Maine Coon??

DanniD

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Hi everyone
just looking for opinions.
this is my cat, Cora. She is five years old. Picked her up as a rescue kitten, found dumped at a construction site.
Over the last five years, always thought she was a Maine coon or at least part, thoughts?
she is not big, more on the smaller side but figured that has to do with being dumped and neglected?
Thanks !!
 

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Maria Bayote

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Wow beautiful cat! So regal-looking. :)
I am not a breed expert but she probably does have some maine coon in her. Without papers, she will be considered as DLH.

She looks like my Bourbon. :redheartpump: :redheartpump:
 

Norachan

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Wow, she's stunning! Her eyes are just breath taking.

No, I don't think she's part Maine Coon. Her profile is different and she doesn't have the ear furnishings a Maine Coon would have. I would say she's a domestic long hair. What a lucky find, though.
 

di and bob

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There are several breeds that can lead to longer hair and her looks, Norwegian Forest Cat, Siberian, Ragdoll, etc. plus the Maine Coon. She doesn't have the ear tufts and the blocky, pronounced muzzle that Maine Coons have, but she could have some in her background. She would be a Domestic Long hair in her description without papers, her coloring is brown tabby, she has the 'M' on her forehead between/above her eyes. Beautiful cat!
 

jen

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The likelihood of finding a purebred cat dumped as a kitten is so extremely rare. Most cats are no particular breed at all and while we can compare them to all the breeds out there, they come from generation after generation of domestics breeding with domestics and are in fact just domestic short or long hair cats with no pure genetic ancestry. Gorgeous cat though!
 

sivyaleah

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As already mentioned, she is very adorable but, does not resemble a Maine Coon.

We have a purebred Maine Coon Kitten, Luna, who is 8 months old now. She's my avatar. If you even look at that you can see how different looking she is from Cora. MC's have very distinct physical attributes; high pointed ears with long lynx tufts, long tufting on the paws also, a boxy muzzle, muscular and rather long, lean body, and will normally sport a shaggy ruff around the neck and britches but not be particularly long haired on the middle of the body (contrary to popular belief). Their coat texture is quite different too - it's very silky and somewhat "greasy" feeling in comparison to other cats. They also have a very different profile although I'm not qualified to speak specifically to those differences, I just recognize it when I see it now since we have a purebred MC.

It would also be highly unlikely to find a mix of a Maine Coon - reputable breeders just do not allow this to happen, and unreputable breeders well, who's to say their MC is even a purebred MC to begin with. The long hair gene is very common in the general cat population and shows up everywhere, in every coat color and in many breeds too. Shelters sometimes will say "mix" to make it easy to categorize a cat and help it get adopted, but honestly, it really doesn't mean anything since without papers, all cats are considered "domestic".

Cora reminds me our our other cat, Cocoabean, who is a domestic longhair, Tortie. Her ears are quite smaller than a Maine Coon and more round, (as is she lol) and she's a LOT more furry too. You got very lucky finding such a stunning beauty, and vice versa for her being lucky that you came to rescue her. She really is majestic looking!
 

jefferd18

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She could very well have Main Coon in her background. I wonder if you could have her DNA tested?
 

sabian

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I could see some MC in her background or maybe NFC. She would be considered a DLH without papers. Not all MC's have Linx Tufted ears. Most breeders that show have bred it into their cats. There's also CFA bred and TICA bred MC's. CFA MC's have a softer look and don't always have linx tufts especially in pet quality cats. TICA bred cats have a more feral look, squarer muzzles and, more pronounced or longer linx tufts. MC's 18 to 20 years ago looked much different than todays MC's. Today they have a heavy European influence. I got Tama in 2001. He's passed away now but, you can see his facial structure is similar to Cora's. He was purebred with papers from a high level breeder at the time, pet quality. He weighed as much as 25lbs but leveled out at 23. Females typically weigh less than males. So it's possible she came from a low level breeder. I'd actually like to see some more pics of her body and tail, etc. And know how much she weighs.
8028c.015 (2).jpg
 

sivyaleah

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sabian sabian The OP can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think she means is her cat a direct result of a mating of an MC and another cat - not from a lineage from ages ago. The looks would be so diluted from interbreeding through the years that the one MC in it would be a moot point.

