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Maine Coons are cats of impressive size, and this fact leaves a certain imprint on the living conditions of this breed. Having become the owner of this graceful breed, you must first of all purchase a tray for the Maine Coon, which will fully comply with the characteristics of this type of large cat.
As practice shows, organizing a convenient toilet for a Maine Coon is not an easy task, given the large size of the animal. By purchasing a large standard litter box for a raccoon cat, you will not solve the main problem of organizing a Maine Coon's toilet, which is the incredible love of these animals to dig into the litter and periodically jump out of the litter box. Due to this behavioral feature of cats, the filler is regularly spread throughout the bathroom.
What to consider when choosing a litter box for your Maine Coon
Maine Coons are big cats, which means they need an appropriate litter box. Ordinary cheap “pallets” will not suit even large cats of other breeds, not to mention these famous size winners in the cat world.
Dimensions
The first and main reason why a Maine Coon will not go to a small litter box is a simple inconvenience. Cats are very clean animals, so they will never sit down to do their business in a place that does not suit them.
IMPORTANT! The Maine Coon should fit completely in its toilet, have relative freedom of movement there and feel comfortable and clean.
A few more reasons why a Maine Coon litter box should not be small:
- There will be a lot of garbage. Let's say you have trained a kitten to use a standard litter box, but when he grows up, even with the most careful use, litter will be scattered everywhere, and sometimes puddles will spill.
- There are no small closed litter boxes for Maine Coons. A new trend among cat owners is closed litter trays, which only come in large sizes.
Material
The standard material for a quality tray is weighted plastic. This is convenient for both the cat and the owner - it is easy to wash and carry, and the filler does not stick to the surface. It is not recommended to purchase trays with decor or interspersed with soft materials.
Firstly, the toilet must be primarily functional - the cat must be able to use it at any time, and the owner must be able to quickly wash/change the litter. Secondly, unnecessary elements can not only interfere, but also get dirty.
Toilet care rules
Cats of this breed have a good sense of smell, so you need to clean their boxes often, and most importantly, on time. An enclosed litter box for your Maine Coon prevents contents from spreading around the house and around the litter box. Cleaning is required 2-3 times a day, the cat box must be treated with a special disinfectant solution as needed. Cats of this breed love to row in litter; for cleaning, you will definitely need a dustpan and a broom, water containers (dirty and clean), and garbage bags, because the used contents of the tray must be thrown away immediately.
Filler selection
Now there is a huge selection of fillers - from standard ones, which cost not much more than regular sand, to luxury options. It is advisable to equip the toilet for such large cats as the Maine Coon with the best materials - the impressive size of such cats leads to the fact that the remains of the litter (used or still fresh) are carried on their paws throughout the apartment.
IMPORTANT! It is highly not recommended to save money and put homemade filler in the tray - newspapers, toilet paper, etc. - the cat will try to bury until the last minute, resulting in more soiling.
Types of filler:
- Standard (cheap). You can buy it not only in a specialized pet store. Usually based on sand or other common materials.
- Luxury. You can buy it in pet supply stores or large supermarkets, or online. It has the property of not clumping, absorbing odor, not sticking to paws and absorbing moisture.
And again about wool
We have already found out that it is necessary to care for the Maine Coon’s fur especially carefully and meticulously. What exactly is included in the concept of care?
First of all – combing, combing and combing again. It is necessary to bathe periodically, but you should not overuse water procedures - this can have a bad effect not only on the delicate skin of the maine, but also on its delicate psyche. In addition, the domestic cat does an excellent job of maintaining cleanliness.
Tools
For proper combing you will need a whole arsenal:
- wide-toothed comb for initial combing;
- a fine-toothed comb for adding shine;
- a comb with very fine teeth – to remove dirt (do not use on the collar, tail and pants, where hair grows slowest);
- slicker brush - for the molting period (if your cat accepts this device without protest);
- massage brush – to remove residual fallen hairs;
- nail scissors - to cut out (if necessary) the resulting tangles if they could not be sorted out and combed.
All instruments must be of high quality, with rounded ends of the teeth to prevent microtrauma. You should make sure in advance that your pet is not afraid of these tools. Since keeping a Maine Coon requires constant “hairdressing” procedures, it is necessary to accustom him to a comb from childhood.
What to do with tangles?
You should be especially careful with tangles; carelessness here can lead to the wool turning into felt. It’s better not to let them get to you at all; for this purpose, regularly inspect those places where matted areas are most likely to appear, that is, the cat’s stomach, neck, chest and hind legs. After this, you can start actually combing. The order is as follows: first we process the tail (extremely carefully!), then the back and sides, and finally the chest, stomach and panties. We move smoothly, without jerking, in the direction of hair growth. Everything is quite simple, although it requires some skills. The main thing here is not to hurt your pet.
