The Maine Coon cat is a very interesting breed of cat. What make’s it such a interesting breed is it’s history. There is no set in stone history of the breed. There are many theories and stories of it’s origin.
Some people believe the breed came about when New England domestic cats breed with Raccoons. The Maine Coon sometimes makes a chirp sound that somewhat sounds like the same sound a young Raccoon makes, not to mention that it’s bushy ring tail resembles that of the ring tail of a Raccoon. However we now know that it is genetically impossible for domestic cats to breed with Raccoons.
Another theory is that the ancestors came from Norwegian Skogkatts brought over by the Vikings. This is also very hard to track down and provide proof of.
Some people believe that instead of breeding with raccoons, that the Maine Coon was interbreed with the American Bobcat. Here again we know that this is genetically impossible.
However there is a record showing the Maine Coon is listed in a program of a show held in Boston. This show was held in 1878.
Some people believe that the Maine Coon can be traced back to France. The story goes that Maria Antoinette was going to be smuggled out of France and a ship was loaded with her belongings, including some of her favorite cats. She was captured before she could get to this ship and the ship sailed without her. The ship came to America and her cats breed with American cats and the Maine Coon came from that breeding.
Another theory was that a English Ship Captain and his name was Captain Coon, he was fond of cats and had cats aboard his ship. Since he traded goods on the Eastern Seaboard, the theory goes some of his cats might have jumped shipped and breed with local cats. Hence the Maine Coon came about.
All these could be true but, no one can be sure. We can rule out that they did not come from Raccoons or American Bobcats. Most likely they are descended from shorthair cats that Americans owned that probably breed with longhair cats that where brought over in sailing ships. During the 1860’s Maine farmers began having a cat show at the Skowhegan Fair and people would bring their Maine Coons to the show. They would compete for the title of “Maine State Champion Coon Cat”. This breed also probably developed as it did to deal with the harsh climate.
A very big show was held in New York in 1895. The show was won by a Maine cat called “Cosey”.
A real interesting fact about the Maine Coon was that it was declared extinct in the late 1950’s. However history shows that this was an exaggeration and in the early 1950’s the Central Maine Cat Club was formed. In 1968 a plan was proposed to create a universal Maine Coon Cat Club. In 1969-70 the first attempt was made to get the Maine Coon to a provisional status however, it was not given provisional status until May 1, 1975. After that championship status occurred May 1, 1976. The breed has been going strong ever since.
The Maine Coon is a very special cat and they make for wonderful companions.
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