Like many older breeds, the origin of the Maine Coon is unclear and steeped in rumor. Some believe Maine Coons, also known as American Longhair, American Shag, American Forest Cat, American Snughead and Maine Trick Cat, are a cross between semi-domestic wild cats and raccoons (doubtful if not impossible). Others believe that Marie Antoinette sent her beloved Angoras to America for safety. They escaped and inbred with wild cats. Still others believe a cat was brought to Maine by Captain Coon and the cat escaped to live in the wilds of Maine.

Whatever the origins, it is generally agreed that the Maine Coon is the one of the oldest Native American breed of cat and they were an established domestic and hunting cat by the 1800s, but were not recognized as an actual breed of cat until 1967. Maine Coons are a hearty breed due to the New England winters they endured early on. This has resulted in a semi-long shaggy coat in almost all colors that makes it look like a wild Lynx. This coat does require regular grooming, which is enjoyed by the cat.

Maine Coons males will reach an average weight of thirteen to eighteen pounds and females of nine to twelve pounds, though with their thick coats, they may look larger. They mature slowly and are not considered adult until somewhere between ages three and five (when they stop growing) and will live approximately twelve years.

Maine Coons do enjoy their human companions, but do not need their attention. They prefer instead, to spend time with them in the same room, but not necessarily to interact. They are not a lap cap, and can be quiet independent, but will follow people into other rooms to be near them. Unlike many breeds, Maine Coons do not like to jump or perch in high places, instead preferring to chase things on the ground.

Some Maine Coons can be trained to play fetch and generally do well with children, thanks to their loving nature. This breed is generally healthy but can be prone to hip dysplasia and cardiomyopathy. Some Maine Coons are born with an extra toe, though this does not mean anything for them medically, it will only disqualify them from being shown.

There is a website that has great information on Maine Coon and most other breeds of cats. It has details that pertain to a cat breeds health, grooming, living conditions, best food choices and more, the website is called: Dog And Cat Facts, and can be found at this url:

dogandcatfacts.com

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2007

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter, or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 6 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25 years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970’s-80’s.

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Tags: cat breed, groom, raccoons

Cats, as most of us know, make a wonderful and loving pet. For that reason, more and more households in the United States have cats. We can virtually see them sleeping on windows or cuddling with their owners. These feline pets have been around for a long time now. Studies show that the earliest known domestication of the cat was in Egypt, which was more or less 5,000 years ago.

During the ancient times, cats were considered as loyal and endearing companions. Also, cats have proven themselves to be excellent hunters, this is because cats have several notable characteristics than those of dogs (such as shorter sleeping periods, easier to wake up, better vision at night and better auditory system).

Unlike the ancient times wherein cats were used as hunting companions, cats these days only used as pets and for show. While some of today’s cat seldom hunt mice and rodent because of the reliance of man.

There are numerous cat breeds these days, from the regular cat found mostly on alleys to the popular Siamese breed. Each and every breed is unique and offer great companionship if properly cared.

If you are planning of adopting one, it is advisable that you must first carefully consider the source. If you plan to adopt from a cat breeder, it is recommended that you first check if the cat breeder has a good reputation in breeding cats. It is important that the cattery (or the place where the cats are bred) is clean and is operated properly. Most of the reputable breeders won’t allow the kittens to be adopted unit the kittens are 12 weeks old, while some breeders prefer 16 weeks, this is to ensure the proper development of the kitten’s health and immune system.

And once you have adopted one, it is important that you must place your cat in a litter box. The litter box must always be kept tidy and must have constant source of food and water. If you opt for a kitten, it is highly recommended that they must be allowed to roam and run around freely. It is unwise to keep kittens on cages. Also, it is important that you have constant physical interaction with the kitten, the kitten must get used to being touched and stroked so that it will interact more to you. A kitten that is handled properly will eventually have better temperament when it grows up.

