Which Cat Breed Is Right For Me? Maine Coon Or Ragdoll??

[laurensabino182]

~ Have you considered a pure black cat ? I have some ( far too many ) real beauties !

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I wouldn't mind a black cat, as long as he'd be a longhair! I do find Ragdoll's to be simply stunning though. I love the mainly white coats with the soft colors/patterns, and those blue eyes! But any longhair cat I'm drawn to. It's funny- I have always LOVED hairless cats and would take one in a second, but I know the hairless breeds are famous for being very playful/energetic, and that's not what I want. Especially for a first cat.

 

[laurensabino182]

OP here! I'm seriously loving all of this great info and I know whenever I get my furry child, I have a great place for advice and learning. I truly believe I'd be happy with either breed but I did compile a pro's list for both, based off of what's been said here and my own research. Let me know if you agree with what I wrote!

Ragdoll:

• Less shedding/single layer coat
• Less grooming/less prone to matting
• More of a soft, silky coat
• Prettier -- (personal opinion)
• Slightly smaller -- (less food & cost!)
• Less popular -- (I prefer more rare/unique pets)
• Still popular enough to find easily
• Less money to buy

Maine Coon:

• Slightly more independent/self sufficient
• Slightly more "dog" like
• More inclined to be happy being in the same room/with you- but doesn’t need constant attention
• More popular/easier to find

All in all, getting down to these little technicalities, it does seem like the RG would be better and easier for me. But to contrast, the MC might be *slightly* better on a personality scale.

 

[amethyst]

I don't fully agree with all the points, Ragdolls are actually the same size and in some cases bigger then MC, it depends on the breeding line. I think it might be more a case of RD are less muscular so they don't eat as much, MC are solid built cats. I'm also not sure if the RD would be cheaper, it really depends on what is in your area. RD are a newer breed by about 100 years or more, they were created in the 1960s, where as the MC as we know them today have been around since at least the 1860s. So I don't really think they are less popular, just not as many around yet. I grew up i Maine, and MC and MC mixes are everywhere there,(where they started, obviously )but the RD were created on the other coast, in CA.
I think the better comparison is MC are generally more dog like, RD are more puppy like in terms of neediness. A MC like to be with you, a RD need to be with you.

Just a side note, not all cats adhere to the breed's normal personality. My MC does not like dogs, and yes he grew up with dogs since I brought him home at 9 weeks. He needs his personal space sometimes (from other animals, not from me) and dogs don't seem to understand that concept. His daughters (and all my other cats) love my dogs though.

 

[laurensabino182]

Hmm, interesting point on size! I live in New England as well and see MC lookalikes/mixes in shelters a bit too. You're right though, most individual animals don't adhere to a "T" to their breed comparison. I think I will contact local cattery's of both, tell them what I'm looking for and see what they have. I'll also scour my shelters too. I think I'm leaning towards a Ragdoll, because of all the above points I mentioned and just LOOk at them LOL. Personality though is most important of course.

 

[auntie]

This is just hearsay, but my vet thinks there is a higher- than-normal level of neurotic weirdo cats represented in the Ragdoll breed. Not my opinion, never having met one...just what my vet thinks. No offense, just wanted to show how different opinions can be!

 

[kristenann]

I am admittedly biased but I vote ragdoll. As I am a proud parent of a lovely ragdoll. While all cats are beautiful ragdolls are a class all their own. And its an easy kind of beautiful.

They are bred to lack an undercoat - ie less shedding. And their coat should be almost bunny like in texture. This means that they are as soft as a microfiber blanket but don't really mat. It really makes no difference if I brush Tiberius or not as far as his coat condition goes.

He is also not really needy either. He enjoys our company and is likely to trail us around the house but he is not demanding. He prefers to be near as opposed to on us. He will make soft trilling noises if we talk to him but overall he's pretty quiet.

He is also extremely adaptable and not easily stressed. He travels with us often and enjoys checking out the new territory and has met many dogs and people and handled himself like a champ. People who claim to dislike cats are often taken with him.

