Maine Coons: Big on personality and affection

By Marty Metzger
North Forty News

If any breed can dispel felines' reputation as aloof and independent animals, it's the Maine Coon.

The ambiguous history of these gentle, longhaired beauties dates to the early days of Maine, where nature honed them into hardy hunters and prized pets.

One outlandish theory of their beginnings is that feral cats crossbred with raccoons, the offspring of which were bushy tailed brown tabbies. While this most common appearance provided the breed its name, the preposterous legend of dissimilar species crossbreeding cannot be true.

Another hypothesis involves Marie Antoinette's six cats. In anticipation of attempting an escape from the French Revolution, she sent her pets on ahead to Wiscasset, Maine, where they perpetuated the new breed.

The most likely and widely believed origin is matings between domestic shorthairs and Angoras imported by East Coast seafarers, or the Vikings' longhaired cats. The breed most similar to the Maine Coon is the Norwegian forest cat. This close resemblance shines the brightest spotlight on the latter possibility.

Maine Coons display endearing, distinctive and occasionally amusing traits. They generally prefer to fill the role of "personal assistant" rather than pampered darling. Highly sociable, they enjoy friendly interaction with children, adults, dogs and other cats. This gregarious disposition often extends to the washing of any creature willing to submit to an extensive cat-tongue bath. Maine Coons love to help their people perform even mundane tasks and will tirelessly follow, or patiently wait for, their owner to do so. They do, however, relish their personal space enough to sit snugly beside, rather than on the lap of, their chosen person.

Many Maine Coons savor a lively game of fetch with owners, such as plastic hair curlers joyfully retrieved many years ago by an especially adept Maine Coon girl named Gypsy Rose Leigh.

The breed's physical characteristics attest to its start in a severe climate: heavy, water-resistant, longhaired coat; long, bushy tail that doubles as its wrap-around comforter when curled up asleep in winter; big, furry, snow-treadable feet; large ears sporting Lynx-like tufts. Impressive size (the standard is 13 to 18 pounds for males, 9 to 12 pounds for females) on a muscular, big-boned frame completes the handsome picture.

Although they have large bodies, Maine Coons speak in soft little peeps, chirps and whispers. Even rare growls of protest can sound almost polite.

The large, expressive eyes of these gentle giants can stare with great expectation at owners, as if begging permission to "come with" or extend playtime.

Maine Coons come in all colors and patterns except Siamese shades. These are disallowed by the registry, the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association. Also banned from shows are polydactyls, or cats with extra toes.

Although the personable, intelligent, good-natured breed first shone as mousers in the barn, it shines brighter still in the show ring. Its great beauty was initially publicly proclaimed when a Maine Coon was named Best Cat at the very first major cat show held in the United States.

One local man who delights in showing and breeding Maine Coons is Dennis Allen who, with wife Trudie, owns TruTails Maine Coon Cattery. The Allens' interest in the breed began benignly enough when Trudie read a book about it and liked the traits mentioned.

Then in March 1999, after an exhaustive search covering most of a year, the couple were introduced by Pat Idleman to Debra and Larry Taylor of Kankoonkats of Wichita, Kan., and learned that the Taylors had a 6-month-old, neutered male kitten available. Snickers, a brown mackerel tabby "dripping in coat," captured their hearts and became the cornerstone of their new passion and business.

A few weeks later, Larry Taylor called to offer the Allens the opportunity to purchase Bocephus, a then 12-week-old kitten. Trudie had admired GP, Kankooncats Buster Bocephus, as he was later registered when she'd visited the Taylors' home to pick up Snickers. So, the Allens doubled their cat count by driving to Wichita to get Bocephus. Deliriously smitten by the kitten, they also returned with his littermate sister, CH, Kankoonkats Danielle's Mi'tsu, as a birthday gift for their granddaughter Danielle.

Beginning in 2000, they set out to breed the healthiest and best show cats possible. This goal includes breeding each female only once a year, with a total kitten count at the cattery of no more than four to five litters per year overall.

One TruTails champion, GC, RW, Trutails Great Expectations, also known as Finnegan, ended his kitten career as the highest scoring longhair kitten in show and went on to become an adult champion and excellent sire.

Old enough to show in championship competition for only eight months of CFA's 2002-2003 show season, Finnegan finished as the fourth best Maine Coon in the nation, close behind CFA's third highest scoring Maine Coon. In addition, he finished 58th best Allbreed Cat nationally. He was the 2002-2003 Gulf Shore Region Best Maine Coon and sixth best allbreed cat. The Gulf Shore encompasses Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and parts of Kansas and Tennessee.

The Allens currently show a 1-year-old male, Trutails Court Jester (aka Jessie). Allen describes black-and-white Jessie as a "stunning creature, well-muscled, with a black mask, and perfect ear, nose, eye and muzzle placement."

The Maine Coon cat is a truly American-bred feline that's large not only in size but also in beauty, affection and personality. Additional information and many links about them are available at www.mcbfa.org. For more about the Allens' breeding program, go to their web site www.trutails.com.