As one of the largest domesticated cat breeds on the planet, it’s likely that you’ve already assumed owning a Maine Coon is going to cost you a fortune in food. Yet, you would be wrong!
Let’s take a look at the best cat foods for Maine Coons to see what the hungry Maine Coon is most likely to enjoy.
The best cat food for a Maine Coon is Royal Canin Adult 31, designed to meet the Maine Coon cat’s dietary needs. Other cat foods offering high-quality well-balanced ingredients e.g Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids and protein include Meowing Heads; Iams for Vitality; Purina One 1+ Cat Food and Go Cat Complete Vitality Chicken and Duck.
Whilst they aren’t the cheapest cat to feed, buying wisely will negate a large proportion of their food bill.
What To Feed A Maine Coon Cat
This article contains all the information you will ever need to know when it comes to feeding your Maine Coon cat with a diet that helps them thrive.
Keep reading to the end, to stay well informed regarding your pedigree cats’ dietary requirements.
Best Cat Foods For Maine Coon
If you’re in a rush and don’t need to swot up on the latest Maine Coon facts and information, take a look at the table below which quickly summarises the ‘Top 5 dry cat foods for Maine Coons’.
These dry cat foods are all suitable for adult Maine Coon cats:
| Brand (click to view on Amazon) | Description |
|---|---|
| Royal Canin Adult 31 | Provides healthy well-balanced diet, full of vitamins and minerals the Maine Coon needs |
| Meowing Heads | Uses high-quality 100% natural ingredients. Contains 39% crude protein |
| Iams for Vitality | 100% Complete and balanced cat food, containing high-quality animal protein and essential minerals |
| Purina One Bifensis Cat Food | Well-balanced dry cat food encourages high nutrient absorption. Reduces tartar build-up, and contains Omega 6 fatty acids and zinc |
| Go Cat Complete Vitality Chicken and Duck | Vitamin D and minerals support cats’ teeth and bones. No added colors, artificial flavorings, or preservatives |
Top 5 Maine Coon Cat Foods
Maine Coon owners can ensure their special Maine Coon cat eats a healthy well-balanced diet, by feeding them one of the following high-quality dry cat foods.
1. Royal Canin Maine Coon Breed Adult Dry Cat Food, 14 lb
Don’t miss out on the current Amazon offers for Royal Canin. CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Best All Rounder
One of the best dry cat foods to feed your Maine Coon, is Royal Canin ‘Maine Coon’.
It has been designed with the Maine Coon cat specifically in mind and provides your cat with a well-balanced diet that meets its daily food requirements.
Here is a brief summary of its benefits:
- Borage Oil, EPA, DHA: Helps to keep your Maine Coons fur soft and glossy.
- Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids: Included to keep the cat’s fur shiny. This also keeps their skin healthy.
- Glucosamine and Chondroitin: Keeps a Maine Coon cat’s joints healthy.
- Green Tea Extract: Stops the cat’s breath from becoming smelly
- Taurine and Lutein: Encourage healthy vision and healthy heart.
- L-carnitine: This ingredient helps your Maine Coon to maintain a healthy weight, by converting excess body fat into energy.
This cat food is suitable for Maine Coons aged 1-10 years old.
Dental Health
The cat biscuits taste like chicken and are shaped like large round circular balls.
These balls may seem a touch large when you first look at them, but their larger size is actually beneficial to your cat, since it helps to prevent your Maine Coon cat from eating as quickly, therefore aiding their digestion.
An additional bonus of this crunchy kibble is that it helps your Maine Coons dental health, through the crunching process.
Every Cat’s Different
All cats have their own personal tastes and preferences. Although the majority of Maine Coons love this dry cat food, there will always be one that doesn’t.
Portion Control
We’ve always fed our adult Maine Coon with this dry food mix. It forms a staple part of our cat’s diet.
For ease of use, and in order to ensure the dry food remains ‘fresh’ and ‘tasty’, we use this automatic cat food dispenser, to automatically dispense small portions of dry food at certain times throughout the day.
I love the simplicity of this product, and the ability to set personalized voice messages for our Maine Coon to listen out for, so that he knows the food is being dispensed.