Ragdolls are just stellar cats.

 

[Yanaka]

I don't know anything about these two breeds apart from the fact that they're beautiful and I love fluffy huge cats--I just want to pitch in regarding kittens changing personality. I don't think it's true. If kittens do change in personality, and thinking generally, I want to say that what might cause that is kittens being forgiving with humans who were too severe to and didn't bond with them, but outgrew that and, growing up, applied the distance the human put between them. But they don't just change like that. I had almost all of my cats as kittens first as they were all found outside, and they're just adults. They play less and they do their thing, but they're just normal cats. Currently my two 5 month-olds are growing cuddlier.

Anyway--just wanted to keep the record straight about cats not being the monsters people sell them to be lol

 

[sabian]

Rd's are a large breed cat for sure but I think on average MC's tend to be bigger. It's not uncommon to see a 20lb RD though. The last 3 Guinness World Record holders for longest / largest domestic cats are MC's. Leo of Varismo's MC'S measured nose to tail at 48" and weighed 35lbs. His paw would fit a size 2 childs shoe. That was 2006. In 2010 Stewie took the record at 48.5 inches. I've never seen anything on Stewie's weight or breeder. They are both deceased now. The current record holder of "living cats" is Ludo at 3' 10.59". A Maine Coon. I found nothing on Ludo's weight or breeder. Then there's Samson "The largest cat in NYC". His owner claims 48 inches at 28 lbs. Claims he eats like 8 cans of wet food a day and several bags of dry food a week. There's tons of vids of him on youtube. He was bred at ClassicCoonCattery.com a breeder I'm looking at possibly getting a cat from. Another breeder I'm looking at is Megacoon.com. I think his biggest cat was 25lbs. The world record cat before the ones above I believe was a cat called Snowbie at 42 inches. All I can find on it is pics but if I found the right one it was huge and appears to have been MC.

My last MC was 22lbs and reached almost 25 but leveled out at 22. I don't want a cat any bigger than that. I joked that he ate like a steam shovel using his bottom jaw to scoop up food but, he really did! lol I'm leery that 2 of the breeders I'm looking at have bred huge cats. Once you get them they're yours food bill and all!

I can't say how much RD's eat but if you do go MC I would find out the history/size of past litters if food consumption is an issue not to mention litter cost! What goes in must come out!

I agree that RD's have a sweeter softer look where MC's have a more regal or majestic look. CFA bred MC's have a softer look like the one's that ClassicCoon breeds.

From what I understand MC's are the second most popular breed and depending on the level of breeder I know I may be looking at possibly a year wait to get what I want as far as color and Male. I have done some research on RD breeders and they do seem to be more readily available and a little cheaper. I do have specifics in mind and it does make it more complicated. It's easier if you want a female and none specific on coloring. Megacoon cattery currently has a hold on male deposits and a 6 month wait for females. He just can't keep up with demand. I'm finding MC's run from $1100 to $1500 for pet quality. I seen RD's around $800 to $1000 and in some cases that included spay and neuter. Just be careful with breeders and do your research on them. Beware of the BYB's. I would go back to my last breeder but she no longer breeds and may possibly be deceased. I've been researching breeders for almost a year. Hope this helps!

 

[laurensabino182]

I don't know anything about these two breeds apart from the fact that they're beautiful and I love fluffy huge cats--I just want to pitch in regarding kittens changing personality. I don't think it's true. If kittens do change in personality, and thinking generally, I want to say that what might cause that is kittens being forgiving with humans who were too severe to and didn't bond with them, but outgrew that and, growing up, applied the distance the human put between them. But they don't just change like that. I had almost all of my cats as kittens first as they were all found outside, and they're just adults. They play less and they do their thing, but they're just normal cats. Currently my two 5 month-olds are growing cuddlier.

