What about a Maine Coon cat?
The much loved Maine Coon is one of the largest breeds of domestic cat, known for its intelligence and playfulness as well as its distinctive physical appearance. The breed is one of the oldest breeds in North America and originated from New England, making it America's first indigenous show cat. The Maine Coon Cat is regarded as "the gentle giant" and is known for a pleasant nature.
Maine Coons are very large and energetic cats, sometimes weighing up to around 11-12 kilograms (25 pounds); the average weight is 6 to 9 kilograms (13-20 pounds) for adult males and less (7-11 pounds) for females. Male Maine Coons may grow to a length in excess of 1 meter (40 inches); the longest cat on record is a Maine Coon 121cm (49 inches) in length. Growth to full size often takes longer than for most cats, with Maine Coons usually reaching full size at age four or five.
The breed has a face with a square muzzle, a thick neck, large ears, big, rounded eyes, and a large, muscular body. The tail is long and relatively bushy.
The origin of the breed (and its name) has several myths surrounding it. A popular story comes from a legend that a domestic cat released in the wilds of Maine mated with a raccoon, resulting in offspring with the Maine Coon's characteristics. Obviously biologically impossible, this myth, bolstered by the bushy tail and the most common coloring (a raccoon-like brown tabby) could have led to the adoption of the name "Maine Coon." Another legend is that the cat was named after a ship's captain named Coon who was responsible for the cat reaching Maine shores.
The truth is much more boring, in the 17th and 18th centuries, domestic cats brought to the new lands, from Europe faced very severe winters in New England, only the strongest and most adaptable cats survived. Through natural selection (as opposed to selective breeding), the Maine Coon developed into a large, rugged cat with a water-resistant, thick coat and a hardy constitution.
These days, the breed has many more recognized colours, including black, blue, cream, red, tortoiseshell, blue tortoiseshell, white, smoke, silver tabby, brown tabby, red tabby, blue tabby, cream tabby, and bicolour.
The Maine Coon is usually a social creature and gets on with other cats, dogs, and children. These cats have great personalities and are a great cat breed for family homes.
Due to their above-average intelligence, Maine Coons are known to be one of the easiest cat breeds to train. Maine Coons are known for their ability to trill their meows, which sounds like a combination of a purr and a meow, and they tend to make this sound when happy or startled. They rarely eat alone, preferring to eat in the company of other cats or humans.
Maine Coons occasionally engage in mischievous behavior when bored, such as deliberately pushing things off tables and the tops of refrigerators with their paws.
Terry King runs Parcel Pets [http://www.pets2home.co.uk], a leading UK pet supplies [http://www.pets2home.co.uk] web site and has had pets all his life. He lives with his wife Louise, dog Sam, Cat Sabrina and 5 fish!
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