06.05.2022

Is the Maine Coon temperament right for you?

If you’re looking for an easy-going, mild-mannered cat, the Maine Coon may be perfect for you. Known for their adaptability, friendliness towards their human companions, and playfulness, Maine Coons have the reputation of being easy to live with.

It’s not all plain sailing with them, though. Like other large-breed cats—such as Norwegian Forest cats, Siberians, Ragdolls, and Bengals—Maine Coons have several quirks that you should be aware of and a few breed-specific health issues that demand rigorous diet control, monitoring, and regular care.

Read on to find out all you need to know about Maine Coon temperament, feeding regimen, and general wellbeing—the better informed you are, the happier your Maine Coon will be! 

Cuddly lion mode!

Source: Pixabay

What is the temperament of a Maine Coon cat?

Maine Coons are generally easy to live with.

While their size may give them the appearance of a bruiser, Maine Coons are generally placid, mild-mannered companions. The most obvious personality traits you will notice are:

1. Insatiable curiosity
2. Co-dependency issues
3. Natural hunting instincts

Insatiable curiosity

Maine Coons want to know everything about everything and will go to great lengths to investigate every nook and cranny.

Their curiosity can occasionally get them into trouble as they will want to try anything edible left lying around—including foods they may be allergic to or the ones that may be poisonous to them.

They will also happily crawl into spaces they may not be able to get out of, so you should spend some time cat-proofing your house to limit access to places and things that could cause your Maine Coon harm.

Maine Coons are also fond of wandering around outside, so you may need to take some precautions to keep your garden and neighbourhood safe for your feline to explore.

Co-dependency issues

Maine Coons are highly attached to their human—and even canine—companions, to the extent of being slightly co-dependent.

While this is undeniably an endearing trait, it does mean you can’t leave a Maine Coon alone for too long.

If your schedule means you’ll be out of the house for more than 8 hours at a time, you may come home to find your Maine Coon has become frustrated.

A companion may be a solution as Maine Coons can easily adapt to other animals in the household—as long as the companion isn’t potential prey!

Natural hunting instincts

If you allow your Maine Coon outside (preferable to keeping them as indoor cats), you can expect regular presents to be deposited on your kitchen floor—if, of course, you’ve been good. Maine Coons have a particularly strong hunting instinct and will happily stalk—and catch—birds, mice and other rodents, insects, snails, slugs, and even frogs in your garden.

There isn’t much you can do about this, but the danger of food poisoning is ever-present.

Providing a healthy and nutritious diet and making sure your Maine Coon has ample opportunity to play safely is the best way to mitigate any risk.

“So we goin’ for walkies now?”

Source: Pixabay

What about Maine Coon kitten behaviour?

As kittens, Maine Coons need all the love and attention you can lavish on them.

With a longer growth period than other breeds—such as Siamese, Persians, British Shorthairs, or Russian Blues—they need your attention and nurturing up to the age of 4 years.

Maine Coon kittens have a reputation for being slightly hyper—their playfulness may get a little wearing even for the most patient cat parents.

Your job is to train them to stay safe. Most Maine Coon kittens will calm down after around 6 months, but you should be careful that they don’t come to any harm in the interim.

This means you need to:

1. Cat-proof your house
2. Limit outside access
3. Be around as much as possible

Cat-proof your house

You should make sure your house is a safe environment for your Maine Coon kitten.

This means tidying away anything that could cause harm to a curious explorer, including food around the house, with particular attention to anything that could be poisonous, such as:

• Chocolate
• Allium vegetables, like onion, garlic, or chives
• Coffee and alcohol
• Essential oils like peppermint
• Citrus fruits
• Grapes and raisins
• Milk, cheese, and other dairy products
• Bread and products containing yeast

Limit outside access

Allowing a Maine Coon kitten to roam around outside could be a recipe for disaster.

Apart from the dangers of eating grass contaminated with chemicals or plants that could be toxic, Maine Coon kittens can get themselves into all kinds of trouble with:

• Traffic
• Other neighbourhood animals
• Machinery or places they can’t extricate themselves from

Be around as much as possible

Maine Coons need as much socialisation as possible during their formative months and years.

Particularly after weaning and leaving their mother, Maine Coon kittens need attention and time to bond with their new family.

Adult Maine Coons are often fiercely loyal to their family but wary of strangers. Still, the more they are taught to socialise at an early age, the more comfortable they will be later on, especially if your household gets frequent visitors.

Your constant presence around your Maine Coon kitten will give them the confidence to interact with everyone.

Fur can become a bit of an issue with Maine Coons!

Source: Pixabay

What traits of a Maine Coon need special attention?

The most important areas for special attention with Maine Coons are more physical than temperamentally focussed.

