The largest Maine Coon in the world - an overview of the largest representatives of the breed

The largest cats in the world

Disputes regularly flare up among coon breeders about what is more important: a really large size or compliance with breed standards. The battles are fueled by the fact that there are many gaps in the history of Maine Coons. The North American Semi-Longhair was developed in Maine in the early 19th century and is considered a natural breed. After moving to Europe, the Maine Coon breed was divided into two sub-branches: classic American and European.

European Coons are much smaller, but they have the characteristic features of the breed - tufted ears, a large bridge of the nose. Such changes can be explained by the fact that only at the beginning of the 21st century the WCF limited interbreed matings of Maine Coons.

In L. Zhugl's popular book about North American Semi-Longhairs, it is mentioned that due to the small number of representatives of the breed, matings of sires with carriers of a similar phenotype were widespread in Latvia in the 1990s.

The average weight of Maine Coon cats ranges from 7 to 11 kg; cats are usually smaller and do not exceed 6.8 kg. Most Russian Maine Coons weigh less than 10 kg, although larger specimens are also found. It is important to consider that the title of “largest Maine Coon” is given for length, not weight.

Breed standards and rules for caring for Maine Coons

The Maine Coon is an ancient breed of large cat. Only with proper care do these cats remain healthy and active for a long time.

Origin of the breed

The breed is a native North American species that arose naturally. In English, the name of the breed sounds like maine coon, where Maine is the state of Maine, and coon is a derivative of the word 'raccoon'. The Maine Coon is the official dog of the state of Maine.

This is an ideal breed for the cold climate of the northern United States. Maine Coons were well established over a century ago as hardy and beautiful domestic cats.

Maine Coon: Pexels

Breed standards

Since the mid-19th century, Maine Coons have appeared at exhibitions in Boston and New York. The breed quickly gained popularity, although it was somewhat inferior to some other species. The standard established by the World Cat Federation (WCF) is recognized throughout the world.

According to him, Maine Coons have:

1. The body should be large, muscular and elongated.
2. The neck is muscular, of medium length, the chest is wide.
3. The tail is long and reaches at least to the shoulders.
4. The paws are large, rounded, and tufted.
5. A large, straight-lined head should appear square.
6. The eyes are large and should match the color of the animal. Blue eyes are only allowed in white cats.

Male Maine Coons are generally larger than females. PipCat indicates that cats of this breed can reach a maximum length of 135 cm. The average height is 25–41 cm. Thus, representatives of the breed are close in size to dogs. The weight standard, according to the Mainecoon website, is:

• for males - 7–11 kg;
• for females - 5–9 kg.

As part of their natural development, Maine Coons have developed polydactylism (one or more extra toes on their paw). Breeders set a goal to remove such a deviation, so this feature is practically not observed in modern cats.

What determines the size of Maine Coons?

It takes up to five years for a Maine Coon to fully develop physically. The size and weight of a particular animal is influenced by gender, diet and genetics. Cats need a healthy diet rich in nutrients.

Maine Coon cats: Wikipedia

A diet consisting of good quality dry mix and a small amount of wet food will ensure normal development of the Maine Coon. According to SweetieKitty, Maine Coons eat twice as much as regular cats.

Poor quality nutrition suppresses a cat's physical potential. The owners will receive a large and fat, but not healthy Maine Coon. In addition to nutrition, animals of this breed require significant physical activity. Genetics also plays an important role in the size of an animal.

Top 10 largest cat breeds

The Maine Coon takes a worthy second place among the largest cats in the world. Representatives of the breed are the most popular and beloved giant cats, and it’s not for nothing that one of them became the face of the Purina brand. The North American Longhair is surpassed in size only by the Savannah, which is considered the most expensive cat breed - the price of a kitten starts at 4 thousand dollars.

The hot ten largest domestic cat breeds are as follows:

Content

The Maine Coon is not an ordinary breed. Due to their physiological characteristics, they require somewhat higher maintenance costs than cats of more modest sizes.

When planning to get a little coon, many people wonder how much kittens cost. Prices for purebred animals from good nurseries start from 20 thousand rubles (if you are very lucky) and can reach 100 thousand and above - depending on the title of the parents and the objectives pursued by the buyer. Naturally, a kitten of the so-called pet class, which is destined to become just a pet, will cost several times less than a candidate for a successful exhibition career, although both of them can ultimately grow into luxurious giants with outstanding breed characteristics.

However, it is not enough just to buy a kitten from wonderful parents, even for a lot of money. The main thing is to provide him with decent care and maintenance.

Representatives of this breed feel great both in a city apartment and in a country house. Of course, the second option is ideal due to more free space and the ability to regularly breathe fresh air. If you live in your own home, your number one task is to provide a safe walk for your pet. Despite their impressive size and harsh appearance, these cats are completely unsuited to life on the street and will not be able to protect themselves in case of danger. They are not very agile, and they don’t know how to fight at all. The times when they protected North American farms from rodents are long gone, and the modern Maine Coon is a friendly companion, not a cunning and resourceful hunter. The best thing you can do for your four-legged mustachioed friend is to build a spacious enclosure, closed on all sides, with access directly from the house. Place logs and branches of various configurations and sizes inside, and your pet’s gratitude will know no bounds. Such a walking area will provide your pet with the necessary amount of fresh air and sun, and will also satisfy the need for games and movement.

