The Distinctly American Roots of the Maine Coon Cat

Mallory Crusta of Cats.com shared several interesting facts about Maine Coon cats, noting their long history and their distinctively American origins, despite closely resembling Siberian and Norwegian Forest cats.

As you may have guessed from the name Maine, this is a uniquely American cat breed and is one of the oldest American cat breeds out there. So it first appeared in American literature back in 1861 and it was recognized as a formal breed in 1976. the Maine Coon first was developed in the northeastern United States and even though it kind of looks similar to the Norwegian Forest cat and the Siberian Forest cat.

Crusta talks about their unique coat and their unusual size.

Maine Coons tend to be heavy. They typically range between 10 and 20 pounds while …the largest individuals can be up to 25 pounds if they’re male and up to 18 pounds if they’re female. . …the Maine Coon has this very distinctive coat. … The bottom layer of a Maine Coon cat’s coat is very soft and fluffy, it’s intended to keep the cat warm this is referred to as the undercoat and then they have a top coat that is intended a little bit more for protection.

These cats are also known for their oversized personalities.

They tend to be very playful, very affectionate and very human oriented. These traits tend to be kind of bred into pure bred cats, cats tend to be selected for these qualities and so we start to see down the line. cats who tend to be more friendly sociable and attached to their humans so all of these are traits that you’re going to see in a typical Maine Coon cat.

We here at Laughing Squid know all about Maine Coon cats as our beloved Ika Zaru was part of that breed.