Why so many Maine Coon mixes?

Question

This is more of a "curiousity killed the cat" issue and its been bugging me to no end. Why is it, when I look on shelter websites, rescue group websites, any cat website trying to find homes for homeless cats, every fluffy cat is listed as a "maine coon mix"? Doesn't matter whether its medium hair, long hair - if its fluffy and friendly, its a Maine Coon Mix.

Is there an insurgence of maine coon cats running around impregnating females creating a million maine coon mixes?  A Maine Coon cat is a registered breed, closely monitored for size, conformity, personality, etc.  

Why can't they list these cats as a Domestic Long or Medium Hair cat, which is what 98% of them are.  I recently took in a very friendly, muted grey tabby with a medium length coat. This was a STRAY cat, not a pedigree gone rebel.  Yet, everyone referred to him as a Maine Coon mix.  Amazing.  Even though I protested, and he was no bigger than a normal tabby with big tomcat jowls (because he wasn't neutered), just because he was vocal and had big feet, he got tagged.  

Is the Maine Coon Mix the new "shepherd mix" of the cat world?  To me, if I were a Maine Coon cat breeder, I would be highly offended when all these "mutt cats" (and I use that term with great affection as I have three mutt cat's myself and I love them to no end!) were tagged as being a mix of my carefully bred, carefully monitored cat breed. Maine Coons aren't even as prevalent in the cat world as, oh lets say, persians or siamese.  Just because my grey short hair male cat is vocal, does that make him a siamese mix. No.

My grandfather's cat was referred to as a Maine Coon mix. Not by him- to my grandpa she was a stray she took in that was a kitten of another non-descript stray cat (with completely unknown lineage) that had long hair and was a tabby. She looked NOTHING like a maine coon you see on the websites. Yet, when I had to find a home for her when he passed away, PRESTO, she became a maine coon mix because she was a long haired tabby. And she was in NO way friendly to anyone but him!

Like I said, this is just because I'm curious more than anything why that moniker is being given to every Domestic Long hair that are up for adoption.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Well sadly if they put that on the cage the cat's more likely to get adopted by someone because the cat has a "brand".  Just look at all the people on here posting pics of their domestics and asking "What breed is it?" and when you tell them no breed they often snap back at you or send you a nasty email!  We're not insulting their cats when we say that - we're just being realistic.

The shelter I volunteer with never puts a breed in the cat's info unless it's a breed that's just too obvious - such as a Persian, Exotic Shorthair - or if the cat came in with papers.  I think stating a cat is a mix of a particular breed when that isn't really known is unethical and misleading.  Also, by saying it's a "Maine Coon mix" one might worry that the cat could HCM - a heart disease Maine Coons are genetically predisposed to.

Cats aren't like dogs.  You don't see "mixes" very often all.  Breeders tend to sell their cats altered unless the cats to be part of the cattery's breeding program and in no instance would cross breeding be allowed.  Besides that, cats were domesticated nearly 4,000 years ago and breeds created in only the last 100 years or so - so most cats - like you said, close to 98% of them - are of no particular breed.

You can also lay some blame on that idiotic "Cats 101" show on Animal Planet.  Not sure if you heard but in a recent episode when they talked about the Maine Coon they said that if a cat has an "M" on it's forehead then it's a Maine Coon :-0!!!  The "M" on a cat's forehead is simply part of tabby markings - which can occur in just about every breed of cat as well as in millions of cats of no particular breed.

Interestingly enough, I was emailed through my Youtube account by producers of that show saying they would like to talk to me about the possibility of using Penny, my Exotic Shorthair, in a future episode.  One of the things they asked was if I knew "particulars about the breed".  This made me realize the source of the info they put on that show isn't necessarily facts coming from breeders - it coming from pet owners - who may or may not know what they're talking about!

Anonymous · Answer

Maine Coon Mix

thedivineoomba · Answer

I don't think the long haired tabby cats are Maine Coon Mixes.  There were long haired tabby cats before the Maine Coon Breed, and these cats probably are the ancestors of the Maine Coon.  I think because the cats look very similar to a Maine Coon, they often get labeled as one.

Main Coons are popular, but I don't know how you would tell a Main Coon mix from a regular long haired tabby.

Kat · Answer

Because people want to know what their cats are.  If they are "Maine coon mixes" or "Sphynx mixes"  people are more likely to see them when searching for rarer breeds online so they are more likely to get homes that way.  Go search Sphynx on petfinder, about 8 will come up - 5 are not sphynxes.  

I think it's somewhat the dog world crossing over to the cat world.  "what kind of dog do you have?"  "he's a mutt"  "oh... well what kinds do you think?"

The only way to tell if it is a maine coon mix for sure is if you know for sure that one of the parents was a maine coon

Winford · Answer

RE:
Why so many Maine Coon mixes?
This is more of a &quot;curiousity killed the cat&quot; issue and its been bugging me to no end. Why is it, when I look on shelter websites, rescue group websites, any cat website trying to find homes for homeless cats, every fluffy cat is listed as a &quot;maine coon mix&quot;? Doesn&#39;t matter...

fordicus · Answer

They are not really Maine Coon mixes, but they get labelled this way because they are longhaired and it makes them easier to find homes for.

Margance · Answer

long hair all the approach! i just posted a question regarding my hair also. i thought about getting it trimmed but everyone will be telling me no

? · Answer

It depends in the girl's point of view. In order to be honest, I like longer hair on guys, they certainly know just how to express their own style and also it makes me happy

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Why so many Maine Coon mixes?

8 Answers