Why Is My Maine Coon So Scared?

Whether or not you are dealing with an overly anxious Maine Coon kitten or a suddenly stressed adult cat, this complete guide to dealing with a scared and anxious Maine Coon is here to help.

Why Is My Maine Coon So Scared?

There are plenty of reasons a Maine Coon may become scared. It could be due to meeting new people, noises or sensations that they are not accustomed to, or even major changes in the family unit such as somebody going off to college or moving back home.

Maine Coons are often referred to as dog-like in both their nature and behavior. They enjoy spending quality time with their owner and thrive on being a fully-fledged member of a family unit.

They are not commonly known as scaredy cats, but they are just as prone to struggling with unexplained changes as humans are!

Here are several reasons why your Maine Coon might be acting or feeling scared (source 1,2,3):

Strange Noises

Strange noises are scary for everyone! While we may be able to reason what a noise might be (car backfiring, etc) your Maine Coon cannot.

All your Maine Coon has to go off of are the noises it was acclimatized to as a kitten.

If your Maine Coon was not properly introduced to common noises such as the vacuum cleaner, they may find these noises scary and intimidating despite being zero threat.

Lack Of Attention

Lack of attention from you can lead to an unfulfilled Maine Coon with separation anxiety.

Even if you are currently with your cat, they may still exhibit signs of fear and stress that have spilled over from when they were on their own.

Or, preemptive fear that they will be on their own again sometime soon.

New Family Members

A new member of the family joining the household can be quite scary and confusing to your Maine Coon.

Whether it is a new baby, another pet being introduced to the house, or a family member moving home (perhaps back from college for summer, etc).

If you have just given birth to a baby, here’s how to successfully introduce your Maine Coon cat to your new baby.

Big Changes

In a similar vein to the previous point, any big change in the house can create a scared Maine Coon cat.

Simply repainting a room and moving the furniture around can be quite confusing to your Maine Coon and will cause them to almost lose their bearings.

Imagine if, in the middle of the night, someone went into your living room and changed the position of all your furniture, and repainted the walls without telling you. You would be in for quite the shock the following morning!

This is especially true if your Maine Coon cat is blind. Read more about blindness in Maine Coon cats.

Injury Or Illness

When your Maine Coon is injured or unwell, it may exhibit fear and anxiety as a manifestation of the stress and vulnerability they are feeling.

This is commonly aligned with Maine Coons that are suddenly aggressive after being passive, even affectionate, for their entire life beforehand.

Are Maine Coon Cats Timid?

Some Maine Coons act timidly around new people, and some do not. The behavior exhibited depends on how they were socialized as kittens.

Timidness is not a trait of this cat breed, so your cat is unlikely to show signs of being timid.

Female Maine Coons tend to be more reserved and will take time to ‘warm up’ to strangers visiting their homes. By contrast, males are more sociable and outgoing, often greeting new persons as they enter their territory i.e. the home.

These cats are known for being outgoing and friendly, especially to people they are well accustomed to e.g. family members, and friends. They are very receptive to their owners’ feelings due to their dog-like temperament.

How To Help A Nervous Cat

Watching your poor Maine Coon kitty stress out can be completely heartbreaking, so here are some great tips on how to help a shy scared cat (source 1):

1. Give Them Space

Maine Coons, just like people, need their own space from time to time.

You may want to follow your nervous cat around the house as a form of moral support, but allowing them to be alone when they feel the need can help them calm down.

Designating a portion of your home over to them, such as the corner of a room with a cat tree and a bed or two may make them feel a little more secure.

2. Remove Triggers

Identify triggers that cause your cat to feel nervous and remove them from the equation. For example, have you noticed they hate the sound of an electric razor? If so, switch to an ordinary razor!

3. Spend More Time At Home

Maine Coons do not do well with prolonged unwanted alone time and this may cause them to become nervous and agitated even when you are around.

Try spending more time at home throughout the day, not even necessarily with your Maine Coon, and see if their mood improves.

4. Create A Routine

Cats are creatures of habit. Create a routine they can identify with and use as a benchmark throughout the day you can create normality in your cat’s life and potentially ease a huge amount of their stress.

5. Pheromone Plugins

Pheromone plugins that diffuse calming and relaxing cat pheromones into the air around your home can be used to nullify some of the anxiety your cat is feeling.

Whilst this product is great, keep in mind that you will still need to resolve the root cause of your Maine Coon cat’s stress.

Use this diffuser as a supplement to your other methods of combating cat nervousness.

Some people find that cat nip when used sparingly, can be of great benefit to a particularly anxious kitty.

6. Speak To A Vet

If nothing seems to work and you cannot solve, let alone identify, the cause of your Maine Coons anxiety speaking to a vet is almost always worthwhile.

A vet will offer some specific insights into the well-being of your Maine Coon that you are unlikely to get anywhere else.

They can also diagnose hidden Maine Coon injuries that your cat has been trying to mask from you.

Do Maine Coons Have Separation Anxiety?

Maine Coons can have real trouble with separation anxiety if their social and emotional needs are not being met by you or the rest of the family.

These cats consider you to be of utmost importance in their life and if they hardly see you, they will respond very poorly. With this in mind, you should not leave them alone for more than 8-10 hours, or 12 hours if only done rarely.

By comparison, other cat breeds can be left on their own for 24 hours so long as they have adequate food and water. If you spent this length of time away from your Maine Coon, they may never recover from feelings of abandonment!