Maine Coon, Domestic Medium Hair [Mix]

Max's page is probably a good place to tell you about the Maine coon ("MC") personality. All this information is from what I have read and then observed Max doing. The breed can come in any color except "points" like siamese. This makes it hard sometimes to recognize them - especially MC/mix kittens. They can be bi-color (black/white) and solids but the most recognized is the well-loved tabby. They have big ears, paws and very long tails. Their mane comes in when they are approximately 2 years old. MCs are large-boned cats with high-energy personalities and they are slow to mature! It took Max 5 years before he had enough time to sit on my lap. He was always affectionate but he had so much to do, time didn't permit warming laps. Basically you have a very large kitten for a very long time! I've heard MCs called "vicinity" cats meaning that they are always near but not in your lap until they reach that maturity. After Max reached his 5th birthday, he insisted on lap time every evening. For such big cats - a purebred male can weigh over 20 lbs - they have tiny little voices. Actually some of them don't meow, they chirp. Max chirped when he was happy or about to cause mayhem. Often I would hear the chirp, watch his legs spin in place - literally - and then brace myself for the upcoming mischief. MCs enjoy playing in water. Max loved to throw his toys in his water bowl and then fish them out. They also love to run. They are very interactive with their people and often social with visitors. Some of their personality is dog-like. Max loved to fetch rattle mice, or if I threw the mice in the air, he would leap to catch them mid-air in his paws. Walking on a harness was also something he enjoyed. We introduced the harness to him when he was appx 3 months old. We considered ourselves very lucky that Max had all the above traits but I must confess that I was clueless when I brought him home as a 10-week old kitten. His personality was so unlike any kitten I had ever met. I've described many of the traits of an MC. Obviously each cat is an individual and may have other traits or not have some of the ones I described. MCs are referred to as Gentle Giants and the description is very appropriate. They generally like cats, dogs, children, visitors . . . However, nature played an unkind trick on this marvelous breed for it gave them the tendency to have heart problems. It seems ironic that MCs would have this particular weakness since running is such an important activity for them. Indeed, Max died of what we think was a heart attack at only 7.5 years old. He was mid-step and I'm sure planning his day's agenda when his heart stopped. I don't think he knew his time was up. MCs also can be prone to hip dysplasia. I hope this helps when you consider an MC for your companion. Below is a poem my husband wrote the day after Max passed. The first day we met you, we didn't understand, This little kitten so out of hand, Running, jumping, swinging on air, I'll do it all, try me, if you dare. Yes, you were sick, but who could tell? Thank God, can you imagine him well? Yet a fool finds his treasures, and we found you, You did get well and the joy just grew. But that was just our overture, we watched, amazed, unsure, Yet you reached for us with happy paws, Each day, each hour, each pleasant dawn. Through all the years, the times we knew, The treasures of memories we lovingly grew, We'll never know if you felt the same, But sometime early in the game. More than the crazy cat, or the family pet, You became the son we can't forget. They promised us more time with you, Seven and half years seems too few, Yet one morning, you choose which one, Quick as the breeze, we had no son. When we see it all from the end of days, It went too fast, we wish you'd stayed, On your winds of love we sailed awhile, Now we drift alone without your smile. February 16, 2006