How to train a Maine Coon kitten to use the litter box?
The main work on training a cat to use the litter box should be done while the kitten is still very small. If the baby has a mother, then most likely there will be no need to intervene - the cat will teach him herself, but in the case when a kitten is adopted from a breeder, responsibility for the future hygiene of the cat falls entirely on the owner.
IMPORTANT! It will take a long time to accustom your baby to the litter box (perhaps a month or even more), but you should not take the problem lightly - retraining an adult cat or even a teenager will be very difficult.
How to teach a kitten to go to the toilet in the right place:
- Planting in a tray. The kitten itself will not think of going into the litter box, even a low one. At first, you will have to put it there as soon as the cat is about to defecate - this can be easily determined by its specific position.
- Determining the time for the toilet. Few cat owners know that an animal’s “toilet schedule” can be regulated and even slightly controlled through a steady supply of water before bed and a normal diet.
- Praise in a timely manner. Potty training your kitten isn't just about getting him to the right litter box, it's also about positively reinforcing the new habit. Praise the baby clearly and with a positive intonation, pet him, even if he didn’t actually do anything, but was simply brought into the tray by you.
What you definitely shouldn’t do is scold the kitten, much less hit it. This way you will not at all speed up the process of adaptation to new conditions, but only slow it down. The kitten does not understand for what specific reason you need him to go to the toilet in a certain place, so you can only persuade him through positive reinforcement.
IMPORTANT! To help himself, the owner can use special means that attract cats to the correct toilet and scare them away from the wrong one. Such remedies help with varying degrees of success, it all depends on the cat.
Kinds
Nowadays, you can easily choose a tray for a cat, since their range is very diverse in terms of design and color, so it’s not difficult to choose a tray that matches the color of the interior of the room where it will be placed. But in order to choose the right litter box for your Maine Coon, you need to know the advantages and disadvantages of each type of litter box.
Since adult cats of this breed are large in size, they need a fairly large tray, the minimum dimensions of which should be 40x80 cm.
Rectangular with low sides
Almost all other cats can use this litter box successfully.
But it is completely unsuitable for adult Maine Coons.
After all, these cats love to dig up litter.
Because of this, the granules will scatter far from such a tray every time your pet visits it.
For a small kitten of this breed who is just beginning to learn the “wisdom of the toilet,” such a tray will be very good. Kids are not afraid of its appearance, and the low sides allow the kitten to use it independently.
With high sides
Trays of this design often have additional sides that increase their height even more. For Maine Coons, such a tray is quite acceptable, since the high sides prevent the litter from scattering even if the pet vigorously rake it. In addition, cats like litter boxes with high sides as they create the illusion of an enclosed space and make them feel confident and safe.
For Maine Coons, trays with sides and a height of at least 10 cm are suitable.
Closed house
It is a closed structure that resembles a carrier in appearance and is equipped with a hinged door on the side.
One of the advantages of this design is that there is almost no unpleasant odor in the house from such a cat litter box.
After all, trays and houses are often equipped with carbon filters that absorb animal odors. Cats, as a rule, willingly use such trays, since in the toilet-house nothing distracts them from the process.
The disadvantages of closed toilets include their high price compared to other trays and the fact that they are inconvenient to clean if the tray does not slide out or if the top part cannot be removed from them. Therefore, if you decide to buy a closed type tray, in the form of a house, then you need to choose the model that has a removable top or the one that is equipped with a retractable tray.
This is interesting: Photo of a white Maine Coon
To cut or not to cut – that is the question
How to care for your pet is generally clear. It remains to say a few words about such an aspect as cutting a Maine Coon - is it necessary to cut it and to what extent is this generally permissible?
According to many experts, the fashion for Maine hairstyles to look like a lion, borrowed by groomers from poodles, cannot be called reasonable. Because of it, both the health and psyche of cats suffer, for which there are several reasons:
- the unique structure of the Maine’s coat is irreversibly deteriorated, including guard hair, which is not restored after shearing;
- Contrary to popular belief, a cat without fur is more, not less, susceptible to overheating;
- due to the cutting of sensitive hairs, which, together with the vibrissae, are responsible for the animal’s sense of touch, the cat’s orientation in space is disturbed, which he cannot get used to for a very long time;
- finally, the cat, whose main decoration was taken away, feels (don’t be surprised!) dishonored.
After such a shame, your handsome Maine may not recover at all and will forever lose his cheerful and lively disposition.
Finally, a shorn coon, let's be honest, immediately loses more than half of its natural beauty. The charm of the Maines lies precisely in their slightly barbaric shaggyness and hairiness (which, however, must certainly be combined with well-groomed and glossy hair), reminiscent of their free forest ancestors.
