Maine Coon?

[noelnoel]

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• noelnoel
• Jan 21, 2013

My Phineas was a stray who found me on Christmas. Obviously I don't have any history of his origin. I am thinking he mighy be Maine Coon. He has the trademark 'M' on his forehead, has fluffy fur, ear tufts, as big as my 7 yr old dsh cat and he trills! His sound is really spectacularly cute! What do you think? So interesting and I am so honoured & lucky he chose me! )

 

[pushylady]

What a handsome beastie! I love his big fluffy mane. You are lucky he chose you!

 

[noelnoel]

Thank you! He is soooo nice to cuddle with! Plus the bushy tail! Oh my.. definitely fluffy!

 

[orientalslave]

All tabby cats have an M on their forehead!  He is a domestic longhair - strays very rarely have any pedigree blood in them.  However given where you live (not Maine but somewhere cold in winter!) and what he looks like, he might be the sort of cat the Maine Coon was selected from.  It's a natural breed e.g. selected from cats in a particular area so finding pure 100% moggies that are reministent of them is to be expected.

Thick winter coats, ear tufts, furry feet, big fluffy tail and large size are all adaptations to living in cold climates, and although the breeds are clearly different the Maine Coon, Norway Forest Cat and Siberian all come from similar climate and have them.  An example, I believe, of convergent evolution.

 

[missymotus]

Unfortunately there was a tv show who said the M meant Maine Coon, they should have checked their facts as it simply isn't true

As OS said all tabby cats have an M, from moggies to pedigrees
I can assure you my Ocicats, who have M's are not Coonies lol

Your boy is just a domestic longhair

 

[noelnoel]

Wonderful! Thank you all for your insight. He is so special!

 

[cattree]

No matter what he is he is lovely! Look at that face.. and it is really hard to determine a breed without knowing much about the cat , hes a keeper!

 

[orientalslave]

No matter what he is he is lovely! Look at that face.. and it is really hard to determine a breed without knowing much about the cat , hes a keeper!

95% or so of cats are of no particular breed. 

 

[callista]

He's got a mane like a lion on him! Does his fur tend to mat at all? How much grooming does he need?

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

My Speedboat looked much like your cat with the mane around his head. He did required brushing and combing a lot.

 

[noelnoel]

He is lovely and fluffy until my 5 month old kitten(my other cat) went into heat yesterday! This cat is going in to get neutered this Friday! Already pre booked and they wouldn't do it without the second round of shots! Ahhh, so close but the nightmare began when I got home and found that he had sprayed all over my house. Needless to say I slept at 4.30am this morning from being up all night cleaning the house and while cleaning kitty pan, got some kitty poop on my face. LoL so, I had to shower and blowdry my hair at 4am. Yes, you may laugh... lol. It wasn't very funny when I caught him trying to mount my 5 month old kitten. I seperated them and they have been apart since. He is back living in the foyer. He also didn't stop yowling ALL NIGHT! To be honest, I almost let them have a go at it just to stop the non stop yoel but I didn't, of course. Haha. My kitten whom I suspect is in heat did not yowl at all, strange. So I don't know what's going on. I think my house is spotless now. I am not liking him seperated from all of us but I have no choice until Friday.

I now know why people give up cats. It is a VERY trying time when everything is not normal. Maybe that's why the previous owner dropped him off. The only solution is neutering. I am surprised they wouldn't do that considering he has such a great personality. I am not taking his behaviour personally though cause he's just doing what a tomcat does. Best part about this whole incident is that the rest of the household slept like a baby while washing machine, dryer and blow dryer were making a racket! LOL

Sorry I had to vent in this lovely thread. Haha.. and to answer your question, no, I brush him whenever I can. He doesn't matt easily, thank goodness!

 

[angels mommy]

What a beautiful boy, & a wonderful Christmas present!   Yes, I would agree w/ the others. (at first I thought, maybe, but then saw he did not have the huge paws to match). LOL!  

Angel has the M on his forehead too.

 

[noelnoel]

Thank you! My 5 month old kitten as part of my Christmas present actually that I convinced my husband to get earlier for me, and I still got another Christmas cat!! lol Maybe I should be careful what I wish for! Haha

 

[angels mommy]

LOL! See what you manifested.

  I'm glad the kitty found a good home.

 

[GoldyCat]

You should get your girl spayed ASAP. That's even more important than neutering the boy. Or get them done at the same time. Males can retain sperm and impregnate a female up to two months after they've been neutered, which comes as a shock to responsible owners who think they've taken care of the problem. :jaw:

 

[Willowy]

You should get your girl spayed ASAP. That's even more important than neutering the boy. Or get them done at the same time. Males can retain sperm and impregnate a female up to two months after they've been neutered, which comes as a shock to responsible owners who think they've taken care of the problem. :jaw:

It's also unhealthy for her to go into heat multiple times, and he may have succeeded in mating her before you got home (cats mate many times to make sure the mating takes), and it would be terrible for her to have a litter so young. So it's best to get her spayed quick, before anything happens!

 

[bigperm20]

What a beautiful cat! He looks a lot like my 7 month old kitten "Beans". She's a moggie too, but I've often thought that a cat like her would have been a great foundation cat for the Maine Coon breed. Here's a pic. Her paws are gigantic for her age so she will most likely get a lot bigger.

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• bigperm20
• Jan 29, 2013

How old is Phineas? Did your vet estimate his age? I agree on getting the female done asap. They may have already done the deed so it's crucial to get her taken care of quickly. Also, as someone else stated males can remain fertile for a month after I think. So she should be your focus.

 

[noelnoel]

Oh dear. My vet refused to spay her until she is at least 6 momths!!!!, I tried to get it done when she was 3 months or so cause I KNOW that shelters do that to all their kittens (even younger than that) but they wouldn't. Frustrating! I also asked for a discount rate, as I know I have a kitten to spay but this stray is a surprise! A spay and neuter in a month, plus my dog's annual checkup (my dog is special needs, heart murmur with no chance of living a couple of months when I got him but he's doing good now!)! Yikes!

Thanks so much for the tip on getting her spay first and that males retains sperm for a couple of months after neutering. I did NOT know that! Double yikes!

Vet estimated Phin Phin to be 8 months old. Oh no, I am so worried!!!!! I can't have kittens from my kitten. What a turn of events. This was all supposed to be peaches and roses but it has turned into a nightmare. No, she is sooooooooooo tiny. I am rather grossed out by this whole thing, eeeks.

My kitten didn't have the telltale howling at all and Phin was yowling yesterday like crazy buy quieten down today. So, were any of them actually in heat? I thougt they constantly try to get at each other and make the biggesy racket for days?.. will be calling other vets tomorrow!

 

[noelnoel]

It's been a quiet day and so far a quiey night! * fingers crossed!*

 

[missymotus]

Males don't go into heat, but the yowling is him calling for girls.

If you're vet is old fashioned I'd go to another one who's up on the current procedures - not that early neutering is new, it's been done for decades, girls can have silent heats, they also don't need to be in heat to get pregnant. They're induced ovulators, it's the act of mating that then releases the egg being in heat just makes them more receptive to the boys advances. 

If she was mated she will come out of heat and all will be silent. The male will also quieten down, at least for a little while. It also only takes one mating to get pregnant.