Do Maine Coon Cats Make Good Pets?

Maine Coons are well known for being loving, sweet, and affectionate felines, but what are they like as pets?

What Are Maine Coons Like As Pets?

Maine Coons make excellent pets with relaxed, easygoing, and friendly personalities making them wonderful loyal companions.

Their gentle playful nature makes them suited to living in families with young children.

These cats are also well known for being:

• Loyal
• Lionlike
• Affectionate
• Vocal
• Curious
• Gentle
• Friendly

As the largest domesticated cat breed in the world, these cats have large tufted paws and long shaggy fur, making them undeniably fluffy and adorable looking!

Personality Traits

To understand what Maine Coons are like as pets, you need to know more about how they act around their families.

Below are five common personality traits associated with the breed:

1. Loving

Maine Coons are well known for being warm and affectionate felines that love spending time with their owners.

2. Affectionate

These cats are massively affectionate with their human families. If we compared them to other cat breeds (and even dogs) it’s like the breed has turned its affectionate dial up to maximum!

These large cats love to be near, around, next to, or on their owners, a stark contrast to many other ‘normal’ cat breeds that are apathetic to affection.

If you own a Maine Coon that is not affectionate towards you, these might be the reasons why your cat is acting this way.

3. Attention Seeking

These cats are little attention seekers and see every moment spent without your affection as a moment wasted!

4. Family-Friendly

These cats are very family-friendly felines. They have a reputation for being great with kids and adults alike and love to feel involved in the family unit.

4. Love Petting

Maine Coon cats like to be petted, however, in my experience, all three of my cats like to be petted in different places!

For example, Bali our tabby Maine Coon likes his lower back and tummy stroked, whereas Mika our blue tabby likes his cheek and ears petted.

Bali has always been different and he will let you pet him non-stop. He particularly likes being pet on his back, right next to his tail. He gets so excited and his tail shakes and lifts!

5. Highly Intelligent

Maine Coons are smart. There is no sidestepping this fact. But, are they one of the smartest cat breeds in the world? Read this article I wrote to find out more!

Potential owners need to be aware that the Maine Coon cat’s intelligence manifests itself in destructive and frustrating ways when its core needs are not being met.

For example, if these sociable felines lack social time with their family, or have an unfulfilling living space, etc, the Maine Coon might become destructive (source 1,2,3).

How Are They Different To Normal Cats?

There are some glaringly obvious physical differences between Maine Coons and ‘normal’ cat breeds:

1. Size

Maine Coons are much bigger than most other domestic cat breeds since they reach up to 22 lbs in weight! (Read more about this).

Their larger size is an important factor in deciding whether or not they would make the right pet for you, based on the space you have for them to live in.

The cat’s size affects how much these cats will eat, so you need to consider if a larger cat food bill works within your weekly food budget.

Here are some great dry foods that our male Maine Coon cat loves, and which are ideally suited to this cat breed large size.

2. Coat

Maine Coons have long, thick silky coats that not only give them their characteristic lion-like looks but also make them good cuddle buddies!

Their fur is much longer and silkier than regular house cat breeds and needs brushing 2-3 times a week, with Maine Coon grooming tools like these.

These large cats have tufted chests and mane-like necks, which sets them apart from other cat breeds.

3. Ears

Maine Coons have large, pointed ears with tufted fur around the edges known as lynx tips. Read more about their lynx tips right here, and why some Maine Coons never grow lynx tips.

4. Paws

The Maine Coons paws are far larger than a normal cat’s paws. They have iconic tufted paws with long and furry tufts between their toes.

By comparison, normal cats have much shorter hair around their feet and are unlikely to have tufts between their toes at all.

If you are not sure whether to trim your Maine Coon’s paw tufts, read this guide.

5. Social Needs

Maine Coons require more love and attention than other cat breeds. Whereas a ‘normal’ cat might leave the house for days at a time without a second thought for its owners, the Maine Coon is the opposite.

This is because they are massively social felines and become depressed and unhappy if their owners leave them alone for several hours at a time, regularly.

6. Life Expectancy

The life expectancy of a Maine Coon is sadly shorter than normal cat breeds.

Maine Coons have an average life expectancy of between 12-15 years whereas normal cat breeds tend to live between 16-18 years of age.

That being said, some Maine Coon cats (and normal cats) have lived well into their 20s (source 1).

Are Maine Coons Good House Pets?

Generally speaking, Maine Coon cats are great house pets that are well-suited to domestic life.

Here are 9 reasons why Maine Coons make good house pets:

1. Family Friendly

Maine Coons are great family pets.

They are good with kids, kind and affectionate to all, and are not predisposed to causing trouble. They are also not aggressive.

2. Clean

Maine Coons are not messy cats by nature and are unlikely to destroy your home in your absence.

They are easy to train and mild-mannered, unlike many other cats that can be quite destructive.

This is how you train a Maine Coon cat!

3. Affectionate

Maine Coons are warm and loving and freely show their affection to their entire family.

Maine Coons are emotionally intelligent and will pick up on moods and feelings such as stress and sadness and do their best to comfort you.

4. Independent

While they may be social butterflies, Maine Coons are also quite independent and more than happy to keep themselves to themselves without feeling the need to harass you for attention.

5. Loyal

Maine Coons are well known for being loyal to their family and especially to their favorite person.

6. Good With Other Pets

Maine Coon cats are great with other animals, like cats and dogs, living in the same household, but not if the pet is a mouse or rat!

Maine Coons are ideal for people who are already pet owners.

7. Playful

Maine Coons love to play games. They need roughly 20-30 minutes of play a day to feel happy and content.

They are perfect for a household with active members and enthusiastic kids.

8. Relaxed

The Maine Coon can be quite lazy and relaxed, provided they have had enough entertainment and stimulation during the daytime.

9. Sociable

Maine Coons are highly social creatures.

They like to be around the family and to feel involved in the core of family activities.

Maine Coons like to go on walks with their owners or even just “vibe” with them while they are doing chores around the house.

This is how to leash train a Maine Coon cat.

Do Maine Coons Get Along With Dogs?

Maine Coons are friendly with dogs so long as the dog is well-behaved.

They are better with adult dogs than with puppies and tend to prefer lazy senior dogs above all else (source 1).

If you are unsure which dog breeds are best suited to living with a Maine Coon cat, read this article.