Hello, my name is Madeline and I purchased a maine coon cat two years ago in June from a pet store. He is a chocolate tabby and his name is affectionately "Max." It really is Max-a-million, Valentino, Lampliter. (Max-a-million because he is one in a million, Valentino because he stole our hearts, and Lampliter because he lights up our life.} So we call him Max for short. The name of the pet shop is Animals and Things, but the breeder is in Kansas City, Kansas. We paid over $700.00 for him, and in the first two months spent that much in vet bills, and medications, and a bone marrow scan, just to find out what was wrong with Max.I was worried because he was not gaining any weight. We had him a month and he was only 3 pounds. Unfortunately when we purchased MAX, he has a blood disorder that no one knew about at the time except for the breeder. We tried contacting them, but they never returned our calls. We brought him to the vet and had him checked. He is currently on medication and liquid vitamins. The names of the medication is amoxicillin 50mg and prednisone 5 mg and pet tonic vitamins. These have to be given to him for the rest of his life. He used to take them every day but for the past six months he has to take them twice daily every other day. My vet does not know much about the breed, so I cannot ask him any questions. I have read that it takes maine coons somewhere around three years to mature. Is this true? Will he ever get to be around 20 to 25 pounds? He is a male cat and I have him registered with the cat fanciers association. He is neutered so he will never be a show cat. But I don't care, we love him very much and just want him as a friend and companion. He loves to climb trees, chase leaves, and just has a grand old time frustrating my husband when he takes him out in the afternoon for his daily romp. And I do mean romp. We have a harness and a leash for him to wear which he does not like, but he wears it. It it is about a 15 foot leash. Max is very inquisitive and very intelligent. As a matter of fact, he is sitting and looking into the monitor now and watching what I am typing and trying to catch the letters on the screen. He understands what you are saying to him and remembers when you tell him that he will be going outside because he goes to get his leash. Now, I was wondering, what will be his life expectancy. Will he get to be big like he is supposed to and is this blood deficiency a part of the breed. Like I said, my vet does not know much about the breed. I know the book calls them gentle giants, and he sure is gentle. He does not meow, he only makes a chirping sound when he purrs. Will he ever meow when he wants something, right now he only chirps. Do you have any information on this type of cat, what books can I get to help me understand his blood problem. He will be two years old on monday, march 1, and he is only 6 pounds. He eats like a horse, he has dry cat food in a bowl for him all day. He has another bowl of water and he has another bowl of wet cat food, half is meat cat food and the other is his favorite wet food "salmon". He gets assorted meats and seafood cat food everyday. He also gets tartar control dry treats from Friskies. I would appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you, Madeline Cher. My E-Mail address is discus28@bellatlantic.net

thanking you again for all your time and patience within this matter.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 1999

Answers

Response to Questions about our maine coon cat MAx

Madeline, I had a huge Red Flag go up when I read that the Vet has your Max on those two particular drugs on a long-term or permanent basis. Amoxicylyn is an antibiotic, long term antibiotic use is futile & dangerous. The very things it is suposed to be working against will become immune to it. Antibiotics also cause yeast infections.

Predneszone is an immunosuppresant. It leaves the body vulnerable to anything going around. It is very hard on the bodies organs.

I would run, NOT walk to another Vet. Your Vet may very well be intensifying Max's problems. You can probably find a Vet that is knowledgable in blood disorders.

MC's are supossed to be on the large side,yes, but Max is light for just about any kind of male cat. Any number of things could be causing that as a result of the long term use of those drugs.

Madeline, I don't mean to discourage you. Actually, you might be able to turn Max's life around for the better. Please keep us posted.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 1999

I had a cat who has now passed away, who went on predisone and it almost killed him. He had heart convulsions from it. Please advise and seek another opinion at another vets.

-- Anonymous, June 23, 1999

Ms. Cher: As this question was posted so long ago, I imagine it has been solved. But for the benefit of anyone else who may read this (like I did), you NEVER leave a cat on Prednisone for "the rest of its life". I can't imagine why your vet chose to prescribe a steroid for longterm use. Once started, the cat must be weaned off the steroid gradually. I had a cat named Hernia who passed away at the age of twelve on Jan 29, 2000 from the effects of heartworm disease. Our wonderful vet helped us combat her flare-ups quite successfully for six years with Prednisone and Hydroxyzine for SHORT periods of time, along with an occasional emergency Flucort shot which he made me learn to administer myself. The rest of the time she was medication-free and quite vigorous. My vet was concerned about possible long-term liver and kidney damage associated with extended steroid use.

I hope your Max is doing better now, though his blood problem baffles me. My vet has not seen very many Maine Coons either, but he knew a little something about the breed's tendencies toward Cardiomyopathy and Hip Dysplasia. I finally decided on a Maine Coon kitten for my next cat after Hernia, and he is a twelve week-old Brown Classic Tabby with White named Mr. Worf(and already five pounds!). He will be a monster when he is grown at this rate, and is already becoming very special to me. He does meow occasionally, though it is scratchy and rather soft. He chirps and "trills" almost constantly, especially when he is spoken to. He purrs like a chainsaw to the point where we cannot hear the TV if he is purring nearby. It sounds like your Max is quite the happy camper - I hope you have found a more insightful vet since you wrote.

-- Anonymous, January 17, 2001