GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS....
Not very many years ago Howard and I were on the buying side of things in the MC world. Howard grew up with a MC and it used to climb the side of their house with rabbits and other prey in it’s mouth; then he would deposit them on their deck by the door! I heard that story and thought that is super cool. Fast forward a lot of years and I told Howard we needed some cats to handle the mice in the garage. He said if you want a cat let’s get a Maine coon. (already I was feeling the cart slip off the rails). I said okay fine. We decided we wanted the actual attributes of a MC, so decided to start looking for a breeder. We were dead set on a silver male. We had done ‘our reading’ and knew that males were bigger, and we loved the silver. Well, we then saw Buckley. Who was a blue tabby and polydactyl. He was the one. His little scrunched up face and big ol’ feet were too much to deny. So he came home.
Our next cat was another polydactyl, from the same breeder, Emerson. A silver tabby. Next we rescued Puma, a retired breeder, and her daughter Sable. We had read the growth information and were expecting our girls to land in that 8-13 lb range. That didn’t happen. They kept growing. And growing. And most of ours are still growing.
Emerson is 3 years old and weighs 20.5 lbs. She has been big since she came home. She has a big primordial pouch that swings when she walks . She has a shorter body frame so she also appears heavier. Picking her up is something you steel yourself for. It’s not a casual thing. You need both hands. She has one to two years of growth left.
Sable is also 3 years old and she weighs 19.5 lbs. She was the biggest kitten in the litter. Stuck out like a sore thumb. (It doesn’t always work that way by the way-sometimes the biggest kitten doesn’t stay the big one-but she did). She looks and has grown like a male. She has a large, long frame. A huge cranium. Where Emerson is a marshmallow, Sable is a cougar. Muscular. She also has one to two years of growth to go. Sable has big lines behind her-Amibial, Duch Nocy, Country Gullivers, etc.
Amibial’s Xena of Wiscoonsin, (Sawyer), another one of our breeders, is 1 year 3 months old and currently weighs 15 lbs. (The intact cats will always be lighter than the altered cats-once they get altered, and are no longer singularly focused on reproduction, the weight will come on). Sawyer still has a moderately sized frame. She is a marshmallow like Buck, so doing any cares for her is still very easy. She comes from very large Amibial lines from Poland; I expect to see growth coming from her yet and/or her offspring. Sawyer has 3-4 years of growth left.
Medium Color’s Dakota of Wiscoonsin, (Dakota), one of our breeders, is 1 1/2 years old and she weighs 16 lbs. Dakota has a huge frame. She is the strongest cat I have. I won’t go so far as to say I can’t handle her. But I have to be mentally one step ahead of her at all times. If I am doing cares for her I need everything sitting out, at arms length, ready to go. She could easily overpower me and mess me up or leave at at any time during nail trims, baths, etc., if she wanted to. She is the most muscular cat in the house. She is built like a male. She still has 2 1/2-3 1/2 years of growth left. I did a lot of pedigree research on all of my breeders, but hers has me the most excited. Some very nice old lines. Provided she stays on track she should be a fun one to watch.
Some breeders say you shouldn’t talk about size. To me it’s the Maine Coon elephant in the room. Maine Coons are the largest domestic cat breed. You have to talk about their size. We don’t talk about cheetahs and ignore their speed. I have had a lot of people message saying they want a Maine coon, but only want a male. I am close enough to where I was in buyers shoes where I remember feeling the same thing. But I’m also here to tell you that it’s not just the males that get big! My females range from 15 months-5 years; with a weight range of 14 lbs-20.5 lbs. Even a 14 lb. cat....is a lot of cat. Most people don’t realize how much cat that is, until you have one. And have to brush it, trim it’s nails, bathe it, buy towers for it, buy toys for it, etc. These are big cats. Even the ‘small’ Maine coons are big cats. (And when they jump off the headboard and land on your chest at 2 am....you will realize a 14 lb cat is enough cat!)
So, when you see a female Maine coon, don’t assume it will be small. And even if you do, realize that small is a relative term when you are talking about Maine Coons. Now, once you get to KNOW Maine Coons and their personality, size isn’t going to matter to you anymore. Howard and I can vouch for that. When we bought our first one, all we cared about was size. Over all else. Now, knowing how they behave, it’s the personality that’s the draw. (But I’m not gonna lie-I still enjoy the colors! ). Just want you all to see that the girls can be impressive as well.....