My cat, Mufty, was rescued from an animal shelter about three years ago. I originally could not tell the size of this cat from the cage, because she was hiding in the corner. Imagine my surprise when I took her out of the box when we got home and saw how huge she was! She is thirteen pounds and perfectly matches the "typical" brown tortie, she is beautiful with very long fur on her belly and around her neck, she is an older cat, and has arthritis which prohibits her from jumping. One of her very notable characteristics is her very loud voice, she "talks" all the time! This leads me to believe that she is a mix, I just don't know, any idea of what she could be? She has white on her underbelly, on her chin, and inside her ears, throughout her fur, there is a light tan on a black background. Also, could arthritis be a common problem for Maine Coons?

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2000

Answers

We have several Maine Coons that are very talkative. I swear they are related to Siamese---very far back. Arthritis can occur in any older cat. Talk to your vet about relieving her pain and strengthening her muscles.

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2001

Maine Coons, Norwegian Forest Cats and Siberians all look somewhat alike but have small differences. I think my Raleigh is a Maine Coon although I have no papers for her (she was a stray) because she has such a long, lean body and Norwegian Forest Cats have shorter, more muscular bodies. See http://www.geocities.com/patwo1/mainecoon.htm for pictures of Raleigh. She is also a talker. I read these breed profiles about Maine Coons and their quiet, birdlike voices and I'm sure she must be another breed because her meow could wake the dead, but in this forum it sounds like lots of people have loud Maine Coons. Hip displasia, a form of arthritis, is one of the more common problems with Maine Coons. Raleigh is 10 and so far shows no signs of it. She's friendly and likes people, and also very playful and agile. She makes strange chirpy sounds when a big bird comes to the feeder or a squirrel visits, and she's fascinated by the fish in my small aquarium.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2001