Anyway--just wanted to keep the record straight about cats not being the monsters people sell them to be lol

That's true, and while kittens are probably the cutest things to ever be created and it would be nice to raise a kitten and have that bond.. kittens are SO much energy! I babysat my sister's rescue kitten (just a basic shorthair) for a few weeks and oh my god! Anything and everything was a toy and nothing was off limits. She darted from shelves to couches and never stopped LOL. She was darling and I liked her a lot... mainly when she was sleeping. I don't want a crazy energetic cat and I could be wrong, but I have a feeling all kittens are rascals like that.

 

[laurensabino182]

Rd's are a large breed cat for sure but I think on average MC's tend to be bigger. It's not uncommon to see a 20lb RD though. The last 3 Guinness World Record holders for longest / largest domestic cats are MC's. Leo of Varismo's MC'S measured nose to tail at 48" and weighed 35lbs. His paw would fit a size 2 childs shoe. That was 2006. In 2010 Stewie took the record at 48.5 inches. I've never seen anything on Stewie's weight or breeder. They are both deceased now. The current record holder of "living cats" is Ludo at 3' 10.59". A Maine Coon. I found nothing on Ludo's weight or breeder. Then there's Samson "The largest cat in NYC". His owner claims 48 inches at 28 lbs. Claims he eats like 8 cans of wet food a day and several bags of dry food a week. There's tons of vids of him on youtube. He was bred at ClassicCoonCattery.com a breeder I'm looking at possibly getting a cat from. Another breeder I'm looking at is Megacoon.com. I think his biggest cat was 25lbs. The world record cat before the ones above I believe was a cat called Snowbie at 42 inches. All I can find on it is pics but if I found the right one it was huge and appears to have been MC.

My last MC was 22lbs and reached almost 25 but leveled out at 22. I don't want a cat any bigger than that. I joked that he ate like a steam shovel using his bottom jaw to scoop up food but, he really did! lol I'm leery that 2 of the breeders I'm looking at have bred huge cats. Once you get them they're yours food bill and all!

I can't say how much RD's eat but if you do go MC I would find out the history/size of past litters if food consumption is an issue not to mention litter cost! What goes in must come out!

I agree that RD's have a sweeter softer look where MC's have a more regal or majestic look. CFA bred MC's have a softer look like the one's that ClassicCoon breeds.

From what I understand MC's are the second most popular breed and depending on the level of breeder I know I may be looking at possibly a year wait to get what I want as far as color and Male. I have done some research on RD breeders and they do seem to be more readily available and a little cheaper. I do have specifics in mind and it does make it more complicated. It's easier if you want a female and none specific on coloring. Megacoon cattery currently has a hold on male deposits and a 6 month wait for females. He just can't keep up with demand. I'm finding MC's run from $1100 to $1500 for pet quality. I seen RD's around $800 to $1000 and in some cases that included spay and neuter. Just be careful with breeders and do your research on them. Beware of the BYB's. I would go back to my last breeder but she no longer breeds and may possibly be deceased. I've been researching breeders for almost a year. Hope this helps!

LOL I never even considered litter! Off topic question, but do those self cleaning litter boxes work as well as they brand them to? The idea of litter boxes give me the shivers a little, though I know I'd get used to it very quickly. I'm just used to having dogs and dogs go outside. I'm even spoiled because I live in front of acres of uncharted woods so my dogs just go out in the woods and no one has ever had to pick up poo once!

Males cost more? Typically with canines, females cost more. I would probably want a male. I don't know if it's true for cats, but boy dogs are generally more laid back and sweet compared to the girls. And boy dogs tend to bond more to female owners, vice versa for female dogs. I've just always leaned towards boy pets.

 

[laurensabino182]

This is just hearsay, but my vet thinks there is a higher- than-normal level of neurotic weirdo cats represented in the Ragdoll breed. Not my opinion, never having met one...just what my vet thinks. No offense, just wanted to show how different opinions can be!

LOL vets always have preferences, they're still just people too ya know? My old vet hates Shiba Inu's or any Spitz breed. She claims they're all vicious-- but she owns Pit Bulls. Now, I LOVE Pit's.. some of the sweetest and smartest dogs I can work with. But you'd think an owner of a stereotyped breed would know better than to turn around and do the same to another entire group of breeds. Safe to say, I didn't stay with her for too long.

