Thursday, July 23, 2009

What Do Maine Coon Cats Look Like?

By Moses Wright

Maine Coon cats are sturdy, longhaired cats with thick coats. They are native to North America. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Maine Coon cat is it bushy, brush-like tail.

Many legends tell stories about the origin of the Maine Coon cat. One such legend is that the Maine Coon cat breed originated from the mating of raccoons and feral domestic cats. This is not genetically possible.

The physical characteristics of the Maine Coon cats seem well adapted to the winters of Maine. Maine Coon cats have thick, long coats and tufted toes that have been compared to snowshoes.

Maine Coon cats have rectangular bodies. They have large, round eyes. Maine Coon cats can be either copper, green, gold, green-gold, blue, or odd-eyes. Blue eyes and odd-eyes are only acceptable for white or bi-colored Maine Coons.

The ears are wide at the base and rather large with tufted tips. Maine Coons have medium-sized heads and may have a frontal ruff. The frontal ruff is a described as a desirable characteristic by the breed standard.

Solid-colored Maine Coons can be white, blue, black, red, or cream. In addition to solid colors, Maine Coon cats can be tabby, calico, bi-colored, shaded, smoke, and tortoiseshell.

Maine Coon kitten are one of the slowest developing cat breeds. Maine Coon kittens reach adult size when they are three to five years old. Many kittens of other cat breeds are full size by the time they are eighteen months to two years old.

Maine Coon cats are medium to large sized cats. Adult Maine Coon cats typically weigh twelve to twenty pounds with the females being smaller than the males. Maine Coon cats are broad chested and are heavily boned.

For the purchase of a Maine Coon kitten, the prospective cat owner should consult a reputable Maine Coon breeder. A cat breeder should be able to answer questions about Maine Coon cats.

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