FYI Our girl, is pet quality CFA registered - not the more wild looking TICA type. We have her pedigree going back 10 generations and have been able to find photos online of several of her relatives since many were champions that were bred by her breeder or came from other catteries and have been easy to locate online by cross-searching names of the cats from the breeder's website.

Your comment about the lynx tufting got me curious so I took a look this morning again, hadn't looked at her website since we got Luna (it's out of date, she only used FB these days). Photos go back to the early 2000's. All of their CFA cats are lynx tufted though I do notice the ears on many are not quite a high pointed as Luna's :dunno:
luna nov 1.jpg
 
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DanniD

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Hi everyone. Thanks so much for the feedback, it’s quite unanimous in that not a Maine coon.
I will definitely get her DNA tested though to uncover what she may have.

to be honest, she is stunning but you haven’t seen my other one. He is a kiwi domestic. When I moved back home, I wasn’t leaving him behind. Even those that can’t stand cats actually like him. He’s really handsome for a cat 😂
 

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sabian

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sivyaleah sivyaleah I can see what your getting at with what I wrote. I was actually hoping the OP would post some more pics and I was kind of tired when I wrote it. What I should have added is that it could be from a low level breeder and have more of a classic look, not from a lineage from 20 years ago. Even low level bred cats can come with papers and be registered and believe me there are a lot of low level breeders out there. Just look on something like oodles.com.

I think you may be surprised what some "reputable" breeders will do. A while back there was a member that had just gotten her first MC named Alaska. He looked alot like your MC but solid white. She had a MC that was crossed with I believe it was a Siamese. It didn't look like a MC at all but, a very large Siamese. She had papers on him. I'll try and find her SN if I can. MC's from what I've read are actually a cross breed. Stories differ on how and what breeds but consensus is they are a cross breed bred naturally and evolved. That's on the CFA page. Ragdolls are a result of cross breeding. Recently there was a new dog breed introduced that I'm pretty sure was a result of cross breeding. So breeders do cross breed. I guess it depends on what you call reputable.

To me your Luna looks like a nice meld between CFA and TICA. The more feral look seems to be creeping into CFA. The closest thing I can find to a classic look from a breeder is Classic Cool Cattery ClassicCoolCattery - Kittens. You may not remember but, we had this conversation before when you first got Luna on another thread. If you look at the bottom of the page of the link I posted at the most recent kittens, they have, for the most parts smaller muzzles and not as chunky. Some of their cats have the broader muzzles but, not like most breeders. If you look at Samson "The largest cat in NYC" which they bred, doesn't have the large squared muzzle like most MC's you see now.

I wish there was someway I could pull up some archive photo's from 2001 but, I can't come up with anything. All I can tell you is when I was looking for a MC in 2001 I done extensive research and the look was a lot different compared to now. You may have seen linx tips but not like now. Not as pronounced and long. Their ears didn't stand straight like they do know and muzzles weren't as chunky. After Tama passed away and I started looking for breeders, I was literally like WTF! I was amazed at the change. I'm pretty set on getting a cat from Classic Cool, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. They also have high and low whites which I'm partial to.

So just wondering how Luna and your other cat's introduction went and how long it took. I'm scared to death on how Manny will handle another cat in the house. I think he'll be ok with it but, not sure! I kinda think he would like a friend though.
 

mani

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Even those that can’t stand cats actually like him. He’s really handsome for a cat 😂
He's really gorgeous too. Not sure what you mean by handsome for a cat. I've never met a cat I didn't fall in love with.
:lol:
Maybe D DanniD means she thinks cats are more 'beautiful' than 'handsome'.:)
Whatever, he's absolutely stunning.

