Maine Coon is one of the largest breeds of domestic cats. These animals owe their dimensions to forest ancestors. The material in this article will help the reader find the differences between ordinary pets and representatives of the Maine Coon breed.
Features
The appearance of Maine Coon may be lost during uncontrolled breeding. Its genetic characteristics have their own nuances. For example, they can be inherited by genotype and phenotype. The genotype determines the set of parental genes in which a kitten receives them from both parents. The phenotype is nothing but external traits that depend on a combination of genes.
These cats are friendly, complaisant, loyal, non-aggressive, although cautious in their behavior. Purebred representatives of the breed have medium-long hair. Kittens are born with different weights, however, regardless of this, the weight of the Maine Coon is always greater than the weight of an outbred individual. Unlike ordinary cats, Maine Coons love water. They can splash around in it, bathe, pour out of a bowl, play with its jets, do what an ordinary cat would hardly agree to.
As practice shows, these cats differ in their level of intelligence, as a result of which they can be trained in various tricks. Other rock features include mobility. These cats are so active that ordinary pets can envy them. Despite the important appearance, they rush about with pleasure, play, sometimes entertaining themselves with the most ordinary objects.
These animals distinguish one owner, although they treat the rest of the household quite friendly. By nature, they are fearless, but very curious and constantly looking for something to do. They are very talkative and often purr despite not making heart-rending and harsh sounds. The character of the breed representative completes the formation by three years.
An interesting feature of the breed is the fact that Maine Coon females are rarely the cause of household allergies, unlike sexually mature males.
How is it different from usual?
Maine Coon has a number of its features that distinguish it from an ordinary relative. The appearance of this cat is more like wildlife. Their face is vaguely reminiscent of the face of a panther, their look is rather predatory and confident. This cat is solid, large, often with a rather stern look. At the same time, the eyes of the wild cat are slightly slanted, which the pet does not have: its eyes are round.
At first glance it immediately seems that this is a cat on an enlarged scale. Despite the fact that females in Maine Coons are smaller than males, the length of a cat can reach about 1 meter. The average weight is 8-9 kg, castrati cats weigh up to 10-12 kg.
Compared to a regular cat, Maine Coon has an elongated face, with its lower part moving forward. The chin itself is in a line with the nose, it is quite powerful and well developed. Unlike domestic cats, Maine Coon is similar to an athlete: individuals of this breed are characterized by a strong and even muscular physique. Their skeleton is large, paws are more powerful, wider and longer.
Maine Coon boasts a thick coat, and it is not only dense and thick, but very soft. This cat has a fluffy frill collar that covers not only the neck, but also the breast. Longer hair grows on the tail, hind legs and stomach. In addition, it is present between the claws.
The position of the ears is different: on Maine Coon, they are located higher than on an ordinary cat. The ears themselves are wider, inside have long tufts of wool, which are located horizontally on the floor. The key difference between a large cat can be called the presence of brushes on the ears, characteristic of a lynx.
Maine Coon is hard to distinguish from a mestizo. This can be recognized by experts, examining the face of the animal. They note that in a purebred Maine raccoon cat, the box formed by means of pillows with vibrissas is geometrically perfect. In addition, they are distinguished by a more distinct transition to the zygomatic part. The weight of the mestizo is also different: as a rule, sexually mature individuals do not exceed 7 kg in weight.
Differences with other breeds
Maine Coon differs from the Siberian cat in a fully formed breed, it is not heterogeneous. His legs and body are longer, his neck is longer. The Siberian cat has a deeper and wider chest. In addition, the Siberians have roundness of the back.
Maine Coon has a long muzzle with the shape of a sharp wedge. His forehead is convex, cheekbones protruding with a high landing. The chin of this breed is strong and developed, and the pillows with vibrissas located on them are prominent. In Maine raccoon cats, the distance between the ears is less than in Siberians. They look almost upright.
Cats differ in color. For example, purebred Maine individuals cannot have chocolate, lilac, fawn, cinnamon. In addition, such a cat cannot have acromelanic coloring. As for grooming, unlike the Siberian cat, Maine Coon needs regular combing of thick and silky hair.
As for the Norwegian forest species, the differences here are in appearance. If the maine head tends to be more like a "box" or "rectangle", then the Norwegians have a wedge-shaped or triangular, narrowed below. Moreover, the profile of the Norwegian cats is straight, they have a flatter forehead. In addition, the Skogkatt hair is rough and stiff, although double.
You can also notice the difference in body length: Norwegians have it more compact in comparison with Maine Coons.
According to breeders' comments, Maine cats are more friendly, while Norwegian forest pets can be unbearable.
How to distinguish a thoroughbred kitten?
Usually, obvious differences can be noticed when Maine Coon turns 3 months old. A thoroughbred individual with a weight of 100-150 grams is born against a regular kitten with parameters of 80-100 grams. Maine Coon grows and develops faster, it is more active and earlier accustomed to regular feed. In addition, his eyes opened earlier.
A thoroughbred kitten has brushes between its claws. If it is difficult to determine an individual, you can look at the tail: in a thoroughbred baby it is twice as long. Its body is characterized by a massive chest. The six-month-old representative of the feline family is comparable in weight to an ordinary yard cat.
Kittens differ in head shape. In Maine Coon, it is more elongated, and the length is always greater than the width, while in classic pets it is often wider. In addition, purebred Maine cats have a pedigree.
If it is not, this is a sure sign of outbred or mixed breed.
You can learn about 10 interesting facts about Maine Coons by watching the video below.
