I would love him 3000, but will he love me?

dokeiz

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Hi!

My name is Dylan. I live in Holland (behold grammar mistakes) in a beautiful natural enviorement.
We are thinking of getting a cat. But, I want to know as much as I can and be prepared as it can get. Thats why I am starting this thread.

I have a partner for 8 years now and we are finally building our forever-home. Its a complete new build with floor heating and a nice garden-room wich is semi-isolated, it can also be sealed off. Our garden is somewhat small , about 19 feet deep and 32 feet wide. Its a semi-detached house, wich would mean it has 3 floors with a open attic wich has free acces.

Now for the race : We loooooove maine coons. I like the fact that they are (or can get) huge! I also like his trademarks. According to internet a maine coon is not really a lapcat (with here and there a exception), but loves attention and belly rubs. Likes to follow you around and lie on you whenever you lay on the coach. This seems perfect for me. Because I`d like that the maine coon sits next to me on the coach, or time to time does like to sit on my lap. Now these are all things that I like about a maine coon. There are also things that I don`t like about a main coon or cats in general. My most concern is my furniture. I dont mind taking the vacum for a ride every single day, but im mostly scared for my coach, chairs en other things. I dont mind them sitting on a coach, but I do mind when they put their nails in it, or scratching.

This brings me to my question.

First of all : we both work 8 hours a day. We tend to buy a kitten, and we obviousley WONT leave the kitten alone that long. We would gradually increase the time as he gets older. However, once he has reached his independent age, he has to be alone for 8 hours.Is 8 hours too long for a single cat? I dont really see two of `m big cats in my house, nor a Maine Coon and a smaller one. I`ve read that (but hey, thats just Q&A) that once you get home and give him LOTS of attention, the cat wont mind being alone all that time. Let me put it this way : We would give the cat ALOT of attention when we r at home and will play with him and even let him out in the yard with a leesh.

A cat needs space, he needs to stretch and have enough space to wonder around. We have a big attic wich he can acces, about 50 square meters / 538 square feet, with fresh air (skylight wich is secured). The attic will have everything a cat can wish for toys , beds, litterbox. Besides the attic he will have acces to the landing/hallway on the second and first floor. However the living room and kitchen are sealed of. Once we get home, after 8 hours, he has acces to the living room , kitching and garden room wich is made of glass completely (so he can look at the birds :blush:) and ofcourse the attic.
Wich brings the question : Is the attic/hallways enough for 8 hours a day, and after 8 hours the kitching, living room and garden room aswell?

I`d like to hear your thoughts!

Thanks :)
 
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dokeiz

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I hope you read this, I forgot some things : The reason why I put in that we have floorheating is because we can regulate the heating in house for the cat , so it never gets to hot or to cold. And I have one more question : Does a maine coon like the be groomed every day? Ive read that this causes better bonding and less shedding. Or is it healthier for the cat to be groomed once a week ?
 

Elphaba09

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Firstly, I will say that you should expect your furniture to get scratched sometimes. You can try to deter it with sprays and protectors, but even with the best defenses up, the cat will likely scratch at times. Declawing is awful for cats. You did not mention it, so I am assuming that you are not considering it, but I had to say something for my own edification.

As for the room, I do not have a Maine Coon, but I do have nine cats. Two are fairly large. Not Maine Coon large, but large. (They are both around 18 lbs, and one is very tall and long.) Our house is less than 1,000 sq ft. We just provide a lot of vertical and higher horizontal space for them to run, so it makes the house feel larger to them. I think that if you have the toys, cat furniture, and other ways to keep the cat entertained, it should be fine. I am also in the mindset that two cats are better than one and they can keep each other entertained. But, as I said, I do not have a Maine Coon.

I brush all my cats one every day. Even if it is a quick brushing. A Maine Coon has such long hair that you really should brush it every day.
 

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Hello and welcome to TCS!

