Does anyone have experience with Maine Coon’s or Norwegian Forest cats? I am considering an addition, but while I can rhyme off the difference in dog breeds I’m not quite as familiar with personalities.
Recommendations, suggestions and health advice appreciated!
The two purebred Maine Coons I am familiar with are both very nice cats. Spectacular to look at.
Both rather mild mannered, considering their size probably a good thing. Neither are picky about anything, both have good health.
On the other hand, they seem to be a bit like a cat version of a St. Bernard. The girl would play briefly as a young cat, not sure if she tired or got bored, didn’t play for long periods, then went to nap. Neither really have much personality, mostly just eat and sleep, they don’t get into mischief and while they don’t object if you pick them up or bring them to your lap neither really seek you out to cuddle. They are not even particularly bonded to each other, generally sleeping solitary.
The one thing they both do, one somewhat more than the other is shed copious amounts of hair.
The household employs three vacuums to stay on top of the hair!
I have never met a NFC but have seen they have some really interesting colours.
My John Coltrane is a Red Maine Coon mix and he’s absolutely gorgeous. He is full of personality and always underfoot trying to be involved in everything. He isn’t scared of strangers and will welcome anyone into the house. I trained all of my cats to jump into my arms so I don’t have to bend over to pick them up. Johnny has launched himself at guests and perfect strangers, just assuming that they will catch him like I do.
I believe from my own experience with Johnny and what I have heard from purebred Maine Coon owners, is that they tolerate other cats but do not necessarily get along with them. They prefer human interaction and basically ignore the other cats in the household.
JC is 15 years old and has never had any health problems at all. I was concerned about his fur when I first got him, but he is an excellent self-groomer and I don’t even have to brush him.
I love Maine Coons, we now have two 
They are both full of personality and pretty gentle.
Mac is nearly 12yo and still plays like a maniac with his favourite mouse toy on occasion. He is a fabulous companion, supervises everything, and helps me with many farm chores (no predators here). He does like to sit on our laps sometimes, and sleeps on the bed every night. His fur isn’t a problem at all, I do brush him a few times a week, especially during shedding season.
Wolf is not quite 6mths old and plays like a maniac for HOURS. When he’s busy he doesn’t really want cuddles, but when he wants cuddles he really wants cuddles and purrs super loud. He’d love to wrestle with Mac more, Mac will occasionally indulge him, but mostly just moves away. His white fur is all over the carpet and the robot vacuum doesn’t pick it up really well.
Clearly I think they are wonderful 
I had a wonderful Maine Coon mix named Hobie Cat. Tons of personality, such a character. He was quite the hunter…sometimes bringing his live prey in the house…you know to play with.
A few times when a wren would get in the house, Hobie would catch it, I’d pick him up with the bird in his mouth, take him outside, say, “Hobie drop it.” The bird would fly out of his mouth unharmed.
He’d follow me out to the barn, and supervise. If one of the dogs tried to mess with him, he gave that dog a good whack on the nose.
He liked to ride on my shoulders, wrapped around my neck like a shawl, purring the entire time. And he talked…not like a Siamese, it was more of a “brrrpt, brrrpt” and “eeeh eeeh” sounds, sort of singsongy.
He was tiger striped with four white paws, white chest and belly, and the most fabulous tail.
OR you could get a beautiful, sweet Ragdoll. They are great cats!
My mellow girl Gracie is silky smooth and a little peanut 
I’m not sure what Hayley is but I think she has some Maine Coon in her. She has the most beautiful tail and has been nicknamed “Fluff Tail.” But she’s a cat and only affectionate when she feels like it. Also as a downside to all the hair, she gets mats under her elbows and belly. It’s a neverending battle trying to keep the mats trimmed off. She will not accept clippers. No way. And she is hot in the summer and doesn’t move all day, because of all that hair.
My newest cat addition is little Eva who is probably going to top out at about 6 lbs. Now it’s like having a kitten that stays a kitten forever… Let me just say it is nice having a cat so small that I can scoop her up with one hand and she doesn’t put my legs to sleep.
If I get any more long haired cats, I’m going to introduce clippers when they are babies. It is so much easier to trim hair if they accept clippers.
I’m on my 5th MCC and I will never not have at least 2 in my life. I have 2 rescue cats as well and I love them all, but the MCCs are the best. The one characteristic is can think of that they are glue. They are just always with me, although the senior one has always claimed the most time. Zifu was my shadow and slept right next to me every night. Zazu was on the bed but it was obvious Zifu only tolerated his presence. I wasn’t sure if Zazu liked me or liked Zifu, and maybe it was a tossup, but after Zifu passed Zazu found his way into his spot in bed and now tries to exchange molecules with me at night. Currently the other side is being occupied with Zevon, aka Destructo the Magnificat. He’s 2.5 and he’s a wrecking ball of a cat. 
I keep waiting for maturity to hit and he keeps entering every room like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. He’s definitely not boring, god I wish he’d get more boring!
But I do think they pick their humans and maybe they are a little indifferent to NotTheirHuman.
Typically MCCs are longer and taller than Norwegians, but Norwegians win the heavier on average award. Think long and lanky vs weight builder, both in an oversize cat. Also Norwegian cats have more coat. MCCs have a distinctive coat pattern with a heavy ohsoheavy ruff, britches and belly, but a lot less coat on the shoulders and back (but still the trademark waterproof). Norwegians are heavily coated more uniformly.
