since a cat lover came to my house and told me she thought my 10 month old boy cat had maine coon in him i have been looking on internet and every picture and trait reminds me of my boy....not sure i'll ever know for sure as he was a rescue cat but he is very big , very fluffy and very clever ..just worried hes gonna grow for another 3 years like i have read they do as he is already bigger than my 2 girls ! is anyone familiar with the breed????? i'll have to get a pic to post

found a pic this is a few months old though
http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/a...o/DSC01565.jpg

sory dont think link works

Not much anyone can say until we can see a picture! Characteristics of Maine Coons include very large paws with fur between the toes, tufted ears, rectangular shape, long and very fluffy tail, square, solid head with definite "muzzle" like a dog. The fur is long, but quite rough and "messy" on top, soft and fluffy underneath. Most Maine Coons have characteristic behaviour traits, but many other cats share these traits, so you can't tell from behaviour. The weight of a full-grown male Maine Coon is around 18 lb, females are a bit lighter.

I have no idea why some people want to ascribe part-pedigree origins to moggies. I've seen blue cats which are nothing like a british shorthair called British Blue, long-hair cats called Maine Coons and so on.

The Maine Coon is a 'natural' breed - that is it to say it was selected from the domestic cats in Maine, just as the Norway Forest cat was in Norway, the Siberian in Russia and the British Shorthair was in the UK. There are plenty of other 'natural' breeds of cat - see the 'origin' column in this webpage. It's not exhaustive but gives you the general idea:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cat_breeds

So, it's not surprising if cats turn up that have some of the attributes of these breeds. I met a wonderful ginger moggie late last year who is the sort of cat I imagine the British Shorthair was selected from. He had the right sort of coat, was compact and cobby with a short-ish tail, and due to late neutering had a massive head. He also had the most fantastic nature, and when he planted his forehead on mine I could feel him sucking my brains out... I asked about his origins and was assured he was a moggie.

Your cat is almost certainly a pure-bred 100% moggie, and I imagine is totally wonderful and adorable.

(I have yet to meet a cat that isn't!)

I agree with you. In any case, with pedigree breeds like Maine Coons, the opportunities for pedigree cats to interbreed with moggies are pretty limited. Un-neutered Maine Coons are only sold to other breeders; those sold as pets must be neutered at 6 months, and you generally have to advise the breeder that this has been done. So the number of pedigree cats that are available for interbreeding is very limited.

We have both a Maine Coon and a long-haired moggie. Before we got the Maine Coon, my daughter was sure the moggie might have Maine Coon in him - once she saw the two of them together, she realised the difference!

thanks...i'm sure u are right and hes just a moggie but i just wonder....he is big at 10 months and his tail is VERY bushy !!! anyhow makes no odds to me i adore all my cats whatever and wherever they came from

People used to say my ginger moggie looked 'exotic' meaning Oriental, but they always stopped when they saw him next to the Havana I used to have. What they meant was he was a bit less cobby with a slightly longer face than your average mog.

He is a wonderful cat and dribbles on me sometimes to show he cares.

We have 2 coons, once you've known one the breed would be hard to confuse. The big paws and the coat are pretty distinctive on their own, but most coons are also very friendly, ardent hunters, curious, gregarious and well aware of their superior qualities. That is to say, more than most cats The tails are idividual to the breed too. You haven't seen a fluffy tail till you've seen a coon. The tails on ours are nearly as big as the cat, though mostly air of course.

The elderly among you may remember the "tiger in your tank" campaign that Esso ran about 40 odd years ago, and they sold a little fake tiger tail to attach to the petrol filler. I've been SOO tempted with our Maine Coon!

He does have a magnificent tail, though, not the little apology for one that other other cats have!

http://i39.tinypic.com/10ef0ud.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/23mlrfa.jpg

This is my beautiful girl Amber with her showgirl tail

You see this is exactly it.........looking at those pics they are EXACTLY like Toby !!! same colour and everything......grrrrrrr i dont know how to get pics up !!

lets see if this works !

http://i42.tinypic.com/2z5kks7.jpg

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34ywxmq&s=5

awwww he could be Amber's twin brother

is Amber a maine coon or just a moggie lol

a Maine Coon - bought her & her brother Digby from a breeder - here's Digby

http://i39.tinypic.com/11kv8ma.jpg

so whats your proffesional opinion on Toby ????just a fluffy moggie?

He looks like a Maine Coon to me but I'm just an owner not an expert.

lol thanks i guess as he was a rescue cat we will never know but i am gobsmacked at his resemblance to your cat ! ...spooky..i look forward to any other opinions

He's very similar to Leo, who also lacks lynx tips. They are 'desirable' rather than must have, in the features list. He is very coon-like. Here's Leo And again. And his little stepsister, Lily to her friends, who has grown a lot since this piccy.

I cannot get over Tobys twins all over the country !!!.....the more i read and see pics of maine coons the more i am sure he is at least part coon .....makes no odds to me i feel blessed everyday to of rescued such a loving, gorgeous and clever cat

That second picture is Leo having his tummy fur brushed. He does that every morning.

i am having to brush Toby daily now as he is just soooo fluffy, good job he seems to like it

Toby's gorgeous, but I'm pretty sure he's not a Maine Coon.

1. He doesn't have the correct ear shape and especially the tufts.

2. The head isn't quite square enough - if you look at Amber, or any other Maine Coon, their heads are really lion-like and they have a very characteristic square muzzle.

3. Toby doesn't have snow-shoe paws, with the fur between the toes.

4. Maine Coons have enormous whiskers, which both Amber and Digby show. Toby's whiskers are much shorter in comparison with his size.

5. Both Amber and Digby have the characteristic shaggy top-coat, whereas Toby is fluffy all over.

Amber looks exactly like my Maine Coon, who's also a cream tabby.

You'll never know if Toby's got any Maine Coon in him, he's very cute, but he's definitely not a pure-bred one.

If he is a rescue there is no reason why he couldn't be Maine Coon or Maine x.
Unfortunately even pedigrees end up in rescue these days
He certainly doesn't look like a run-of-the-mill DLH ( Domestic Long Hair)

Just glue a couple of paint brush tips to his ears and viola