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What do you get when you cross a raccoon with a domestic cat? Absolutely nothing, because that’s impossible. However, this is perhaps the wildest of the origin stories told about the State Cat of Maine, the Maine Coon. Maine Coons are an American breed of cat that evolved naturally in the harsh environment of the Northeast. How their forebears came to be in the New England wilderness is anybody’s guess, and theories abound about this big, friendly cat.
The raccoon hybrid idea is ridiculous, but in a less enlightened age it may have made sense. Most Maine Coons are brown tabbies, often with dark circles or marks around their eyes. Add in the breed’s fluffy tail and it’s not so hard to see how someone might think they look like raccoons. This is how they got their names, after all. The early nineteenth century farmers and sailors who first recognized the superb mousing ability of these cats would have known there were raccoons and other cats in the area. So there’s some 1800s logic for you.
A slightly less absurd suggestion is that Maine Coons are hybrids of domestic cats and bobcats. I tried to find any evidence that this is possible, and it appears not to be [1]. Again, I can see where the concept came from, as Maine Coons can be MASSIVE cats, the larger males sometimes reaching over 25 lbs or 11.3 kg (with an average weight of 16 lbs for males and 12 lbs for females). With tufted ears and paws like bobcats as well, and bobcats at least being a kind of cat, it seems reasonable. But still not possible.
Other stories told about Maine Coons suggest that they arose from the more regionally common short-haired cats intermingling with long-haired breeds brought from overseas. This seems much more likely. In a more scandalous version of this tale, a sea captain loyal to the French crown brought a shipload of Marie Antoinette’s valuables over to the new world, including six of her favorite cats. The plan was to return for the queen and rescue her from the over-boiling French Revolution, but the captain was too late to save her, and the cats were loosed in New England. I have my doubts that the queen would have sent her valuables ahead and stayed where the danger was, but who’s to say?
The most likely scenarios, if the traits did not arise spontaneously, would still have us thanking sailors for this immensely popular breed of cat. Some theorize that an English captain named Samuel Coon kept cats on board his ship, as many seafarers did. He specifically favored Persians and Angoras, two long-haired breeds that were popular in England during the American colonial period. As he sailed up and down the New England coast, his cats would disembark from time to time, and long-haired kittens began to crop up in the litters of the short-haired cats on shore. People would say that the mother had met up with “one of Coon’s cats.”
Alternatively, it’s thought that Vikings who visited the New World in the eleventh century may have brought long-haired Norwegian Skogkatts, known today as Norwegian Forest Cats, a breed which has a lot of similarities to Maine Coons. In either case, the long-haired trait was beneficial to wild and semi-feral barn cats surviving outside through the bitterly cold winters, so it began to take hold in the population.
It isn’t only the length of their fur that makes Maine Coons well-suited to their natural environment. Their pelt is thick and water resistant, further insulating them from the weather. The tufts of fur on their ears prevent heat from escaping. Their big, tufted paws serve as snowshoes, allowing them to walk over snow despite their size. Those big paws are also part of what makes them such good mousers!
Maine Coons can take a while to get comfortable with new people, but once they’re sure about you they are very friendly and love to spend time with their humans. They are known for following people around and enjoy attention, although they aren’t usually lap cats. They just want to be where you are. Main Coons are one of the few breeds of cats that like water, so they may want to be with you even in the shower. Close the door if that doesn’t appeal to you. Get out the camera if you think it’s hilarious.
That long, silky fur requires some grooming, but the Maine Coon isn’t as high-maintenance as some long-haired breeds. Occasional grooming to take care of tangles is sufficient for most cats. Since Maine Coons are so affectionate, they usually enjoy grooming.
Maine Coons are said to make great family pets because they get along well with children and other animals. They keep a kitten-like playfulness into old age but are also very easy-going, so they don’t mind the antics of human children. Maine Coons are very intelligent and like to learn tricks, solve puzzles, and play fetch, things that children often enjoy doing with their pets but some dogs can’t even be bothered to do. Not the dog I had growing up, anyways. RIP, Dolly. You were so loyal and so very lazy.
As with any breed, there is an increased risk of certain health concerns. Maine Coons can be prone to hip dysplasia, particularly those of larger size. They also have a genetic propensity for a form of heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and for spinal muscular atrophy, which usually develops early in kittenhood. There are genetic tests available for both of these conditions.
The Cat Fanciers’ Association named the Maine Coon the 5th most popular breed of 2018. They are such beautiful cats, and full of personality, it’s easy to see why people love them. They fit into a wide variety of homes as well. Not to mention that anyone who owns one will never have a rodent problem. In all the time since being removed from the New England wilderness, they haven’t lost that edge. Soft and fluffy yet built tough as nails, these unique cats are truly the stuff of legend.
Fun Facts
- The Best Cat at the first major United States cat show (1895 in NYC) was a Maine Coon. She was a brown tabby named Cosey.
- There was so little demand for the Maine Coon that it was declared extinct in the 1950s! They might have spoken too soon.
- Unlike most domestic cats, Maine Coons do not finish growing until they are 3-5 years old.
- The most common color of Maine Coon is brown tabby, but they come in 75 different color combinations and many different patterns.
- Their eyes may be green, gold, green-gold, or copper. White or bi-color Maine Coons sometimes have blue or odd eyes.
- The longest cat on record was a Maine Coon. Mymains Steward Gilligan, or Stewie, was 4 ft 0.42 in or 123 cm long!
Works Cited
- Hartwell, S. (1993). Domestic Hybrids with Bobcat and Lynx. Messy Beast. http://messybeast.com/small-hybrids/rufus-lynx-hybrids.htm
Published December 30th, 2019
Updated June 14th, 2023