 

[laurensabino182]

I am admittedly biased but I vote ragdoll. As I am a proud parent of a lovely ragdoll. While all cats are beautiful ragdolls are a class all their own. And its an easy kind of beautiful.

They are bred to lack an undercoat - ie less shedding. And their coat should be almost bunny like in texture. This means that they are as soft as a microfiber blanket but don't really mat. It really makes no difference if I brush Tiberius or not as far as his coat condition goes.

He is also not really needy either. He enjoys our company and is likely to trail us around the house but he is not demanding. He prefers to be near as opposed to on us. He will make soft trilling noises if we talk to him but overall he's pretty quiet.

He is also extremely adaptable and not easily stressed. He travels with us often and enjoys checking out the new territory and has met many dogs and people and handled himself like a champ. People who claim to dislike cats are often taken with him.

Ragdolls are just stellar cats.

Everything you've just described is exactly what I want! Think I could just take yours?

But seriously, I think when it comes time to sit down and start looking for my future fur baby, I'm going to look for a Ragdoll first, Maine Coon second, and maybe even a Birman. But I think my heart is set on a RG. I think I was doomed from the start, as a kid my favorite band was Aerosmith and they have a song called "Ragdoll" and I always said that if I got a cat it would be a RG and I would name them "Aero" LOL

 

[abyeb]

It sounds like you really like both breeds- so my best advice would be to go with what feels right. If you can make it to a cat show, you’ll be able to learn more about each breed, and maybe when you’re there even fall in love with a breed you hadn’t considered before!

 

[laurensabino182]

It sounds like you really like both breeds- so my best advice would be to go with what feels right. If you can make it to a cat show, you’ll be able to learn more about each breed, and maybe when you’re there even fall in love with a breed you hadn’t considered before!

You're right! I'll have to go to a local show or maybe even visit some breeders just to meet + play with them, and ask the breeders some questions as well!

 

[sabian]

LOL I never even considered litter! Off topic question, but do those self cleaning litter boxes work as well as they brand them to? The idea of litter boxes give me the shivers a little, though I know I'd get used to it very quickly. I'm just used to having dogs and dogs go outside. I'm even spoiled because I live in front of acres of uncharted woods so my dogs just go out in the woods and no one has ever had to pick up poo once!

Males cost more? Typically with canines, females cost more. I would probably want a male. I don't know if it's true for cats, but boy dogs are generally more laid back and sweet compared to the girls. And boy dogs tend to bond more to female owners, vice versa for female dogs. I've just always leaned towards boy pets.

I've never tried the self cleaning litter boxes. It's not that big a deal to cleaning it out. From what I've seen they tend to be smaller boxes and probably wouldn't be big enough for a large breed. The rule of thumb is the litter box should be the length of the cat plus half. I've yet to find a litter box but one that was that big and it was $150. A lot of people get totes from Wal-mart and make their own. You may be able to find some info in the reviews section on the auto cleaners boxes or you can post a thread and get some feedback.

Yeah, males tend to run up to a couple hundred more. Males tend to be more laid back than females in my experience and males are more in demand from breeders. Females tend to be more temperamental. I guess that's why males are more, because of demand.

I agree with abyeb about going to a show if your in an area that's active. Unfortunately my area is not that active. There' one in Feb about 2 hours away I plan on going to. Only show I've seen scheduled in this area over a tear and a half span. Anything else is 10 hours or better away. I would definitely visit some cattery's. I've always enjoyed it when I did. Go with your gut on this like abyeb said. It'll come to you.

 

[Pixxelated]

LOL I never even considered litter! Off topic question, but do those self cleaning litter boxes work as well as they brand them to? The idea of litter boxes give me the shivers a little, though I know I'd get used to it very quickly. I'm just used to having dogs and dogs go outside. I'm even spoiled because I live in front of acres of uncharted woods so my dogs just go out in the woods and no one has ever had to pick up poo once!

