Information about the breed Maine Coon
Origin Country: USA

History:

Maine Coon is an old American breed, which existed in the mid-1800s in the state of Maine in northeastern United States.

Breed's name has emerged in a special way. The population of Maine thought back then that their long-haired cat with striped,
well furred tails was the result of mating between cats and raccoons. That´s why they called these cats Maine Coon.
Interest in cat shows began in the 1800s. Maine Coon was then very popular and often won high awards. In the early 1900s came
then the more exotic Persian cat to America, and interest in the domestic longhaired breed slowed. It was disappearing as race cat and was used mostly as a barn cat.

A small group of dedicated breeders in the U.S. managed to keep the race alive and in 1953 founded The Maine Cat Club, which held exhibitions exclusively for the Maine Coon.
Interest in the breed began to grow again.

To Sweden imported the first Maine Coon in 1986 and the first litter was born 1989

Maine Coon appearance :
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Maine Coon is a large cat. Males usually weigh 5-8 kg, but there are individuals who weigh up to 12 kg. Females are usually slightly smaller and usually weigh around 4-6 kg, there are exceptions to this.
Maine Coon develops slow and has not finished growing until 3-5 years of age. The coat is medium long and silky and because that can Maine Coon perceived as extra large
 The fur snarls rarely and is relatively easy. Maine Coon can be nearly any color, except Chocolate, Lilac and Siamese which is not approved
Maine Coon cat recalls of Norwegian Forest Cats in that they have developed in a similar way in terms of environmental and climate.
But there are important differences. Head of a Maine Coon is rectangular, with a square nose and slightly bend profile, Forest cat has a straight profile and triangular head.
The coat on a Maine Coon is soft silky while forest cat has a thick undercoat and harsher stronger overcoat. In its entirety the Maine Coon should be a powerful rectangular cat

Temperament :
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Maine Coon is a good giant. Calm, charming but also playful and curious. A good way to describe the Maine Coon temperament is "friendly".
 It can easy get along with other cats and animals.
It can of course be exceptions, but generally it is easy to have a Maine Coon with other pets. A fun feature of the Maine Coon is its special sounds.
It usually does not say "meow" like other cats but rather "brrrp" or almost "chirping" sound.
Maine Coon is a very easy-going and entertaining cat that is straightforward and sound in general.
A cool cat, true to his family, rather doglike in their behavior, really nice '!
It is quite common that they have a "favorite" cat owner but they are nice & friendly to everyone. They are social, nice cats that likes to be indoor cats,
they are straightforward in the way and are generally working well with dogs.
 Many Maine Coon likes to fetch various things you throw at them. They scratch often in / next to his water bowl / food bowl,
 old pristine customs to hide / dig up their food and to remove the "dirty" surface maybe, you do not really know?

Health:
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In its breed standard describes the Maine Coon as a natural breed with a lovely temperament. The breed comes from working farm cats in northeastern America.
It is precisely this "naturalness" of the Maine Coon that makes so many love and admire it. Internationally, the Maine Coon is now one of the most popular cat breeds.
Popularity has unfortunately a downside. As we breed for specific characteristics may also be some undesirable properties in the luggage.
This applies to all breeding in general, and there is hardly a cat who survived unscathed from inbreeding / line breeding.
For Maine Coon breeding has this led to two main genetic disorders now occur within the breed: hip dysplasia (HD) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
These disorders are not unique to Maine Coon, but also occurs in other breeds. HCM is, for example, the most common heart disease for cats.
Breed club Maine Coon cat's goal is to protect Maine Coon health and survival.
Therefore, the breed club started health programs to identify the presence of HD and HCM, and thus try to reduce the incidence of health problems.
Sources of inspiration have been other successful health programs in both the cat as dog breeding.
Maine Coon cat´s has, among other things, studied the health program for PRA in abessinier breeding, and various types of health programs for the dog.
Occasionally we hear of people who believe that the Maine Coon is sicker than other races because we are working with health and outcrosses.
 It is understandable that people spontaneously think so, but if you think about it so ought dedicated and ambitious breeders who start health programs and work
with inbreeding issues rather cater for the breed is healthier than other breeds. We want to improve our cats' health as much as possible, as well as we would like to improve the type and temperament.
 The health problems that we have put in focus are those that we today regard as the most serious problems in our breed. That does not mean that the problems are greater in Maine Coon than in races without health programs.
 On the contrary, should a race, whose breeders are working with health, reasonably be healthier than breeds that have no organized health work.
Interest in the Maine Coon cat's health has also raised among breeders in other countries.
 More and more foreign breeders sends X-ray plates for assessment of Lars Audell, and registration in the Swedish HD code.
 Maine Coon cat´s also hopes for cooperation concerning the identification of HCM. In order to increase our chances that we can work together to keep our natural Maine Coon safe and sound in the future.

More info. click here about Maine Coon cat's health
Maine Coon breed standard click here