There is a wide range of cat food dispensers on the market, all ranging in price. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative, there is a large number to choose from.
The only downside is that many of the cheaper devices provide an unlimited food supply to your cat. This is inadvisable since the Maine Coon breed is prone to obesity.
Allowing your cat to effectively eat non-stop might prove an issue to their health if they eat but don’t exercise enough.
2. Meowing Heads
Save time, and grab a bargain by viewing Meowing Heads current offers on Amazon: CLICK HERE
Nutritional Benefits
Another great dry cat food to be feeding your Maine Coon cat is Meowing Heads. Here’s why we love it:
- It contains high levels of protein, essential for a Maine Coon cat’s healthy growth.
- Approved by vets.
- Naturally made, offering 100% natural salmon and chicken
- High quality, natural ingredients.
- Free from preservatives, flavorings, and artificial colors.
- Contains taurine, which aids healthy digestion.
- Helps prevent your Maine Coon from getting hairballs
Our Maine Coon cat goes crazy for this dry food, so it must taste pretty good!
His favorite flavor is salmon. It contains a massive 39% crude protein, which is far higher than the cheaper branded cat food that has roughly 30% protein.
Size Options
It is great to see that there are a number of different bag size options available.
The smallest 450g bag is a cheap way to test if your Maine Coon loves the biscuits, or not. Whilst the 1.5kg and 4kg bags offer a more economical purchase method.
3. Iams Proactive Health Adult Indoor Weight & Hairball Control
CLICK HERE to take a look at the great IAMS offers advertised on Amazon.
Nutritional Benefits
Another top-notch brand you will recognize the name of is ‘Iams Proactive Health’.
This product might not be specifically designed for the Maine Coon cat, but don’t underestimate its nutritional benefits, since it meets their daily dietary requirements.
In a nutshell, the Iams Proactive Health offers a well-balanced dry cat food for your large cat and is particularly ideal for the Maine Coon cat breed since it contains animal protein.
Chicken is listed as the number 1 product ingredient.
Other nutritional benefits include:
- Taurine: Helps to nourish your cat’s heart, and keep it healthy
- Omega 3 and 6: Supports shiny coat and healthy skin
Dental Health
This dry cat food is a great choice for your Maine Coon cat since the kibbles contain the correct mineral levels, to ensure your cat’s teeth remain healthy.
Size Options
You can select from a range of different bag sizes, including 3.5lb, 7lb, 16lb, and 22lb.
This offers great flexibility to owners, enabling them to either buy in bulk or try a range of different dry cat foods in smaller quantities, without breaking the bank.
If you are interested in giving your Maine Coon cat the best dry cat food, take a look at the current Amazon prices.
4. Purina ONE True Instinct Grain Free High Protein
Take a look at the great deals for Purina One, currently available on Amazon, CLICK HERE.
Nutritional Benefits
Purina is a great quality brand to consider when feeding your Maine Coon cat. The brand has been trusted for years, by millions of people.
Purina ONE True Instinct Grain Free High Protein also contains ingredients that give your Maine Coon a well-balanced diet and an added level of functional bacteria that has been scientifically proven to help your cat’s natural defenses.
Other benefits of Purina include:
- Omega 6 fatty acids and zinc encouraging healthy fur and skin
- Crude Protein – Minimum 35%
- 0% Fillers
- Grain-free cat food
IMPORTANT:
Please note that this dry cat food is only suitable for Maine Coons aged 5 and over.
5. Go Cat Complete Vitality Plus Chicken & Duck
Maine Coons love their owners to vary their dry food, which makes perfect sense, as would you want to eat the same food every day?! Our Maine goes wild when we buy Go Cat Complete Vitality Plus (UK Only).
I’ve just bought another bag from Amazon, using this link. It’s on offer, so grab a bargain while you can.
Nutritional Benefits
I love to use Go Cat Vitality Plus because it offers a completely well-balanced diet for all Maine Coon cats aged 1+.
It is also a great value brand offering a cheaper alternative to feeding your Maine Coon cat, without sacrificing their dietary needs.