If you are not the happy owner of your own house in the village, then it is quite possible to provide a coon with decent living conditions in a city apartment, but with reservations regarding the dimensions of the new home. Maine Coons have a calm and balanced character, but the kittens are not averse to frolicking, and if you take into account the fact that they remain kittens for up to three years, and their weight by the year can reach 10 kg, then it becomes clear that everything is easily breakable and represents It is better to remove artistic value away.

Also, do not forget to protect your inquisitive pet from falling - never open windows wide if there is a cat in the room! Or place special grilles (not meshes!) in the openings.

To provide the coon with sufficient physical activity, the owner needs to think about purchasing a special play complex for cats. It should be high enough, but stable, with wide, spacious areas, hammocks or houses where the animal can relax and retire. At the same time, such a complex will act as a scratching post, keeping the upholstery of your furniture safe and sound. Such devices can be bought at a pet store or made to order. Many manufacturers have special lines for giant cats. Give preference to these, although they are somewhat more expensive. But your cat is also unusual, isn’t it?

If we talk about nicknames that are suitable for Maine Coons, then such a majestic animal needs an appropriate name. Among boys, Duke, Count, Viscount, Martin, Mars, Admiral, Patrick, Sean, Askold are often found. The girls are called Duchess, Adele, Olivia, Quinn, Stella, Ursa, Martha.

pixabay.com/

The largest Maine Coon in the world

The title of “biggest cat” regularly passes from paw to paw. In 2013, the longest Maine Coon at that time, named Stewie, died in the United States at the age of eight. He lived in Oregon with Robin Hendrickson.

According to control measurements carried out for the Guinness Book of Records, its length from nose to tip of tail was 123 cm. The cat was sociable, and his page on social networks was very popular.

To enlarge, click on the picture

In 2013, the largest cat in the world was the Maine Coon Rupert from Australia. He was first noticed by experts at an Australian cat show. Surprisingly, the giant cat in 2013, at the age of 3 years, weighed only about 9 kg.

His owner Kira Foster affectionately called her pet a “monster cat” in an interview. Photos of Rupert posing next to a small kitten have gained enormous popularity online. Daily edition

To enlarge, click on the picture

In 2022, a new record holder among cats was found - the cat Omar from Melbourne. According to The Telegraph, the cat’s weight is 14 kg with a height of 120 cm. Omar has his own account on Instagram, which has more than 14 thousand subscribers. According to the owner, the secret to the large size of the pet is proper nutrition, the basis of which is kangaroo meat.

To enlarge, click on the picture

Our advice

Before bringing a cat of this breed into your home, you need to determine whether there is enough space in the apartment for such a large cat and whether there are enough opportunities to keep it. You should not buy such an elite cat from unknown breeders or secondhand. It is better to contact well-established Maine Coon kennels.

When choosing a kitten, pay attention to its contents (cleanliness of the enclosure and feeding area, feeding diet, toys to play with). Self-respecting breeders will show you everything without hiding, give advice not only when purchasing, but also in the future, and offer their services for medical supervision.

When choosing a kitten, start your inspection with the ears. The tassels on them should be long, and the longer the better, the legs should be powerful and strong, the chin should be large and massive. Decide what kind of character your pet will have and talk about it with the nursery staff. Kittens are taken from the nursery at the age of three months with a full record of required vaccinations.

Based on materials: zoodrug.ua, murkote.com, likeme365.com, dogcatfan.com, okotikah.ru, zooinform.ru

The largest Maine Coon in Ukraine

The largest cat in Ukraine lives in the Dnieper. The record was officially registered in December 2022 in the Wildlife category. The largest cat in Ukraine is named Kex, and he is 5 years old. According to preliminary estimates, the length of the record holder was 115 cm, but after careful measurements at the International Cat Show “Winter's Tale” it turned out that his real length was a record 121 cm! The cat's fluffy tail alone is 37 cm long, and its thickness can be compared to the wrist of an adult man.

The owners claim that the cat has a Don Juan character and a love of raw meat, although his main food is balanced ready-made cat food.

To enlarge, click on the picture

The giant cat was a gift to the owner from her husband on the occasion of the birth of a child. Since the family professionally breeds cats, a kitten with a very good pedigree was chosen: the father is a champion of numerous exhibitions, the mother matches him. The owners began to suspect about the unusual characteristics of their baby only after he began to transform from a clumsy teenage cat into a charming beauty.

The liger is the king of the cat family

When talking about the largest and most impressive representatives of the cat family, one cannot ignore such a unique animal as the liger. It’s hard to call him a pet, but he’s not a wild animal either. This is an artificially bred hybrid - the child of a tigress and a lion. As a result of crossing two predators, a huge animal was born with a large lion's body and tiger stripes on its skin. The officially registered mass record for this beast is 798 kilograms.

