The Maine Coon cat originates from north-eastern America and received its name from the state of Maine. It is the first longhaired breed of cat that originated in America.

Because nobody knows its background a myth was started that it was the result of a racoon that bred with an ordinary farmyard cat. This is of course biologically impossible but lots of people thought this to be true because like the racoon the cat was often seen near rivers and streams fishing. This would also explain why the cat is not shy of water which is very handy when it comes to washing the cat before a show.
Most Norwegian Forest cats are also not afraid to get wet and this would explain some relationship because it is known that the Vikings had cats on board their ships when they sailed to this part of the world.

The Maine Coon appeared in a cat show for the first time in 1860 in New York and became very popular but people lost interest when the Persian cat was introduced.
In 1978 the Maine Coon was introduced in a show in West Germany and came to England in 1984 for the first time. In 1986 Sweden imported their first two cats from England and a few years later Norway followed suit.
Today the Maine Coon is very popular in America and wins the hearts of everyone because of its friendly and relaxed personality.

The breed has long and thick silk like fur which it needs to keep warm in the winter months which is also easy to groom. It has thick fur on its tail as well which it uses to wrap around itself while sleeping.
The cat looks a little intimidating because of its size and Lynx like ears but in contrast the cat is very friendly.
Females can grow to be between 4 to 5 kg. and males can be as large as 8 to 9 kg. They like to have company and will follow you around wherever you go and have no problems together with other breeds of cats and even dogs.They are a very healthy and sturdy breed and there is registered over 60 different colour and pattern combinations.