to tabby to black lol. Anyhow as mentioned he was a very big, very beautiful DMH and he certainly was never considered " overweight". He weighed a lot, yes but was well proportioned. Your cat is beautiful!!

And just as an aside, Northern Glow the cat in your avatar is absolutely gorgeous!! (Just had to say lol)

NOT necessarily ... regarding your statement that THIS cat CANNOT be a Maine Coon!!  He has all the markings of a Coonie; so, don't be telling this lady (Iris)  that he's not ...

I think he is stunning. I had a kitty with a mane. It's just magnificent. I know my current cat Whitney is a mixed cat but since she has so many Maine Coon traits like your baby we pretend she is!   

Beautiful kitty. Be sure to brush her on a daily basis to keep mats under control. My Domestic Long Hair doesn't particularly like being brushed, but it's very necessary.


Beans is a long haired female who weighs 14 lbs and she has a little pocket of fat on her belly, but she's solid muscle otherwise. She just turned 2.

No idea regarding the breed but I just want to say what beautiful cats have been posted here. I just want to tickle them under their chins and touch their beautiful manes! Little lions!

This is Harley, my Maine coon/Manx mix. He is 9 years old and 15 lbs. His bones are always easily felt, but he never eats more than what he wants to. The cat to the right is his sister, Whisper. She looks a lot different and has a full tail, yet she's medium fur and is a big girl. She is a bit overweight (18lbs), but she eats the same amount as Harley.

I'm seeing a LOT of Maine Coon in your boy, but definitely not purebred. I wouldn't be surprised if the size and general conformation is from Maine Coon and the coloration is from another breed.

I would definitely say Maine Coon cross. I have two identical to yours in colour and nature. their mother was Russian Blue cross Maine Coon and father was pure breed Maine Coon. They love water as well. I had a Turkisk Van some years back and he loved water as well regards, Wayne Carsburg from Australia.