Thread: What made you choose a Maine Coon?

About 20 years ago, my Dad heard about these giant domestic cats from a friend at work. He couldn't believe such a thing existed so he went to the library and did some digging (ah, the days before the internet was in everyone's home...) and decided he'd like to get one when our moggie eventually popped off this mortal coil. My folks are great with cats so moggie (Smudge) was with us for 19 years before she finally left us, and by that point my Mum couldn't face losing another cat so they scrapped the idea of getting a Coonie. But I never did.
So 10 years later, I move in with my fella and we get married. But we lived in a tiny flat (and I do mean TINY) and it just wouldn't have been fair to the cat so we scrapped the idea.
So we get married, and then bought a 3-story town house (lots of stairs for a kitten to exhaust itself on!) in a lovely part of the world 3 years ago and I thought "Great, I can get my giant pussy cat!". At this point, I find out that my hubby is allergic to cats - no idea why this small detail hadn't come out before now but there you go. So the idea got scrapped again.
Interestingly, last year we had a few problems and separate; I was devastated but the silver lining in my complete misery was realising that I could now - finally - get a cat! So I invested a lot of energy into doing more homework about the breed and what would be involved in keeping a Coonie - I also looked at Norwiegan Forest Cats and Bengals but MC's just appealed on every level - independent, affectionate, beautiful, BIG, loyal, clownish and clumsy. So I contacted some breeders in the local area and found two that had litters with blue or silver tabbies.
By this point, my mind had been made up and I can't wait to find my dream kitty. Then my hubby opens negotiations about a reconciliation and I had the awful feeling my cat plans would have to be scrapped again, so the kitten became part of the negotiations! Now me, my husband and Freyja (my 4 month old blue tortie tabbie girl) all live happily together, and after a week of my husband not being able to breath whilst he reacted to her, his allergies have cleared up (admittedly, with the aid of an asthma preventer) and he can't leave Freyja alone any more than I can! He's even made up a song that he sings to her when he gets in from work! He's absolutely besotted with her, and although she's only been with us a month, it feels like she's always been here. Best decision I've made in a long time and I'm wondering how long I should leave it before I try to persuade him we need another one!