While two cats are usually better then one, one cat will be fine home alone for 8 hours a day. I have three cats (only one I got on purpose and the other two found me) and they regularly spend 12 hours a day alone without problem. As long as you make sure you cat proof a little for safety your cat will be fine. Cat proofing is just making sure you don't have any they can accidentally swallow (like hair ties) laying around or something they can get caught on (curtain cords being the most common). Just spend a lot of time with your cat as a kitten, develop a good routine of daily activity and your cat will be fine.

Cats really are creatures of habit so a good routine is very important. Feed around the same time, have set play times, establish household rules early and everything will be good. Cats respond better to positive reinforcement so reward good behavior and ignore the bad. When I say ignore I mean ignore that cats existence if they do bad things. For example, scratching furniture is quietly remove the cats claws say bad kitty in a normal voice and pay no attention for at least 30 seconds (short memory so it doesn't have to be long). I keep scratching posts at the corners of the couch and chairs that get more attention so the cats have something they can scratch where they want to scratch.

You will do great and if you give your cat love and attention they will give it back. Be the source of food, pets and play and you will be their world.
 

verna davies

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It sounds as if this cat will have a good and loving home. Cats will sleep for hours so if your home is quiet when you are at work, he will most probably sleep. Buy several scratching posts, tall ones, horizontal ones and you could even put a couple of empty cardboard boxes for him to scratch, cats love cardboard boxes. If he starts to scratch your furniture, direct him to a scratch post. You could put double sided sticky tape on the side of the furniture. Let us know when you have him and how you are doing.
 
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dokeiz

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Firstly, I will say that you should expect your furniture to get scratched sometimes. You can try to deter it with sprays and protectors, but even with the best defenses up, the cat will likely scratch at times. Declawing is awful for cats. You did not mention it, so I am assuming that you are not considering it, but I had to say something for my own edification.

As for the room, I do not have a Maine Coon, but I do have nine cats. Two are fairly large. Not Maine Coon large, but large. (They are both around 18 lbs, and one is very tall and long.) Our house is less than 1,000 sq ft. We just provide a lot of vertical and higher horizontal space for them to run, so it makes the house feel larger to them. I think that if you have the toys, cat furniture, and other ways to keep the cat entertained, it should be fine. I am also in the mindset that two cats are better than one and they can keep each other entertained. But, as I said, I do not have a Maine Coon.

I brush all my cats one every day. Even if it is a quick brushing. A Maine Coon has such long hair that you really should brush it every day.
Aah this sounds amazing. And yeah, we will not declaw him, that sounds horrific.
 
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dokeiz

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Hello and welcome to TCS!

While two cats are usually better then one, one cat will be fine home alone for 8 hours a day. I have three cats (only one I got on purpose and the other two found me) and they regularly spend 12 hours a day alone without problem. As long as you make sure you cat proof a little for safety your cat will be fine. Cat proofing is just making sure you don't have any they can accidentally swallow (like hair ties) laying around or something they can get caught on (curtain cords being the most common). Just spend a lot of time with your cat as a kitten, develop a good routine of daily activity and your cat will be fine.

Cats really are creatures of habit so a good routine is very important. Feed around the same time, have set play times, establish household rules early and everything will be good. Cats respond better to positive reinforcement so reward good behavior and ignore the bad. When I say ignore I mean ignore that cats existence if they do bad things. For example, scratching furniture is quietly remove the cats claws say bad kitty in a normal voice and pay no attention for at least 30 seconds (short memory so it doesn't have to be long). I keep scratching posts at the corners of the couch and chairs that get more attention so the cats have something they can scratch where they want to scratch.

You will do great and if you give your cat love and attention they will give it back. Be the source of food, pets and play and you will be their world.
Thank you!
 