Maine Coons require a diet high in protein, and this dry cat food meets that requirement by packing in a whopping 30% protein. Other benefits include:
- The fibers from natural sources help to promote healthy digestion
- No preservatives, flavorings, or added artificial colors
- A complete well balanced diet
- Healthy teeth and bones supported by essential minerals and vitamin D
- Includes high-quality protein that supports toned muscles
Dental Health
The smaller biscuits help to look after your Maine Coons teeth because the dry food contains essential minerals and vitamin D which support healthy teeth.
This dry food is ideal for reducing plaque and tartar build-up on your Maine Coons teeth.
By crunching the kibble, you lower your cat’s chances of developing gum and tooth disease.
Sizing
Like the other brands, this product is available in a variety of sizes. In my experience though, the 10kg bag available on Amazon (click here to view) offers great value for money.
Not only does the dry food stay fresh, but I also haven’t come across a cat that doesn’t like it yet! Our Maine Coon literally goes wild for this cat food.
What Else Do You Need To Know?
Now you have a better understanding of the best cat foods for Maine Coon UK, let’s move on to the other things that owners need to know when feeding this specialist cat breed.
If you’ve been scrolling around the internet for a while, you will have noticed that what to feed a Maine Coon cat is a hotly debated subject.
Although the subject may seem confusing at first, it does not have to be.
Just keep in mind what I am about to tell you when purchasing any dry cat food, and your amazing Maine Coon cat will be getting the dietary requirements its body needs.
- Brief Summary Of Maine Coon Cat
- Should I buy Maine Coon specific cat food?
- Maine Coon Dietary Requirements
- Protein Intake
- Wet or Dry Food
- Food Variety
- Chewing Needs
- Diet According To Age
- Outdoor V Indoor Maine Coons
- Cat Treats
- Overfeeding
- How Much To Feed My Maine Coon Cat
- How Much Should A 20 Pound Maine Coon Cat Eat?
- What Do Maine Coon Cats Eat In The Wild?
- Avoid Feeding Maine Coon Cats These Foods
- Food and Water Bowl Requirements
1. Brief Summary Of Maine Coon Cat
The Maine Coon is an impressive-looking cat. Their sturdy muscular frame and fluffy fur make them look very bulky, particularly during the winter months when their fur gets thicker, preparing them for the colder climate.
This breed is often known as a ‘gentle giant’ and is immediately recognizable whenever they walk into a room.
If you are looking at your Maine Coon kitten now, thinking they won’t grow as big then you best prepare yourself.
Why? Because Maine Coon cats grow anywhere up to 40 inches in length! The average male Maine Coon also weighs between 15-25 lbs.
In order to ensure your Maine Coon cat grows at a healthy rate, and achieves the physical proportions characteristic of the breed, make sure to always feed your Maine Coon a healthy well-balanced diet.
This is particularly important for the Maine Coon cat breed since their dietary requirements are slightly different from that of standard cats.
2. Should I Buy Maine Coon Specific Cat Food?
If you are a little wary about purchasing dry cat food that hasn’t been specifically designed for the Maine Coon cat breed, don’t be.
There are now so many cat food brands available in the supermarket that offer well-balanced diets for your treasured Maine Coon.
If you’re feeling savvy, keep an eye out for special offers on the brands I’ve recommended above.
3. Maine Coon Dietary Requirements
Maine Coons are known for being very playful, throughout their lives.
This breed is unique though, because they grow extremely slowly, and do not reach their full size until 3-4 years of age.
By comparison, ‘standard cats’ grow far quicker, reaching full growth in 2 years.
The Maine Coons slow growth rate, added to their immensely large full-size proportions makes their diet of particular importance.
It is important that owners ensure their ‘gentle giants’ always have the energy needed for them to play.
A healthy, well-balanced diet that keeps their bodies in great condition, is therefore crucial for the healthy physical development of these cats.