The most frequent health issues Maine Coons face are:

1. Heart disease—Maine Coons can suffer from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as a result of genetic disorders in their parents. While most breeders screen their queens and sires for the disease, cases still crop up. The disease is not curable, but medication can alleviate the most serious symptoms
2. Shedding and coat issues—With such a luxurious coat, you won’t be surprised to learn that Maine Coons can shed excessively. Apart from being a pain to clean up after, Maine Coons can also suffer from frequent hairballs, with all the trauma that involves. While hairballs are a natural phenomenon and a fact of life for many long-haired cats, you can manage the amount your Maine Coon sheds with high-quality, protein-rich nutrition
3. Kidney failure—Maine Coons are prone to kidney failure, particularly as they advance in years. Renal insufficiency is pernicious, as you may only notice that there’s a problem after the deterioration has become highly advanced. While there is no cure for kidney failure, you can manage the symptoms with a good diet
4. Urinary tract infections (UTIs)—UTIs, such as cystitis, and bladder stones are a common problem for many cats, including Maine Coons

The common denominator in keeping your Maine Coon as healthy as possible is nutrition—the healthier you feed your Maine Coon, the less likely you will be to have a sick cat.

Maine Coon information—facts about their nutrition

Maine Coons have big appetites, in sync with their large build. Eating a lot is only good if your Maine Coon gets the right diet—meaning meat, meat, and more meat.

Cats are obligate carnivores, and their systems have evolved to get nutrients most efficiently from:

1. Animal protein
2. Animal fat

Animal protein

Meat is the best source of protein for your Maine Coon. Protein is made up of amino acids—like taurine—needed for:

• Energy
• Muscle build
• Organ maintenance
• Skin and coat health

Some cat owners suggest that you can feed a vegetarian or vegan diet to your feline, but a quick glance at the biological values (BVs) of various protein sources disproves this. The BV of a protein source measures how efficiently cats can metabolise it, and the BVs of the most common protein sources used as cat food ingredients are:

The best plant protein source is considerably less efficient a provider of amino acids than even the worst meat. 

All the vitamins and minerals your Maine Coon needs should be in food that contains a high proportion of meat. Choosing food with a high meat content will make sure your cat stays healthy and full of energy, as well as have a positive effect on:

• Urinary tract health
• Weight control
• Coat condition
• Digestive health

Animal fat

Animal fat is:

• An excellent secondary source of energy
• A provider of essential fatty acids for cell maintenance
• Essential to make cat food taste amazing

A healthy amount of animal fat—such as that contained in high-quality cat jelly or gravy—can not only keep Maine Coons healthy but can also drive them wild for the taste.

Maine Coon Nutrition—what to avoid

Foods to avoid are identifiable with a bit of investigation, and you should check the ingredients list and guaranteed analysis for:

• Grains, cereals, and carbs—Plant-based ingredients are commonly used as fillers to bulk up a product but can have detrimental effects on your Maine Coon. Carbs, in particular, can quickly lead to weight issues, as calories from sugar are quickly stored as fatty cells if not used up
• Artificial colourants, flavourings, and supplements—If a manufacturer needs to add supplements to food, this could be an indication that the basic ingredients are not high-quality. Supplements can also be a health risk, sometimes causing gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhoea, nausea, or vomiting
• Meat derivatives and byproducts—If you can’t identify what meat has been used in cat food, you can’t judge its quality. You may also be exposing your Maine Coon to unnecessary risk—Maine Coons can be fussy or sensitive, having allergic reactions to certain proteins. Meat that isn’t identifiable as being of the highest quality can cause all sorts of issues in your Maine Coon

Whatever type of food you choose—wet, semi-moist, dry, raw, or homemade—paying attention to quality will keep your Maine Coon happy and healthy.

The best of the best for your Maine Coon.

Image (c) Untamed

Is Untamed good for Maine Coons?

The best you can do for your Maine Coon is to feed Untamed! 

Untamed cat food uses only the best ingredients, and every recipe—whether it’s Chocka Chicken, Tuck-in Tuna, or Full-on Fishy—is formulated to give your cat everything needed in a great-tasting package.

Each tin of Untamed features:

• Twice the amount of real meat than you find in other commercial cat foods, meaning that your Maine Coon gets a huge dose of healthy protein with an irresistible taste—even cats that normally don’t like wet food should go wild for it
• Vet-formulated recipes, meaning that your Maine Coon’s food is free of all allergens, complete, and balanced, whether you have a kitten, queen, neutered male adult, or senior

Untamed is as kind to the environment as we are to cats—as such, we are committed to:

• Only sourcing from sustainable, cruelty-free, and ethical suppliers
• Ensuring our packaging is 100% recyclable
• Running our operations on a carbon-neutral basis

Want the best for your Maine Coon? Try Untamed today!

Get Untamed for your Maine Coon

Want to order cat food online with free shipping? Getting a tailor-made Untamed meal plan for your Maine Coon is a piece of cake—all you have to do is:

1. Tell us about your Maine Coon
2. Choose the recipes you wish to feed to your cat
3. Order your initial trial pack

Once your trial pack arrives, your Maine Coon’s journey to health and happiness can begin—we will keep you stocked up by sending a box of our pre-portioned cat food tins once a month to make sure your kitty doesn’t go hungry.

Maine Coon parents who have switched to Untamed tell us you can expect to see the following changes: