Maine Coon Question

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Marek Williams - 14 Dec 2003 19:47 GMT

As I have posted previously, my recently adopted cat appears to have a
lot of Maine Coon characteristics. Until now, the only features I
thought he was lacking were the long squared-off face and tbe
trilling, and at 10.1 lbs. he's on the small side for a Maine Coon.

Well, I just heard him trilling, or what I think was trilling. I've
had lots of cats over the years, but I've never heard a cat make this
sound before. It was sort of like a soft, high-pitched meow with a
tremolo. He was sitting on the table in front of the living room
picture window, his favorite perch because it gives him a panoramic
view of the yard and street scene. A crow was hopping across the yard,
and Cat-Boy's tail was vigorously switching back and forth, in
anticipation of having it for dinner. As he made the sound his jaw was
trembling. When I first heard him and observed the situation it almost
sounded like he was trying to make a bird sound.

So my question to those who are owned by Maine Coons, does this
describe the trilling sound?

Oh, and I hope he doesn't actually try to catch one of the many crows
we have here. They are known for having a nasty disposition. They
become completely unreasonable when something is trying to eat them,
including pecking out the eyes of the attacker.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

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Cathy Friedmann - 14 Dec 2003 20:58 GMT

> As I have posted previously, my recently adopted cat appears to have a
> lot of Maine Coon characteristics. Until now, the only features I
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> So my question to those who are owned by Maine Coons, does this
> describe the trilling sound?

This chattering sound - with the jaw movements is common to all cats who see
birds, squirrels, etc. There was a very recent thread about this on rpch+b.

> Oh, and I hope he doesn't actually try to catch one of the many crows
> we have here. They are known for having a nasty disposition. They
> become completely unreasonable when something is trying to eat them,
> including pecking out the eyes of the attacker.

Crows are very bright. One example: here's a link to Betty, the
crow: http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/data/crow/weirmovie.mov She's
making a tool - a hook out of a straight piece of wire, in order to "fish"
up a little pail of food that's at the bottom of a cylinder.
And, if I were being attacked by a gigantic animal who wanted to eat me, I
think I could easily resort to scratching their eyes, out, too. Although
there are many crows here also, I've never personally heard of an
indoor/outdoor cat being mauled by a crow. My guess is that the cats stick
to the smaller songbirds, & chasing squirrels up trees.

> --
> Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

Which ng? - this post was x-posted like crazy.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

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Kit - 24 Dec 2003 06:59 GMT

Glad to see you Cathy haven't seen you for awhile.Hope you and your cat's
are fine.:-)
Kit

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Cathy Friedmann - 24 Dec 2003 16:14 GMT

Hi, Kit. Yes, we're fine; thanks. :-)

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

--
Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

> Glad to see you Cathy haven't seen you for awhile.Hope you and your cat's
> are fine.:-)
> Kit

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andr0meda - 20 Dec 2003 03:37 GMT

Marek,
When I got Xena, I was also thrilled to see and recognize all Siamese
characteristics in her. The older she is the more moggie she becomes! and,
so what? I think she is a very beautiful unusual cat being 15.5 lb heavy
(and not fat), yet with Siamese points, and huge blue eyes, also, some
remarkable strong markings! I think she is just a gorgeous Moggie, and I am
proud of her; as to pedigree cats, if I could, I would outlaw any breeding
of cats for income. Why not take care of those wonderful creatures that come
to us naturally?
Andr0

> As I have posted previously, my recently adopted cat appears to have a
> lot of Maine Coon characteristics. Until now, the only features I
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
> --
> Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

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Marek Williams - 21 Dec 2003 04:08 GMT

>When I got Xena, I was also thrilled to see and recognize all Siamese
>characteristics in her. The older she is the more moggie she becomes! and,
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>of cats for income. Why not take care of those wonderful creatures that come
>to us naturally?

Don't misunderstand me -- when Cat-Boy adopted me I had no idea he had
Maine Coon in him.

The real reason I am interested in how much Maine Coon he has is
because I have read that Maine Coons are susceptible to hip dysplasia
and cardiomyopathy. The more Maine Coon he has the more I need to
watch for those things.

Last Monday we had a vet appointment to get a vaccination. I asked the
vet about these two issues and she said that there was no way to
predict in advance about hip problems and, as for cardiomyopathy,
there is a test but it is really expensive, plus it probably wouldn't
show up at his age anyway. And, she added, even if he is predisposed
to cardio problems, there really isn't much I could do that I wouldn't
do in normal care anyway (good diet, exercise, etc.).

She also said that at one time she researched all the breeders of
Maine Coons in the U.S. and only one certified their lineage as clean
of these problems. Makes me tend to agree with your attitude toward
breeders.

If he is going to develop a problem and there's nothing I could do to
stop it, then I think I don't want to know.

But I'm still curious about the trilling. Lately I've also heard him
doing it in circumstances other than when he is watching a bird out in
the yard. Yesterday he did it as a greeting to me. And it doesn't
sound like chattering. It sounds more like he's trying to imitate a
songbird.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

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Orchid - 21 Dec 2003 21:38 GMT

>The real reason I am interested in how much Maine Coon he has is
>because I have read that Maine Coons are susceptible to hip dysplasia
>and cardiomyopathy. The more Maine Coon he has the more I need to
>watch for those things.

*nod* Definitely.

>Last Monday we had a vet appointment to get a vaccination. I asked the
>vet about these two issues and she said that there was no way to
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>to cardio problems, there really isn't much I could do that I wouldn't
>do in normal care anyway (good diet, exercise, etc.).

Well, FHD can be x-rayed for, just like in dogs. The nice
thing about doing the xrays is that you can see how affected he is,
even if he;s not showing signs of pain. If he's over 2, he's not
going to have his hip status change on you. Knowing if your pet is HD
affected will let you make decisions on preventative care.
HCM can only be diagnosed by an echocardiogram with color flow
Doppler imaging. An echocardiogram reveals both the physical
structure and dynamic functioning of the heart. It is non-invasive and
poses essentially no risk to the cat. This test would pretty much be
required if you wanted to breed him, but since you're not, it's not
necessary. HCM status can change over the years, so breeding cats are
screened periodically.

>She also said that at one time she researched all the breeders of
>Maine Coons in the U.S. and only one certified their lineage as clean
>of these problems. Makes me tend to agree with your attitude toward
>breeders.

How long ago was this 'at one time'? I show Bengals, but I
have a lot of friends and contacts within the Maine Coon breed, and I
don't know a single breeder who doesn't screen for both FHD and HCM.

>If he is going to develop a problem and there's nothing I could do to
>stop it, then I think I don't want to know.

You can do something about HD. Sadly, not about HCM. :(

Orchid
See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

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Sylvia M. - 22 Dec 2003 23:36 GMT

> >The real reason I am interested in how much Maine Coon he has is
> >because I have read that Maine Coons are susceptible to hip dysplasia
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
> See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage
> Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid

Dyna is a retired, from show and breeding, Maine Coon Kitty.
She is a classic brown tabby.
Her breeder has checked all of her cats and kittens for both problems,
and felt that the tendency for HD and HCM was all but eliminated as
a Maine Coon weakness (but still checks and gaurentees, and wants them back
for altering if either problem were to show up. This was 4 years ago, my
guess is that it is even less of a likleyhood now, at least with purebreds.

Sylvia

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Kit - 24 Dec 2003 06:58 GMT

We had a Main Coon for 22 year's he made a sound that sounded like "Purt"
"Purt" that was the only sound he made.He was adorable.We loved him dearly.
He had no hip displasia at all.Hope that helped.
He died of diabetes .
Kit

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user@domain.invalid - 27 Dec 2003 05:36 GMT

I miss my Pal:{

www.1cooperfamily.com
I am currently searching for an MC.

Bill

> We had a Main Coon for 22 year's he made a sound that sounded like "Purt"
> "Purt" that was the only sound he made.He was adorable.We loved him dearly.
> He had no hip displasia at all.Hope that helped.
> He died of diabetes .
> Kit

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Black Maine Coon Owner - 27 Dec 2003 10:35 GMT

>I miss my Pal:{
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>> He died of diabetes .
>> Kit

Hi Bill

I saw Biggles, outstanding cat, so sorry for your loss.

Check out:
http://www.mainecoonrescue.com/

Is a great place to go, be careful not to say that you will EVER let
the kitty outside, I don't care if you live on a farm.

You can always buy one from a "cattery", but I don't like those
places.

Nick

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