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The History of the Maine Coon Cat
Maine Coon Cats have been around for more than a century. In fact, the first reference to them is from the 17th century in the United States. In fact, a Maine Coon cat is mentioned in literature in 1861. The next known mention of the Maine Coon is 1895, when a Maine Coon won the title of Best Cat at the Madison Square Garden Cat Show. There is much speculation as to how they originated, but there is not any substantial proof of any of the theories.
First note that the Maine Coon Cat is designed to withstand harsh winters. He has thick, virtually water-proof fur, and large paws that are shaped well for walking on ice and snow. He also has tufted ears, which may exist for the purpose of keeping wind from blowing directly into his ear canal. Among all breeds of cats, these are the ones that were built to survive harsh, cold weather.
With that said, the most logical of all of the theories is that the Maine Coon breed originated when cats brought over for Norway mated with short-hair or long-haired cats in the United States. In fact, Maine Coons are most closely related to the Norwegian Forest Cat.
Other theories exist as well. One of these theories is that the Maine Coon is a cross between a raccoon and a cat. This theory, however, doesn’t hold water, since animals do not breed with other types of animals, and mating between a raccoon and cat would be biologically impossible. Some experts believe that the Maine Coon was originally a wild animal, but others believe that the breed has always been domesticated.
The Maine Coon apparently made its first appearance in the North Eastern part of the United States, which is where colonists originally settled. It was once the most popular breed of pedigreed cats, but lost popularity when the Persian made an appearance on the scene in the early 1900’s. Since the 1950’s, however, its popularity has risen again, and today, it is said to be the most widely bred cat in the world.
Today, the Maine Coon is the state cat of Maine in the United States. It is a highly popular show cat, and there are thousands of Maine Coon enthusiasts all over the world. Again, this is a widely bred cat, but most of the top Maine Coon breeders feel that only those cats with titles should be bred, and others should be spayed or neutered to help control the population of all cats. Maine Coons are in appearance at all nationally recognized cat shows.
If you own a Maine Coon, realize that you have a very special animal, and that it originated in the Northeastern portion of the United States. Although it is called the Maine Coon, and it is the state cat of Maine, there is no specific information that proves that the cat originated in the state of Maine.
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