Key dietary requirements of a Maine Coon cat include:
- High Levels Of Protein
- Vitamins
- Low In Carbohydrates
- Fats and Fatty Acids
The table below summarises these in greater detail:
| Dietary Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Protein | Maine Coons need a high level of protein in their diet because protein plays a key role in achieving full growth. It also gives this breed energy to play |
| Vitamins | Vitamins A, B, K, and Niacin is essential for maintaining a Maine Coons healthy growth pattern |
| Carbohydrates | Important for ensuring healthy growth rates. Keep carbohydrate levels low |
| Fats and Fatty Acids | Keep your Maine Coons fur shiny, by feeding them a small level of healthy fatty acids e.g. amino acids like taurine and arginine, and/or arachidonic acid |
4. Protein Intake
Maine Coons require a high intake of protein in their diet.
Protein not only plays a key role in their healthy growth development, but also gives Maine Coons the energy they need to play, and keep active.
Protein is also particularly important for the Maine Coons physical development since it gives this specialist cat breed the strength it requires to actually hold their immense full size and weight.
Always feed your Maine Coon high-quality dry food, containing high levels of protein.
5. Wet Or Dry Food
The majority of your Maine Coon cat’s daily diet should consist of high-quality dry food because it helps aid healthy teeth and jaw health.
Dry food should be available to your Maine Coon throughout the day.
If you are keen to add a level of variety into your Maine Coons diet though, consider feeding them some wet cat food.
Wet food has a high moisture content, which is ideal if your Maine Coon isn’t drinking enough water.
However, before you rush off and only feed your cat wet food, STOP! Wet food should never be the main component of a Maine Coon cats diet, and must be limited to 2-3 portions a week.
If you are not sure which wet foods to start with, take a look at these three options.
To view the product in greater detail, just click on the quick Amazon links provided:
6. Food Variety
No one likes to eat the same food every day, so why would your cat?!
Help keep your Maine Coon interested in food by making sure you vary their high-quality dry food regularly.
If your Maine Coon is eating less, swap out its existing dry food for an alternative brand. Should the issue persist, seek veterinary advice.
7. Chewing Needs
One of the key characteristics of the Maine Coon breed is its great hunting skills.
Feed your Maine Coon high-quality dry cat food, requiring them to vigorously chew their food, to break it down into smaller pieces.
This is important because it helps to keep their broad jaws strong and healthy, and their teeth sharp.
The process of vigorous chewing also helps to strengthen this cat breeds jaw.
It is important to not give your Maine Coon too much-wet food, since the high level of moisture and deposition may damage the health of their teeth.
8. Diet According To Age
The Maine Coon cat requires a varying diet, throughout its entire lifespan.
What you feed your Maine Coon kitten, will therefore be completely different from what you feed your adult or senior Maine Coon cat.
Maine Coon Kitten Diet
Only feed your Maine Coon kitten high-quality dry food that has been specially formulated to meet their physical needs.
Feed your kitten this diet for a minimum of 4-5 months, so that they get the correct levels of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, fats, and fatty acids that their tiny bodies need.
It is important to note that Maine Coons grow extremely slowly.
This has led many veterinary professionals to recommend feeding Maine Coon kittens the specialist kitten diet until they reach 9 months old.
If you have any questions, speak to your veterinary professional for more information on this.
Maine Coon Adult Diet
Feed your Maine Coon adult cat with one of the top 5 high-quality dry cat foods listed above.
Maine Coon Senior Diet
As Maine Coon cats get older, they slow down.
They exercise less, are prone to obesity, and their bodies require different levels of vitamins and nutrients than the levels required when they were active.
At this point, start feeding your Maine Coon dry food specifically formulated with senior Maine Coons in mind.
9. Outdoor V Indoor Maine Coons
If you allow your Maine Coon cat to roam free outdoors, they will enjoy hunting live prey in the wild.
The amount of food they eat will thus vary from time to time. This is not the case for indoor Maine Coon cats though, who are at risk of overeating if they become bored.
Owners with indoor cats must therefore make an extra effort to encourage their cats to exercise.
10. Cat Treats
Your cat will love to be treated, from time to time.
Ensure that the treats do not become a predominant part of their diet though, since they will be missing out on key nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that their bodies need to thrive.
