Talk:Maine Coon

The part of the Health section on polydactyly is outdated/inaccurate. In fact, some of the references given (16, 20, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49) actually refute the claims.

The Health section says that Polydactylism is “rarely seen in Maine Coons in the show ring since it is not allowed by competition standards.” This is outdated. Polydactyly has been present in the Maine Coon breed since it’s beginning (see references 20 and 49). The Maine Coon polydactyl trait has been historically accepted some organizations, and others have re-added it to the breed standard. More are working on getting it added. For example, TICA began accepting polydactyl Maine Coons in to full Championship status in 2015 (see reference 16).

The Health section also says the polydactyl gene “has shown to pose a threat to the cat's health. The polydactylism are genetic problems which are not encouraged for breeding.”

The type of polydactyly found in Maine Coons is isolated, and not known to be connected to any health issues or genetic problems. This is corroborated by references 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 in the article. ChicagoK9 (talk) 18:59, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

It says it's not common in the show ring, it doesn't mention how common it is in the breed. Traumnovelle (talk) 22:48, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

I will not present myself as an expert on Maine Coons - I am a veterinarian working with dogs and cats and this breed of cat is fairly uncommon in the area I work. That said, I have worked with a few and they have a very distinctive look.

I will also note that in my professional experience, many, many pet owners with rescued domestic long haired cats (DLHs - regular domestic cats with long hair) will identify their cats as Maine Coons or Maine Coon crosses when they are almost certainly just regular long haired cats. It is basically a shared joke among veterinarians, and we're always excited to see a real one.

With that in mind - I am not sure all the cats on this page are Maine Coons. Specifically the main image as of writing - the facial structure seems... inconsistent with the verified Maine Coons I have seen in practice, and more consistent with a DLH (there is a gallery at the bottom of the page that shows good examples of facial structure, and a somewhat suspect red tabby and silver tabby). Are there any die-hard Maine Coon people (like, breeders or showers that have experience with verified MCs) that monitor this page? Are these photos within reasonable variation of the breed or are they just random DLHs that well intentioned (but wrong) pet owners have thrown up on Wikimedia? The ones I am most suspicious about are the main image (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon#/media/File:Maine_Coon_cat_by_Tomitheos.JPG) and (to a lesser extent) the red tabby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon#/media/File:%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82.jpg) and silver tabby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon#/media/File:MaineCoonSilverTabby.jpg) at the bottom. Unless someone can demonstrate otherwise I think the main image should be changed. Connor Long (talk) 22:31, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Can't answer for the others, but the silver tabby is a purebred Maine Coon with breeders code MCO 64 18 (source: it's my cat). Barry Wom (talk) 11:41, 22 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello.

I previously removed this image from this article because it appears to be promoting a Maine Coon cattery that its uploader is possibly affiliated with. I call it promotional because the "Source" field points to said cattery.

However, just a few days ago, it was re-added by the same contributor. And judging by their other contribs, it looks like their only intent is to promote this cattery. ScienceGuy722 18:11, 18 May 2025 (UTC)

The image originates from the cattery's website hence the link. Very few people click through to an image, let alone click through to the source. I don't believe the image is a negative, it isn't like it contains a water mark or is of poor quality overall. Traumnovelle (talk) 19:38, 18 May 2025 (UTC)

The Maine coon average lifespan is about 10 to 15 years old. Most females can live up to 12 to 15 years old. And male Maine coons live up to 10 to 15 years which is the average age for most Maine coons. Also some Maine coons can live up to twenty but most Maine coons live in their teens and the record is the age 31.These Maine coons can live for a long time they at least live the same age as most house cats. I’ve been inspired by these cats for years and now I can share all the information I know with you! ~2026-32075-0 (talk) 19:50, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for sharing this info! Unfortunately, we can't include original research on Wikipedia. If there's a published source that includes information about Maine Coon lifespan (such as an academic journal article or veterinary magazine), we could cite that! Cheers, Suriname0 (talk) 19:56, 15 January 2026 (UTC)

Like what website? ~2026-32075-0 (talk) 20:54, 15 January 2026 (UTC)