If you buy a MCC be prepared to wait and pay on average between 2-3k, especially if you have a color/sex preference (males are much larger), but mostly, please buy from a reputable breeder. There are so many bad breeders out there, specifically breeding for the smoke color and extreme features (and I see them charging as much or more for these kittens). Also, polydactyls (extra toes) are freakin’ adorable and I’ve absolutely seen them on good looking cats but they are considered a major flaw (not sure if they are registerable). And as every horse person knows, when you breed for a single feature and not the whole package you pretty much fail to breed a quality animal. Breeders should screen their stock for HCM and possibly do the genetic test (I think it’s less clear how related the marker is to the disease, but still, it’s a devastating condition) and screen for hip dysplasia. Personally I’m a fan of most of the breeder’s cats having at least a championship since it shows they are willing to have the quality of their cats judged by someone other than themselves. Barn blind is a thing in all breeders, this is the only known cure! But to be fair, showing is expensive, so if they are ticking all the other boxes for a healthy kitten and your goal isn’t showing, it shouldn’t be a red flag if they aren’t. But if they talk to you about their imported cat from Russia and seem to be breeding only for black smoke, your Spidey senses should be telling you to proceed cautiously!
And now for the pics!
Zevon, aka Tropikoons Lawyers Guns and Money, aka Destructo the Magnificat (that’s what you get for naming your cat after a song about a rich kid who asks his father to bail him out of trouble )
This is an example of good and bad heads
When Destructos get bathed
Zifu (that’s an adult behind him, he wasn’t an MCC he was a Coonasaurus)
Zifu and Zazu, one of my favorite pics
I have a close friend who currently has 3 Maine Coons, and she absolutely loves them. We had Thanksgiving at her house last week, and they are friendly, sociable and full of personality. Hers are huge compared to typical cats, and are extremely entertaining with their antics.
But, she did have a young one, her first Maine Coon, only 3 years old, die quite suddenly and unexpectedly one night. She woke up to him on the side of her bed, and he moved to a bedside table, collapsed and fell off the table. He was dead when he hit the floor. No real struggle, just him falling down dead. She thought she had somehow caused it, but my first reaction was he had a fatal heart event. I had worked as a small animal vet tech, and had remembered something about a genetic issue with this breed.
She has since gotten her cats from breeders who test for it.
Vet the breeder well before purchasing a Maine Coon. We bought several from one breeder and only had two out seven live past the age of 10 and only one past the age of 15 (average life span is 10-13 years). We got completely different lines and they all had something that ended their lives prematurely. We were probably blind to the true issues after the first pair passed away and just figured it was just something that happens. Looking back, it was most likely bad genetics on both sides.
We now have generic rescue kitties with unknown breeding. I don’t know if I would get another Maine Coon. I would probably go with a ragdoll or a medium coat mixed breed.
But temperament wise they were goofy and chirped all the time. Only had one that was not a lap cat - she preferred snuggling with my dog. They liked water and would play in the sink and tub with the faucets running. They would also sing and do the “water dance” before they drank some water. They were very chill cats for the most part.
My Hobie Cat looked a lot like your Zifu but with a white splash on his nose like your Zazu.
He did not come from a breeder, he came from the local SPCA as a kitten. He and about thirty other cats and kittens were relinquished by a hoarder.
Maybe it was due to the fact that he was not a pure bred MCC…but he lived until the age of 15 with no health issues.
You can’t go wrong with domestic short hair barn kittens too.
I’ve only ever had DSH rescues and only got my Ragdoll when my little tortie passed unexpectedly. My Raggie was born the day my tortie passed so I figured it was fate. She’s quiet and so laid back. Her half sister is a Ragmuffin and is more of a terror
Gorgeous kitties!
Spot on with the advice about the importance of choosing a really good breeder. I stalked Wolf’s one for quite a while - she does the health testing, competes them, and is really, really fussy about finding the right home for them.
Wolf is polydactyl - she doesn’t breed for it and it certainly wasn’t why we picked him. I think they look kind of odd and there’s certainly a lot more claws to trim 
Oh and I lied about Mac’s fur being easy - I forgot to include that I clip his tummy for the warmer months else he gets wicked matts.
Both boys make funny MC noises - chirrups, squeaks, brrrpp! etc.
Yes, and I forgot to add that if you get a MC or Norwegian, you really need to train them to be groomed from day one because some coats are a lot of work!
The breeder once told me that they come in two coat types: the one you want and the other type, cotton candy
It’s sooo true! Zazu is 11 and I don’t think he’s had a mat in this life. I can forget to brush him for weeks and weeks, then take the comb to him and it’s like I just brushed him yesterday. Plus he’s loves it, he just lays there like a stuffed animal. But Zifu was cotton candy, I swear the mats and clumps started as soon as I stop brushing, like they were plotting a coup as soon as I put him on the floor. Fortunately he was a perfect gentleman who let me tease and work out any matt anywhere, no matter how sensitive. He really was the bestest cat (and squamous cell carcinoma sucks).
Then there’s Destructo. He’s got the most dedicated matt development system on his belly. And he’s not a perfect angel, he’s a toddler who can be good for about 1 minute, then he’s in play mode and the toy (my hand) is helpfully right in the fun zone. Obviously Destructo is a work in progress
Also consider a Siberian if you’re into long-haired breeds. A bit smaller than the Maine Coon but generally are super affectionate.
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