Self-cleaning litterboxes are a bit hit and miss. A lot of cats are scared of them. And especially if the cat is a bit a bit older and has never used one before, it might be harder to get them to use it.

Males cost more? Typically with canines, females cost more. I would probably want a male. I don't know if it's true for cats, but boy dogs are generally more laid back and sweet compared to the girls. And boy dogs tend to bond more to female owners, vice versa for female dogs. I've just always leaned towards boy pets.

The price of the cat vet much depends on the lineage. You have “pet quality” cats, who are cheaper due to not being good enough to show. Mostly due to colouring patterns. This doesn’t make them less of a pedigree however. And show quality cats or cats with breeding rights, well naturally they are more expensive.

As for personality, intact males and females are equally annoying. And its not advisable to have an intact male or female. When it comes to neutered pets, well, in a Maine Coone the difference between genders is very minimal. Bonding-wise a cat usually picks one member of the family above all else as a favourite, and its usually the one who feeds them and cleans their tray.

Or in our case, our girl adores me whereas our boy is more my partner’s cat. both are affectionate with us, but i’m always second choice with him haha.

 

[Elfilou]

OP again! So, I put up this exact post on one other forum and the one reply I got told me not to get ANY long hair cat because they need daily grooming, no matter what. She said every-other-day brushing would not be good enough, even for a medium coated cat. The only breed I looked into that's said to need daily brushing was the Persian/Himalayan. Also, none of you guys said this either! Thoughts?

That's reaching.

I do have a Persian and although daily brushing is best, especially in the first year to get both yourself and the cat into the habit of it, even my Persian doesn't need daily brushing. This depends on the coat; some cats naturally have coarser hair, some naturally have thicker hair etc.

Anyway. If you really want a cat with a certain personality you have to be very picky. Unlike with dogs, most breeders unfortunately do not breed for personality. (I wish they did.) But some do and will be very proud to talk about that. That's the kind of breeder you would have to look for if you want a predictable personality. Otherwise it's a crap shoot and you'd be much better off adopting a cat from a shelter or through something like petfinder.

 

[laurensabino182]

Hi guys! So I did look at the TICA calendar and there's a show nearby in Feb and in April! I'll have to wrangle some friends into going with me.

Second, out of pure curiosity I literally Googled "Ragdoll breeders in MA" and emailed the first cattery that came up. I'm nowhere near ready to get a cat, just wanted to get a feel for the whole thing. I asked them if they had any older kittens/young adults available and the person that replied said that they had one, a younger female about to be retired from breeding. She said she would only charge me $200 and said that was to cover the cost of her spaying. She said she was asking so little because she was a shy cat and take a while to come around and doesn't do well with other cats. Does this seem like a normal response/fee? She's a beautiful cat! The breeder seems to have litters constantly though, so that's a bit of a shady sign IMO. The cattery is called Rhetorical Ragdolls if you guys would like to snoop around

 

[laurensabino182]

Also, would you guys say that all kittens are crazy balls of fire and energy? Since Ragdolls and MC's are such calm, laid back adult cats... are the kittens more chilled out than average kittens?

 

[abyeb]

I’ve investigated the Rhetorical Ragdolls and here’s what I’ve found:

Positives:
All cats are tested for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and they only breed cats who test negative. They also claim that they breed for temperament. They do put a good effort to educate about the dangers of declawing on their website.

Negatives:
None of their stud cats or queens were bred by them. Only stud has achieved champion status (CFA), meaning they haven’t granded anyone. They have one TICA champion female that they have bred, but this was achieved back in February of 2017 so it doesn’t appear she’s achieved anything beyond that.

Regarding energy level, all kittens will be very active. Ragdoll and Maine Coon kittens might be slightly less active than kittens from a more active breed, like Abyssinians or Japanese Bobtails, but they’ll still have a lot of energy and a great need for play and attention. Maine Coons overall will have a higher activity level than Ragdolls.