Future maine coon owner - advice required

**Luna_2016** · 11th May 2016, 12:06 PM

After a lot of thought and consideration I have decided to get a cat and, having researched a lot about different breeds, am very excited to have decided to get a Maine Coon; however, I am having a huge dilemma over whether to get one or two and was hoping someone would be able to give me some advice. I've found lot on the internet to support both arguments. Some say cats are solitary and prefer to be on their own as it is less stressful for them than if they had to share territory with other cats, others say it is better to have two so they are company for each other.

As I work all day, my instinct says to get two so they would be company for each other during the day whilst I am at work. Evenings and weekends will be fine as I spend most of my time at home. But I do worry they may not get along, will be unhappy and my house may become a war zone. ;I intend to keep them as indoor only. I live in a 2 bed semi - would this be enough space for two Maine Coons?

I would intend to get the kittens from the same litter so that they would already (hopefully) have a bond. Does anyone have any experience of kittens from the same litter not getting along?

This then brings me to another question - if I do get two Maine Coons, is it better to have two of the same sex or one of each (obviously they will be neutered/spayed)? Again, I've seen so many different opinions on this!

I've spent ages thinking about this and keep going backwards and forwards between the 1 cat or 2. I'm trying to research as much as possible so I can as I believe it is better to research and make the right decisions before getting a pet, rather than getting a pet and then dealing with the consequences of bad decisions; however now I'm just in a muddle from conflicting advice! I was hoping that people with actual experience would be able to shed some light based on their experience with the Maine Coon breed.

Any advice gratefully received!

**jckkerrison** · 12th May 2016, 04:57 PM

Mainecoons are very sociable & love company be it human or feline so as you are out at work all day two would be ideal,some breeders neuter before you have them but if you end up with one of each you can get them done before there is any hanky panky going on, I have always found the boys more laid back & the girls busy busy busy but if you have no preference I would let the babes chose you, when we went to look at one of our babes his litter mate came straight over & sat at our feet so although we already had MC's we ended up having the two anyway , if you can get to any of the shows you will see MC's & breeders & can have a chat & find out more & get to know more about them, look carefully at the breeders it can be a minefield out there, you want parents & babes registered, parents HCM screened at least, not allowed to leave until they are 12 to 13 weeks old & fully vaccinated, brought up in a home environment , if you go anywhere & get offered cheap young babes for whatever reason don't go there you could end up spending a lot more than going to a reputable breeder, if you go visit & are not happy walk away & good luck....x

**Chilli_d** · 2nd June 2016, 12:52 AM

I am literally in the same position as you

I have spent 18 months researching Maine coons and am finally able to get one. After all my research I decided that two kittens was the best idea for me - I work during the day and while in the future I will be getting dogs, for now I will just have cats (and reptiles). MCs have a good reputation for getting on well with other animals and talking to the breeder I have chosen, she has regularly had pairs of kittens go to the same home and be best friends. In addition to keeping each other company during the day, they can also amuse each other at those 3am playtime sessions and from what I've read, pairs in general are less needy/attention seeking than singular cats.

As as to boys vs girls, I'm stuck on this myself. It doesn't seem to matter much with regards to them getting on with each other so I think it's a personal thing. I originally wanted either 2 boys or 1 of each but I'd like a brown and a silver tabby so that would take priority over sex for me (except I want at least 1 boy

). Of course if one kitten completely wins me over then I won't mind about sex or colour!

**Scrapjockey** · 3rd July 2016, 05:28 PM

If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, I would get one of each sex, or two males, but not two females. I have had cats pretty much my entire life, and the only time I have had a problem is when I had two females. Females are territorial and they don't like to share. They don't mind a male wandering around, but another female in their territory is trouble. I have two males and one female. They play together constantly and sound like a herd of elephants running across the floor upstairs. One male knows how to open doors and lets his brother and sister in to any room they so chose. I'm sure people have told you that they will follow you everywhere with the female having to inspect everything, and I mean everything. Spend the first week with your new kitty closely, especially at nite so that they bond with you. In this way, you will become their person.

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