Thread: What made you choose a Maine Coon?

I've been enraptured by the breed for as long as I can remember. I've always enjoyed cats and they've always been a part of our lives.

I've always wanted pure bred MCs but was always put off by the price.

Two years ago, on Father's Day, my then wife (now ex) was in a local pet store where the owner had two magnificent looking beasts which he used to show but didn't any more. Crispus had an ear infection that hadn't been treated properly and now keeps his head cocked to one side. He's not bothered by it, and it gives him a rather inquisitive look, but he didn't show well after that. Gaius, his half brother, has an allergy to dust and his left eye is usually squinted. He's shown once or twice but not well.

The owner of the pet store is older and was moving into his retirement home where he wasn't able to keep the cats, and we were able to adopt them.

They'd been with my ex for the past year and have not been taken care of properly, but they're coming home tomorrow because she is moving, and I'm excited beyond words!

I am the full time caregiver for my 98 year old grandma. I didn't exactly mean to get this job, it just kind of happened because I was needed. I have always LOVED cats, and grew up with two "ordinary" cats. Through college I never got one because I was often needing to rent rooms from other people and knew not everyone would rent to someone with a cat.
Well, I ended up "sitting" around the house 24/7 and knew I HAD to get a buddy to keep me company. I went to a near by Pet Orphanage with the intention of getting a full grown short haired cat. What I ended up with was a long haired kitten.
He totally picked me... he wouldn't leave me alone and from the moment I entered the room he lived in, Edmund wanted to have my full attention and would climb over the other cats to get to me . He won my heart and I happily took him home... and then today (about 2 months after I brought him home) I had the revelation that my baby is a Maine Coon! I didn't know ANYTHING at all about the MC breed until today, I'd only heard they were large.
His GIANT tail and lovely ear hair kept "bugging" me (not bad, just in a curious way), then this week I was realizing that my 6 month old kitten is bigger than most full grown adult cats... so I started googling, and sure enough he has EVERY detail people describe in Maine Coons, down to every wonderful personality quirk (different meow, very gentle, loves water, very tolerant, etc), plus ALL the physical details. He is slightly smaller than some of the charts average, so I'm guessing he isn't purebred, but he is definitely a Maine Coon!
I couldn't be more happy with him and I think it is so fun to find out what he is. I already knew he was a super special kitty, and I didn't know there were others like him!

Great to hear you are enjoying your Maine Coon kitten they certainly are wonderful cats, and I am sure you will not stop at just the one. Let us all know when you get him a friend.....

Have wanted a Newfoundland dog for about 25 years after seeing teams of them training in the river. Huge furry water dogs! On a prep forum since 1998, read lots of accounts of the amazing Maine Coon. Newfy of cat world: big, gentle giants, furry, love water, playful clowns, smart and entertaining.

Bought house, planted 300+ trees, finally got Newf pup, had waited years for MCs after selecting breeder, finally the red we wanted was born, have had 2 male littermates since Oct 2: fun fun fun! LOVE the kittens! They have now bitten and explored everything in the house

I always had cats as a child but after going to uni I developed a bit of an allergy and so, although I've wanted a cat for years I've resisted. But every time I saw a cat belonging to one of my friends I felt a longing for a cat of my own. Eventually I decided that my allergy wasn't severe enough to outweigh the benefit of having a cat so I started looking for an adult cat to home. I found sylvie in a local free ad- he looked gorgeous so I did a bit of research on Maine coons. I read that they were dog-like, laid back, friendly etc etc... And also hypoallergenic. Now before anyone shouts 'nooo! Don't encourage allergy sufferers to buy a Maine coon', remember that I wanted a cat whether it was going to cause me to react or not. The possibility that sylvie was hypoallergenic was purely a bonus. Well he's a lovely little character and I certainly don't seem as allergic to him as other cats (he sometimes sleeps on my pillow!). Hopefully it lasts but I not, the anti histamine will have to come out! We're currently considering getting our second Maine coon- sylvie is definitely the most friendly cat I've ever owned.

We got our Maine Coon from an animal shelter. We already had two cats and while I occasionally suggested that we get a third, my wife very firmly said "No". A month ago, she spotted our newest addition Ky, amongst pictures of rescue cats that were up for adoption and fell in love.

Suddenly, a third cat was a must have and nothing could talk her out of it. Apparently, he is the spitting image of her grandmother's cat, also a Maine Coon. A month later he's still settling in and spends most of his time in hiding so I haven't seen much of him but I'm looking forward to finding out what is so special about the breed once he finds his feet.

It was not the size that attracted me to these cats. My sister received a Maincoon Kitten as a gift for her birthday after she lost beautiful Siberian cat. She kept raving about this breed, and as her kitty grew she discovered the regal nature of Maincoon. I initially thought about buying Siberian or Norwegian Forest cat, but when she told me about unique features of her cat (super-intelligence, dignity, desire to follow you everywhere combined with the beauty of coat, tuffed ears and snow-shoe paws) I knew that I would not be without Maincoon. My sister even said that once you had a Maincoon you would not settle for any other breed. This may be an overstatement but I now have the same opinion. In addition , they have enigma of their origin. Two of my bumper stickers demonstrate my fascination with Maincoons, and the third one says "My cat is smarter than you Honor student"
I waited for 10 years to settle and have a cat (actually 2 of them) , and now enjoy every minute spent with my furry sisters.

Hmm, I don't know what the overall reason was but I lost my last moggie a bit over a year ago and it's finally time for more furry friends. I have always been fascinated by these gentle giants (perhaps a little too much looking in the ego mirror ? ) but then I attended a show earlier this year and really fell for them.

Since then everyone I talk to that has experience of MCs has a positive story to tell. There are always the sad stories too, but they are luckily overwhelmed by the good.

I am so looking forward to having new, as yet unnamed, boys come to live with me in February. I also appear to be taking bookings for large parties of visitors... Ah well, the kittens will get used to people quite quick I guess

my friend had one and I loved their gentle nature and giant size!