Ten Maine Coon facts: origins, size, hips and the heart

Maine Coons have a documented history going back to the 1850s, and much of what is repeated about them is folklore. Some of the less colorful facts matter more to anyone who lives with one: the breed's size is tied to a high rate of hip dysplasia, and it carries a known gene variant for heart disease. Here are ten things worth knowing, with the legends marked as legends.

1. Nobody knows exactly where they came from

The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) traces written accounts of the breed back to the 1850s, and Maine Coons appeared at the first cat show held in the United States, in 1895. How they got to Maine is another matter. One story has Marie Antoinette's Turkish Angoras released into the Maine woods; another credits a sea captain called Coon whose ship carried longhaired cats. A third, that the ringed tails of brown tabbies came from matings with raccoons, is genetically impossible. The CFA's own view is less romantic: the breed's roots most likely lie in New England, where short-haired ship cats landed with the early settlers, and the longer coat is what the legends try to explain. A brown tabby Maine Coon named Cosey was Best Cat at that 1895 show.

2. They take years to finish growing

According to the CFA, it is not unusual for males to reach or exceed 20 lb (9 kg), while females are usually smaller. The breed matures slowly and can take up to three years to reach full size, so a one-year-old Maine Coon is not yet the cat it will become. That matters when judging weight. A young cat that looks lanky may simply be unfinished, and an adult that keeps "growing" after three may be putting on fat.

3. The coat is uneven on purpose

The breed standard calls for a heavy, shaggy coat that is shorter on the shoulders and longer on the sides, stomach and back legs, ending in a long plumed tail. The long belly and britches (the fur on the back of the thighs) are exactly where mats form. The CFA suggests combing two or three times a week, which takes five or ten minutes a session and also cuts down on shedding and hairballs.

4. Their paws are large and tufted

The standard describes the paws as large, round and well tufted, with five toes on each front foot and four on each back foot. In the CFA's words they appear designed to navigate snow banks, and the standard's opening line calls the Maine Coon a former working cat that can endure a harsh climate. The same standard adds that quality should never be sacrificed for size, a point that matters for the breed's hips (fact 8).

5. Extra toes run in some lines

Polydactyly, having more than the usual number of toes, is common in some Maine Coon breeding lines even though it does not fit the CFA's toe count. A study of 70 Maine Coons from breeding lines in Europe, Canada and the United States found that the trait varies a great deal, in the number and shape of the digits and even in the structure of the wrist and ankle joints. The authors found no apparent harm to welfare.

6. They chirp more than they meow

The CFA describes the breed's voice as chirps, trills and purrs, with only an occasional meow, and notes that Maine Coons are not considered a talkative breed. For a cat this size, that makes for a quiet housemate.

7. They like company without demanding it

The CFA describes Maine Coons as friendly, sweet-tempered, sociable and easy to train, with a habit of moving from one lap to another so that every family member gets attention. It also calls them fairly independent: they need a moderate amount of human interaction and will insist on it when you are available. That is a reason to plan for company and play when the household is out for long days. Food puzzles, climbing space sturdy enough for a large cat, and short daily play sessions all help.

8. Hip dysplasia is common, and it tracks body size

Hip dysplasia is usually thought of as a dog problem, but it is relatively common in Maine Coons. In 20 years of screening data from 5,038 pedigree Maine Coons, 37.4% had radiographic signs of it. Severity increased with age and with body mass, and was partly heritable. When breeders selected against hip dysplasia, the descendants had less severe disease and were also slightly smaller, which led the authors to caution against breed standards that reward very large cats. The CFA notes that breeders screen for hip dysplasia with X-rays.

Cats hide joint pain well. Reluctance to jump, a shorter jump than before, or a change in litter box habits in a Maine Coon should prompt a vet check. Keeping the cat lean takes load off the hips.

9. The breed has a known heart disease variant

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a thickening of the heart muscle, is the most common heart disease in cats, and the Cornell Feline Health Center lists the Maine Coon among breeds in which it is more common. In Maine Coons it is associated with a variant called A31P in the MYBPC3 gene. A 2024 study found that cats with two copies of the variant had moderate to severe HCM, while one copy carried a lower risk, and that the disease became more common with age. The DNA test looks only for this variant. The CFA lists echocardiograms alongside saliva DNA tests for HCM screening. Rapid or labored breathing at rest, or sudden weakness or pain in the hind legs, needs an emergency vet visit.

10. A cat twice the size does not need twice the food

Energy needs rise more slowly than body weight. The Merck Veterinary Manual calculates a cat's resting energy as 70 × body weight in kg to the power 0.75, multiplied by 1.2 for a neutered adult. By that formula a neutered 4 kg cat needs about 240 kcal a day and a neutered 8 kg Maine Coon about 400 kcal, roughly 1.7 times as much rather than double. Feeding a large cat "for its size" by scaling up a small cat's portion is an easy way to make it fat, and in this breed extra weight lands on hips that may already be dysplastic.

Sources

1. Maine Coon cat. The Cat Fanciers' Association.
2. Clinical characterisation of polydactyly in Maine Coon cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2017.
3. Demography, heritability and genetic correlation of feline hip dysplasia and response to selection in a health screening programme. Scientific Reports, 2019.
4. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
5. Influence of clinical aspects and genetic factors on feline HCM severity and development. Veterinary Sciences, 2024.
6. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.