When did you Maine Coon get a "mane"?

**NekoChan** · 17th November 2012, 02:46 AM

At what age did your Maine Coon develop a big "mane" or neck ruff?

I thought that my girl Roxy might never get a really big neck ruff, maybe because she was a female and I know it's the males that have the really big "manes" so I thought she might just never have one, since she was 4 years old and still just had a moderate amount of neck fur...
But then sometime in the time after she turned 4 or 4 1/2 she suddenly grew a whole lot of fur around her neck! It's funny because it didn't happen in the winter either (like a winter coat would?)
She also finally "filled out" in the last 8 months or so, so I guess it's really true what they say about Maine Coons continuing to grow until they are 5... Roxy's just turned 5 on October 30th.

I don't have a lot of good photos between the times, but here is Roxy a few months before her 4th birthday, not much of a ruff:

(taken in August 2011 I think)

She looked about the same a few months after her 4th birthday:

(taken in the end of December 2011)

This was taken just 6 or so months after the last photo:

(in July 2012)

Poof! Mane explosion!

She looks like a lion.

**sbreame** · 17th November 2012, 03:40 AM

My boy is 6 months nearly 3 weeks old and has a mane, not a huge one, but noticeable if he is leaning backwards etc. Maine coons dont stop growing till they're 4-5 years old, so maybe your girl is now finishing up her growing or something :P

**Elementalzala** · 17th November 2012, 10:04 AM

awwww hello pretty lion

**Alekto** · 17th November 2012, 10:27 AM

oooh NekoChan that's so encouraging, I don't have any other Maine Coon to compare my 2 years old girl with, so I keep comparing her with pictures found on the net - she doesn't have much of a mane either. Of that age, I seem to have found only pictures of males with a mane, and so from what you're saying and from what I suspected, it might be that females develop it when they finish growing up...
Don't get me wrong, I looooove my Neevie, I just don't want other cats to laugh at her because she doesn't have a mane, you know....

Edit: Your girl is just BEAUTIFUL especially with long hair!

**jckkerrison** · 17th November 2012, 03:40 PM

If my brown boy was to get half of that ruff I would be over the moon & he is coming up to five & still looks a domestic short haired in that area,his brother has & always had a ruff so has my red & white boy,the silver & white boy didn't grow a ruff until he was about three & that appeared during the summer but stayed,still is thicker during the summer than winter though & my last girl had a ruff from the start & at a year old still has it,think they all vary & some don't ever sprout one there,have even thought of having extensions put in Shimba....!

**F,S & N** · 17th November 2012, 04:58 PM

Like most things with MCs it appears there is no "rule" . All my three are completely different

Floyd hardly developed a ruff till he was at least two but by four it was quite impressive.

The two kittens are just over a year old . silver is big even for an MC (8+kg) but his ruff is nowhere near as big as his brother Nero's who is a lot smaller . Nero also has huge tufts on his feet already wheras Silver's are far less obvious

I think the colour type also makes a difference . Nero is black shaded (think thats the right description ) so his maine and tufts are a completely different colour so they look more impresive than a tabby like Silver where its the same as the body colour