Unique Features of Ligers

Powerful and beautiful ligers reach three meters in length and can weigh more than 300 kilograms. These animals exist only in captivity; the birth of such a hybrid is impossible in the wild. In the enclosure, the tigress and the lion live together, but the appearance of a cub is possible only in two cases out of a hundred. A significant drawback of such a genetic experiment is the inability of male individuals to reproduce.

The liger's skin is light in color. The stripes are not as clear as those of tigers, but they are clearly visible and appear slightly blurred. The luxurious lion's mane is not inherited by ligers. Even males are deprived of this luxury. You can see a live animal at the Miami Zoo. There the liger lives in a comfortable enclosure, swims and plays with pleasure.

The largest living representative of this breed is a liger named Hercules. He is 4 meters tall and weighs 400 kilograms. Hercules was born in 2002 and was raised by Professor Bhagavan Antle. The world-famous scientist devoted his entire life to working with endangered species of animals and enjoyed raising Hercules.

The giant cat's appetite is consistent with its size. Even following a strict diet, a liger consumes 9 kilograms of meat daily. Nature did not deprive the beast of health and strength. If necessary, Hercules reaches a speed of 80 km/h, although with his lifestyle this is not at all necessary.

How to raise the biggest Maine Coon

The title of “biggest cat” is an additional “bow” to the exhibition medals. Owning such a cat is prestigious and profitable, because all the cat brides in the country dream of meeting a real feline macho. When purchasing a kitten, it is difficult to predict exactly the future size of the adult animal. They are largely determined by pedigree - most likely, if your cat's parents were small cats, then your pet is unlikely to grow up to be a giant.

For all owners of record holders for height, the news about the most outstanding size of their pet was unexpected. You should not try to grow an outstanding giant using special techniques, exercises and nutrition, since in most cases these attempts are doomed to failure.

The only solution a loving owner can take is to constantly take care of the health of his Maine Coon: creating conditions for the pet’s physical activity and taking care of proper nutrition. You can try the experience of other owners of large cats, who paid great attention to the cat’s nutrition and prepared food for it themselves, without relying on ready-made food. This approach allows us to better take into account the needs of the animal and satisfy them.

A pet should not be fed from a shared pot with a person. Food that is too fatty and too salty can lead to obesity and other health problems.

The optimal diet for a future growth champion should be varied: contain raw and boiled meat, fish, chicken, milk, eggs, and cereals. If you don’t have time to cook yourself, then ready-made factory-made food is a good solution. You should always make sure that your pet has access to water.

Giant cats exist. You can dream about having a giant settle in your house, but it is better to love and appreciate the pet that lives next to you: for its devotion, a little hare-like gaze, intelligence, and just like that. You should not join the race for outstanding dimensions.

Who is Maine Coon suitable for?

Maine Coons can live in city apartments, but it is ideal to keep such a pet in a country house with its own enclosed territory, or go with your pet to the countryside during the warm season. These active cats need to exercise a lot to avoid gaining excess weight and keep their muscles toned. If you live in an apartment, decide right away what is more expensive for you - a cat or repairs.

The Maine Coon is not a couch cushion. These are active cats.

The breed is suitable only for people with high, stable income. You can’t save for several years for the kitten of your dreams and hope that the expenses will end there. You should choose a Maine Coon from a reputable cattery to avoid genetic health problems.

How long do Maine Coons live and what diseases do they suffer from?

The average lifespan of Maine cats is 12–15 years. Lifespan directly depends on nutrition and quality of care. These animals have excellent health, but there are a number of genetic diseases characteristic of representatives of this breed:

• hypertrophic cardiomyopathy;
• hip dysplasia;
• spinal muscular atrophy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a fairly common heart disease that leads to thickening (hypertrophy) of the left ventricular muscle, which impedes the ability to pump blood into the aorta and, as a result, creates an oxygen deficiency. An echocardiogram, ECG or radiography of the heart will help identify the disease.

Hip dysplasia causes weakness, lameness, pain and inability to jump, and degradation of muscle tissue in animals. To accurately diagnose this disease, they resort to x-rays of the hip joints - it is important to know that this procedure is contraindicated for animals under 2 years of age.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an inherited neuromuscular disease that causes degeneration of motor neurons in the spinal cord, leading to muscle atrophy. The first signs of the disease appear at the age of twelve weeks, characteristic symptoms: muscle weakness, lethargy, tremor. Over time, it becomes difficult for the animal to jump. Today, the only way to diagnose this disease is a special DNA test.

It is important to understand that all three diseases are the result of genetic mutations, so ask breeders for documentation of appropriate clinical examinations of the litter's parents carried out before breeding. Thus, the likelihood of these lesions occurring in your pets will be minimal, but it cannot be completely excluded, so it is very important to monitor the condition of the animal, its nutrition and properly care for it.

Maine Coon health is a consequence of genetic predispositions and proper care