Maine coon mix?

brittney84

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My sweet boy is developing a larger Maine and is quite large. From what I am reading online he has several physical traits of a Maine coon.... any thoughts?
 

Kieka

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Just a little point, as I have seen several people make the same correlation, Maine Coons are named for the state where they are from not for their manes. Additionally, the tufting of fur is a "mane" not "Maine". Not to pick on the OP any, I've just seen several postings recently where people misname it and seem to be under that impression. Apologies if I am misreading or not understanding the intent. 

Maine Coons are the only natural long hair cat in America (not native but naturally evolved within the climate when long hair cats from Europe were introduced into the area and bred with local short hair cats), flourishing in early 1800's and becoming a recognized show cat in the later part of the 19th century. The Coon part either comes from tales of cats mating with Raccoons for the size and tails or the idea that Captain Charles Coon was instrumental in the introduction of long hair cats into the Maine region. Either way they are a very popular and old breed. As an additional tidbit, the breed was actually considered extinct for a short period of time from the 1950s until officially being recognized again in the late 1970s (there were people still breeding and the Maine Cat Club started during the time but communication being what it was there were people who prematurely called the breed extinct). 

Norwegian Forest Cats, Siberians, and Maine Coons are the ones most known for having manes which are cold weather adaptions. Manes on domestic cats though can be found on many long hair breeds or mixes especially ones from in cold weather regions without relation to those breeds.  The natural development of the Maine Coon and others makes it so that a lot of different cats can naturally seem similar without relation. They weren't breed for extreme characteristics like Persians or Munchkins. 

All that aside, do you have more pictures? Particularly of him standing and his body as a whole? 

Right now I agree he has an impressive looking mane and is a long hair. The characteristics one would look for beyond the mane that would differentiate between the three aforementioned breeds include body characteristics not visible in the photo and details about his size. The ear tufts, toe tufts and large square body are fairly general characteristics. Ultimately without knowing parentage or having papers to document anything said would be a guess. I wouldn't say it would be far fetched to say there is some Maine Coon or one of the other large maned cat breeds in him. It's the which and how much that are more the question. 
 
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brittney84

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As the original poster I apologize for the grammatical error in the spelling of mane. It was simply an oversight on my part thanks to auto correct on my phone. It really doesn't matter to me either way if he is Maine coon or not, I just was curious as to what others thought. I have done my research on the breed and although he does not fit every trait, he does have several traits. He is very large in stature when compared to any cat I have ever had. He has a large body, large paws, and weighs approximately 18 pounds. Here are some additional pictures
 

Kieka

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Sorry is it came across as more aggressive of a definition then I meant. It has been something I have seen in the last few Maine Coon questions so hoping to explain it to those who are mistaking them. I tend to be overly wordy and thorough in things. Plus I am bored at work right now so I have time to spend on longer explanations (I am all caught up, so not slacking. Its been raining and my guys can't work so I can't bill) AND love history, lol.  

I found this little photo showing the face difference between Maine Coon. With the additional photos, thank you, I am actually leaning more towards a Norwegian Forest Cat with that face and eye shape. Take a look..... 


Obviously not purebred so doesn't fit exactly with breed standards but maybe a few generations back combined with some random pairings in there. 
 
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brittney84

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Awesome, thank you so much for your help!
 
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