Never feed your Maine Coon cat chocolate containing cocoa, because this may make them seriously ill.
11. Overfeeding
Maine Coon cats are prone to obesity. Portion control, therefore, plays an important role in their healthy growth rates and long-term health.
If you are interested in learning how much to feed your Maine Coon cat, take a look at my article ‘How much to feed my Maine Coon cat‘.
If you have an indoor Maine Coon, monitor their cat food portions closely, to ensure they are not overeating. Encourage your cat to exercise regularly, by using cat toys.
12. How Much To Feed My Maine Coon Cat
Maine Coon cats are well known for exhibiting certain characteristics, e.g. they are often lively, energetic, good hunters, and enjoy social interaction and play with humans.
The amount of food your particular cat eats however is very dependent upon their physical size, and how much they exercise.
If you have a more lively energetic cat, it will need to consume more food to keep its energy levels high.
Should your cat be a little lazy though, then food portions should be monitored closely, to prevent them from becoming obese.
13. How Much Should A 20 Pound Maine Coon Cat Eat?
With the average male Maine Coon weighing between 15-25 lbs, you might be unsure how much to feed your Maine Coon cat.
As stated in point 12 above, the amount of food given will be dependent on your cat’s unique levels of exercise, physical build, and age of life.
14. Avoid Feeding Maine Coon Cats These Foods
It is important to feed your Maine Coon cat the correct food, to prevent them from becoming ill.
The table below highlights the foods to avoid giving to your Maine Coon cat, to ensure they live a long, healthy, and happy life:
| Foods To Avoid | Reason |
|---|---|
| Grain-Based Food | Grains are not considered dangerous to your cat’s health, however, regular consumption of grains may increase your Maine Coons chances of obesity. It is recommended that you limit the level of grains within your cat’s diet |
| Gluten | Avoid feeding Maine Coon wheat-based food, since it contains high levels of gluten. Gluten has a negative impact upon a Maine Coons digestive health and can stick to a cat’s teeth, potentially causing deposition of tartar |
| Large Fish | Large fish are more likely to contain higher levels of harmful chemicals, such as mercury |
15. What Do Maine Coon Cats Eat In The Wild?
Maine Coon cats obligate carnivores and are known for being great hunters. This skill was imperative for their survival when they first appeared in Maine, during the 1800s.
During the daytime, they will spend vast amounts of hours sleeping.
However, at nighttime, they love to hunt small live prey, such as mice, rabbits, and birds. If your Maine Coon is used to the water, they may even enjoy trying to catch small fish!
16. Food And Water Bowl Requirements
Never feed your Maine Coon cat with plastic food or water bowl.
This is imperative, as plastic bowls are easily scratched by the cat’s claws, and may harbor harmful bacteria that could make your cat sick.
It is also possible that your Maine Coon may suffer an allergic reaction to the plastic, resulting in acne on their chin.
Stick to a feeding bowl like this to ensure your Maine Coon is not subject to any unnecessary risk.
I particularly love this food bowl from Amazon, since Maine Coons are known for being extremely messy eaters, and the tilted angle on this bowl helps to reduce the inevitable spillage around the food bowl.
Conclusion
Maine Coons are very large, impressive cats.
Their gentle nature and loving personalities make them one of the friendliest cat breeds to own in the world.
Their popularity has soared over the recent decades, to the point that the Maine Coon cat breed is now one of the most popular cat breeds to own in the United States!
This particular cat breed is one of the largest domesticated cats in existence, apart from the Ragdoll.
With such a large physical presence though, many owners often feel unsure as to what they should be feeding their Maine Coon, to ensure their pedigree cats live a full and healthy lifestyle.
If this sounds familiar, the best cat foods for Maine Coon UK, are high-quality dry food rich in protein, since protein is particularly important in ensuring your cat grows at a healthy rate.
Their diet should also combine a balanced amount of carbohydrates, fats and fatty acids, and vitamins.
You should vary your Maine Coon dry cat food regularly. It doesn’t need to cost a fortune, but it is important to ensure that the ingredients fit this cat breeds high protein requirements.