Cats make very good pets or companion if properly taken care of. You can adopt a cat or kitten through the local animal adoption agency near you. Or you can either find one through your local paper and on the internet.

Jack Moundon is the owner of the-cat-central.com the-cat-central.com Helpful information about cats health problems and meanings about their common behavior. Great gift for cat lovers and helping you cat stay healthy.

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Tags: cat breed, kitten

It is human nature to be greedy, and greed leads to dishonorable behavior such as being despicable and mean. Some professional breeders you see may not be professional at all, or even close. They only want to make some a lot of money by pulling a fast one on gullible or inexperienced pet buyers, and do not even know the most basic needs of animals.

Bad breeders are ignorant to the fact that they are incapable of being a proper breeder. They are not aware that they are not fully educated and informed about the proper lifestyle and etiquette of a professional breeder. Being in the pet business may bring lucrative profits, hence the temptation to take advantage of it to make a fortune. These unscrupulous breeders are easy to sniff out, and are also known as backyard breeders who usually run their operations through newspapers and Internet ads with the claims of selling good pedigree cats with unbelievably low price tags.

Most of these animals sold by the unprofessional breeders to uneducated people who just want a cheap pet as a companion will end up in a shelter or at other people’s homes. Viruses are common among cats or kittens that are sold at a low price, as being kept in poor surroundings exposes them to illnesses and viruses, especially if their owners are not very passionate and responsible about them. Don’t be too quick to condemn these pet owners, for some people just do not realize the effort of raising a healthy pet and need the issue brought to their attention. .

Here are some common signs that should help you recognize a bad cat breeder:

1. Good, passionate breeders are usually proud of their work. They would take pride of the pedigree they raised, and would want to show them off. If the breeder does not take part in showing the cats, it shows that he is not very concerned about the cats’ quality.

2. Ask the right questions. An experienced and professional cat breeder would know all the right answers to your questions, as well as providing thorough explanations instead of short, simple lines. Knowing the history of a pedigree cat’s bloodline is a basic must in breeders. Therefore, if a breeder is unable to provide you with proper history of a cat, other information he offered may not be hundred percent accurate.

3. If you are to buy a kitten or cat, you would want to pick it from its litter, or see the environment it lived in. However, if the breeder denies you access to see the litter or where it was brought up, then it is very suspicious. It could mean that the kittens are not living in a proper environment, and that the place where they are kept is dirty, badly maintained and unhygienic. Poor living environment means unhealthy cats, with the possibility of them carrying diseases or illnesses. Knowing this, do find yourself a different breeder. See below for more information on siamesecatsinfo.com/ Siamese Cats.

For more information on siamesecatsinfo.com/how-to-spot-a-bad-cat-breeder/ Cat Breeder or visit siamesecatsinfo.com/how-to-spot-a-bad-cat-breeder/ siamesecatsinfo.com/how-to-spot-a-bad-cat-breeder/, a popular website that offers information on Cats, Cats Breeding, and Cats Behavior. Please leave the links intact if you wish to reprint this article. Thanks

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Tags: cat breed, kitten

So you have made a preliminary list of cat breeders to start with. How do you decide which is the best cat breeder for your requirements?
If you are set on a particular breed, then a quick phone call to each will eliminate those that offer other breeds.
Ask other cat owners for their recommendations and experiences, both positive and negative.
Once you have your shortlist, you need to visit each cat breeder and ask questions. Reputable cat breeders should be happy to answer your questions and show you around their premises. If not, you have to ask yourself if they are hiding something. Most, however are passionate about cats, will love talking about them and will want their kittens to go to a good suitable home.

Recommended Questions;

Does the breed have any congenital defects to watch for? If so, how do they avoid breeding them into their stock. If the answer is that the breed is perfect, with no congenital defects, be wary! No breed is perfect and a reputable breeder should tell you about any possible faults.

Do they offer a health guarantee if the kitten turns out to be in bad health?

Does the breeder give adequate care and attention to the kittens? Ask for a tour to see the kittens’ living conditions. Are they handled so they are used to humans?