1579090641152.png


That 'look' is incredible! :redheartpump:
 

sivyaleah

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sivyaleah sivyaleah I can see what your getting at with what I wrote. I was actually hoping the OP would post some more pics and I was kind of tired when I wrote it. What I should have added is that it could be from a low level breeder and have more of a classic look, not from a lineage from 20 years ago. Even low level bred cats can come with papers and be registered and believe me there are a lot of low level breeders out there. Just look on something like oodles.com.

I think you may be surprised what some "reputable" breeders will do. A while back there was a member that had just gotten her first MC named Alaska. He looked alot like your MC but solid white. She had a MC that was crossed with I believe it was a Siamese. It didn't look like a MC at all but, a very large Siamese. She had papers on him. I'll try and find her SN if I can. MC's from what I've read are actually a cross breed. Stories differ on how and what breeds but consensus is they are a cross breed bred naturally and evolved. That's on the CFA page. Ragdolls are a result of cross breeding. Recently there was a new dog breed introduced that I'm pretty sure was a result of cross breeding. So breeders do cross breed. I guess it depends on what you call reputable.

To me your Luna looks like a nice meld between CFA and TICA. The more feral look seems to be creeping into CFA. The closest thing I can find to a classic look from a breeder is Classic Cool Cattery ClassicCoolCattery - Kittens. You may not remember but, we had this conversation before when you first got Luna on another thread. If you look at the bottom of the page of the link I posted at the most recent kittens, they have, for the most parts smaller muzzles and not as chunky. Some of their cats have the broader muzzles but, not like most breeders. If you look at Samson "The largest cat in NYC" which they bred, doesn't have the large squared muzzle like most MC's you see now.

I wish there was someway I could pull up some archive photo's from 2001 but, I can't come up with anything. All I can tell you is when I was looking for a MC in 2001 I done extensive research and the look was a lot different compared to now. You may have seen linx tips but not like now. Not as pronounced and long. Their ears didn't stand straight like they do know and muzzles weren't as chunky. After Tama passed away and I started looking for breeders, I was literally like ***! I was amazed at the change. I'm pretty set on getting a cat from Classic Cool, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. They also have high and low whites which I'm partial to.

So just wondering how Luna and your other cat's introduction went and how long it took. I'm scared to death on how Manny will handle another cat in the house. I think he'll be ok with it but, not sure! I kinda think he would like a friend though.
Thanks for all of this, great info! I certainly do see huge differences between TICA and CFA MC's and was somewhat baffled by Luna's looks being CFA registered; her body type and coat type seem way more CFA to me, but her face has a more boxy appearance and her ears are quite pointy especially, I think, for a female. She has a lot of growing to do so we'll see how she winds up a year or two from now.

For the off-topic part, Luna and Bean are doing really nicely now - 3-1/2 months in. Just the other night Luna jumped up on her kitten scratching post (which, is an utterly ridiculous sight to see as she's nearly 10 pounds now at 8 months!) and started to play fight with Cocoabean, who was on the floor below. Slow and quiet, silly paw batting. So cute. Bean just laid there. She's gotten quite mellow around her for the most part. They chase each other around the house too, and my husband has found them sleeping together during the daytime on our guest bed several times. Not cuddly, nor do they groom each other yet, but they greet with nose kisses and do sniff each other as they pass by. Considering the age difference we are really pleased and hopefully as more time passes their relationship will continue to grow.
 

Willowy

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Maine Coons were bred from the stock of big shaggy farm cats that developed in the Northeastern part of the US, due to the cold wet winters up there---pure natural selection. So there are a lot of cats from that natural landrace. But probably no purebred Maine Coon. Most cats have no purebred background at all, unlike dogs, who almost all have some kind of recognizable breed in them. Cats are just cats.
 
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