My fianc? and I recently moved and has been living in our house for about a
five weeks.  On March 14th, a cat showed up on our back porch without a
collar, and meowing a lot.  We gave him some water and petted him, but
didn't invite him in because we assumed he had a home.  We peeked out the
window at various times that night, and after about two hours, he
disappeared into the night.  The next evening, he came back and we were
really starting to wonder if he had a home.  It was cold, so we put a box
outside with some towels in it so he could have a semi warm place to sleep
at night and we let him in and spent some time with him and then turned in
for the night, he slept in the box on the porch for some time that night but
was gone by the morning.  The next evening he came back, and we repeated the
same thing as the night before when I woke up, I went into the living room
and there was the cat on my fianc?'s lap, and he filled me in on the details
he had learned  from talking to the neighbor earlier that morning.  It turns
out that our visitor was a neutered Maine Coon cat who had been living a
near by alley for almost a month.  He slept under bushes during the day
(which is why we never saw him during the day), and would roam at night.
The neighbor lady would have gladly taken him in but she has a female cat
who did not get along with this stray (they fought).  She's been trying to
find it a good home but wasn't able to.  Needless to say, we took him in and
named him Neelix.  We know that Neelix isn't the cat of the people who lived
here before we moved in because we knew them and they had one cat and one
dog...which they took with them.

Neelix is the sweetest most wonderful cat.  It's amazing how fast he has
acclimated into our household.  He is bright, very very playful, and is a
delight to have around- we are so thankful that he chose us to come and live
with.  One interesting note is that he doesn't like to be alone...meaning if
we are in the house, he wants to have one of us around him, he won't settle
down for a nap unless one of us is sitting next to him, I assume this is
because he was on his own and wants to have us around as a security blanket.
He may have been abused because when Neelix first came to stay with us, when
we would raise our hand to pet him, he would cower a little...which tore at
our hearts...how anyone could hurt this wonderful cat is beyond me.

Ok, now for my questions...we have an appointment with the vet on Tuesday,
but I was hoping some of you could give me some answers.

What's the best way to get mats (big stiff pieces of fur)out?  Neelix has a
few big ones on his back and some on his tummy and chest.

Do Maine Coons have any special needs?  Dietary or otherwise?

What is the average size and weight of a Maine Coon?  Neelix is huge, but he
isn't really fat...just big.  He's got huge paws...I mean HUGE.

Neelix has a broken tooth- his left fang is about half the size of the one
on the right...will this hinder his ability to eat or anything...I doubt
that it would, but I figured I would ask to see if anyone has experienced
this with any other kitty.

Thanks in advance for your replies,

-Jenny, Stewart, and Neelix [who is snoring in his kitty bed on the desk
right next to me :)]