How long have they been breeding cats? How many breeds do they have? Do they show their cats? The answers to these questions should give some indication of their expertise. Concentrating on a couple of breeds, along with showing the cats, means that they are more likely to be careful about the bloodlines than those breeding lots of different breeds.

How large is their breeding business. Try to avoid someone who is overwhelmed and stressed by trying to breed too many cats at one time, or who is just in it for the money and so uses mass-production.

Have the cats been tested for infectious diseases? A reputable breeder should have records to support his answers. Any cat can become ill but it is how the breeder deals with it that is important. Sick cats should be separated from the healthy ones.

Asking these questions should give you an idea of the honesty and integrity of the cat breeders and help you with your choice.
When you have made your choice of breeder and kitten, it is a good idea to ask an independent vet to give the kitten a health check before buying. A breeder with nothing to hide should not object - especially if you are paying!

For more information on all-about-cat-care.com cat care , cat health and cat gifts and products, visit Tricia’s website all-about-cat-care.com All About Cat Care at all-about-cat-care.com all-about-cat-care.com

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Tags: cat breed, cat care, kitten

Most people have owned cats all their lives, with childhood memories of various cats and their character, and they usually feel that home is not complete without a resident furry ‘frfiend’. To some others, owning a cat can be a pleasure discovered much later in life. It is quite well known that we do not really ‘adopt’ a cat, but are ‘adopted’ by them, as have been demonstrated so many times in my own family and as well as neigbours of ours when they ended up having a couple of strays wondering into their lives, and subsequently becoming part of their families.

Mention that you have a cat, and most people will envisage a non-pedigree type. As a matter of fact, only about 10-15 percent of ‘adopted’ cats as pets are pedigree animals. In general, though there are many people who can easily name a wide variety of dog breeds, they remain quite unaware of the extensive range of cat breeds that are available. There are perhaps several reasons for this. The first being that cats a very personal pets, they are not taken out for walks, or for trips in cars like dogs usually are, so we may not see very many breeds unless we come across them whilst visiting friends or relatives who happen to have cats in their households. Then some cat breeds have only recently been discovered or developed. Even when we come across new breeds, we may not notice the more subtle differences between them, as most are roughly the same size and have the same general shape and look. In this, cats are also quite different from their canine cousins, which vary from being smaller than cats to the size of small ponies.
Another reason why we may not be so well aware of cat breeds is the way we sometimes acquire our kittens, many of which are given us by friends/relatives whose ‘mummy’ cats have ‘accidentally’ given birth to 1 litter too many; through magazines and newspapers advertising ‘free’ kittens; or from animal shelters. These are perhaps the more common methods in which we acquire our kittens.

When you do decide to have a kitten, it is a great deal of fun to have 2, instead of 1, and you will see much more of their feline behavioural repertoire as they play. Kittens enact the whole gamut of body language in their daily frolics, and this provides a wonderful opportunity to see just how much they can contort their agile bodies, or erect their fur on various parts of their bodies in their play fights. It does mean that kittens do often shoot around the house, and sometimes up the curtains together, and this is so pleasureable to watch, but they will also soon grow out of this phase when they become bigger and heavier.

Having 2 kittens keep them busy, and of course, its companionship for themselves when you are not home. Obtaining 2 kittens form the same litter makes life fairly simple, but, if you would like to own one of the pedigree breeds yet cannot afford twice the cost, you can consider getting a non-pedigree cat to go with it.

So enjoy their ‘youth’.

The writer has 7 cats in his household, all of whom were rescued from the street, some of whom whose eyes were not even open at the time. Through nurturing and taking care of them from kittenhood, the writer has learned a lot in cat care from reading resources on cats, and having interviewed several veterianians in cat care and health issues related to cats.

The writer is the owner of the site: catsandsuch.com catsandsuch.com

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Tags: cat breed, cat care, dog breed, dog breeds, kitten