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dokeiz

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It sounds as if this cat will have a good and loving home. Cats will sleep for hours so if your home is quiet when you are at work, he will most probably sleep. Buy several scratching posts, tall ones, horizontal ones and you could even put a couple of empty cardboard boxes for him to scratch, cats love cardboard boxes. If he starts to scratch your furniture, direct him to a scratch post. You could put double sided sticky tape on the side of the furniture. Let us know when you have him and how you are doing.
He will have a lot of love indeed! Good idea with the scratching poles near the furniture.
 

sivyaleah

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Hello!

First, while it's great to have two cats, especially if you're getting a kitten, to keep them busy and have a friend it is perfectly fine to only have one cat. They will do fine as long as they have enough love from you, plenty of mental stimulation and play time and are taken care of in all ways. Adult cats specifically can be left alone for 8 hours a day with no problem. Adults sleep a LOT! As long as you have big windows for them to look out of that they can access, appropriate toys that are safe for solo play with out you there, nice comfortable sleep spaces and access to their food, water and litter box they will thrive. Just be sure to give them plenty of attention before and after you leave for work/school or wherever it is you need to be all day.

Kittens, however, really should not be left alone for that many hours for the first months of their lives as they can get into way too much trouble on their own. They are VERY curious and small things you leave around can become dangerous quickly. I wouldn't leave a kitten alone until it was at least 6 months or more for more than a few hours at a time.

Now as for Maine Coons. To this I can speak. We have a purebred Maine Coon. The breeder did mention to us that they are not lap cats but, are very friendly and will like to be near you a lot. Ours is very much like this now that she's getting older. When a kitten, she was different; she used to love sleeping on my for long periods but I think that was just her age, being so young. She is 10 months old now and very much her own "person" and her personality is now set. She does not like to be messed with much at all, isn't into being pet too much other than on her head, under her neck and sometimes, her upper belly. However, she does not mind being held - unless we're trying to clean her eyes LOL.

We try to respect her physical bounderies as much as possible. On the other hand, she loves sitting near us. She will park herself right next to me on the coffee table. Or on my desk as I'm working. Or the couch. Or at my feet as I'm cooking. At night, she sleeps on a pile of pillows over my head, and grooms my hands and face, sometimes stroking my cheeks with her huge paws. It's very sweet. In fact, she has chosen to sleep there herself every night since the day we let her out of her "safe room" when she was 4 months old. There has been only a few nights when she didn't and it was probably because I was sick and up coughing the whole night. I'm sure she was annoyed by it LOL. I, am her human - she's extremely attached to me, much more than to my husband.

Also, she follows us around the house everywhere, has to know everything we are doing, has to "help" us do everything.
She's very nosey and curious! Quite talkative and her voice is very different from any other cat I've ever known. A completely different vocabulary and I can easily tell what she means by the sounds she makes. She actually is a bit on the shy side with new people that come in the house, and is a bit fearful leaving the house, although she's extremely confident around the house and much more "alpha" than our older cat in behavior. She is an enigma of conflicting emotions at times.

Her fur is not difficult to care fur but, she hates being groomed so we do struggle with this. The fact that she is so not into being touched is problematic - but not all Maine Coons are this way. Typical of MC's the top coat is long and silky and the undercoat is thicker, dense and sort of curly - this does tend to mat and is what we're having a problem with since she won't let us get to the areas that knot up worst. If you aren't committed to grooming this will become an issue and is something which you need to consider.

She's BIG. Already. 10 pounds at 10 months. LONG. Easily reaches over our kitchen counter. Bigger than our adult cat. But a klutz. Not graceful at all.

Luna was raised by a very good breeder (in fact, there's a famous chef who has one of her cats and his cat seems to be extremely friendly via his Instagram posts though who really knows - he might just be showing the good moments), and we've doted on her completely so there's no reason why she'd be standoffish other than it just being her nature.

Anyway, who knows if any of this is specific to Maine Coons, or not. I've found many cats of all breeds seem to have similar behaviors here and there; nature vs nuture? But if you have your heart set on a Maine Coon just make sure you do good research into the breeder - don't make a snap decision just based on appearance of the kitten. It's a long term relationship, and an expensive one at that.
 
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