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WW
98/2000 & 2001
EC Guldfakse's Chief Two Moons
Breeder: Dortemarie Kaplers
Owners:
Susanne & Per Larsen,
Sebasco's Maine Coon
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Breeders are not
in complete agreement on how a Maine Coon should
look. However, this does not apply specifically to
this breed… opinions differ on other races as well.
Dortemarie Kaplers in DARAK, Denmark , is an
acknowledged specialist on Maine Coon cats and has
her own opinion of how they should look. She has
bred Maine Coon for many years and has been very
successful – also at exhibitions – and many share
her view of this beautiful breed, i.e. it should NOT
look like a Norwegian Forest Cat!
Background
of Dortemarie Kaplers
The first time I
heard of and saw the Maine Coon was in 1970, i.e. 8
years before I had my first Norwegian Forest Cat.
The only problem was that I really was not
interested in cats, I loved dogs, and it was my
grandmother who came home from a visit with a friend
in Canada and told me of the wonderful cats her
friend had. Not at all like other cats, they
displayed a much better temperament, were
long-coated with bushy tails and came in many
different colours. There were 14 of them, all eager
to have contact and very affectionate, which made my
grandmother think more of a dog's disposition than
that of cat.
As mentioned, I
took little notice of what she said, but five years
after her death in 1977 – during which time I had
become an inveterate owner and advocate of Norwegian
Forest Cats – I stumbled on her photos from her trip
to Canada , and got somewhat of a surprise. The
photos portrayed cats which I thought were Norwegian
Forest Cats. My hair stood on end for the photos had
been placed in two small envelopes, one for each of
my children. I wondered whether my grandmother had
had supernatural powers? She could not possibly have
known that after her death I would have cats looking
exactly like the cats of which she had spoken so
fondly.
My interest in the
Maine Coon had been aroused, and when I went to an
exhibition in Berlin in 1982, I was looking forward
to seeing the Maine Coon as this was the exhibition
at which the FIF was to decide on approval of the
breed. Such approval would constitute a change of
policy as it had been decided in 19777, when the
Norwegian Forest Cat was approved, never to approve
the Maine Coon due to its resemblance to the
Norwegian Forest Cat. But luckily, this decision was
reversed.
I looked at all the
Maine Coon cats at the exhibition. They were
exquisite, and I have never forgotten just these
cats although I could not see the difference between
my Norwegian Forest Cats and these Maine Coons. An
American breeder there explained it to me in great
detail, but it was still difficult.
Some Norwegians and
Swedes at the exhibition told me that it really
wasn't all that difficult, because if I took all the
defects possible on a Norwegian Forest Cat and added
them up, well then I'd have a Maine Coon. I believed
this for a long time, and many people still do.
Unfortunately also some judges do so which does not
make things easier.
In the US , I found
Maine Coons that looked nothing like Norwegian
Forest Cats, which was somewhat of a surprise to me
as I had thought that the Maine Coons bred in Europe
conformed to the correct standard – this was
obviously not the case. To the contrary, I was given
the impression that Europe was well on its way to
creating a kind of European Coon, which shared few
features with the one from Maine
History of
the Maine Coon
As is the case with
all other natural cats, you can only guess as to how
the Maine Coon came into existence. There are
numerous legends:
One version, the
most romantic, tells of a sailor by the name of
Samuel Clough who was given the task of smuggling
Marie Antoinette from France to Wiscasset in the US
. As you will know, she was instead beheaded, but
Captain Clough got her belongings with him to the US
, including 6 long-coated cats. These, so the story
goes, formed the origins of the Maine Coon cat.
Another sailor by
the name of Coon is said to have brought the Angora
and Persian cats with him home to the East Coast of
the US . When many of the kittens born were
long-coated, they were called Coon's cats and later
Maine Coons.
I don't think any
of this is true, rather the truth is that the Maine
Coon was created by a mix of several types of
long-coated cats, which the sailors of Maine brought
back. These could have been Norwegian Forest cats
and Angora cats, but we can only guess. The Maine
Coon is simply proof of the theory of survival of
the fittest. It is a working cat, equipped to
survive even under rough conditions.
In terms of
exhibitions, the Maine Coon was popular as early as
the 1800's. In 1878, an exhibition in Boston
displayed some 10 Maine Coons. In 1895 at Madison
Square Garden , a Maine Coon was selected as Best in
show. In the early 1920s, the breed disappeared from
US exhibitions as the Persian cat and other exotic
cats that had come to the country from, among other
places, Europe , attracted more interest.
As a result, the
Maine Coon faced tough times. In 1959, the breed was
declared extinct and in 1973, a newspaper simply
stated that the breed did not exist at all. However,
it most certainly did, and thanks to persisting
breeders, the Maine Coon breeders and Fanciers
Association (MCBFA) was founded in 1968. Following
this, all US clubs accepted the Maine Coon again,
i.e. for approval, registration and with a right to
titles.
In the US , there
are 5 standards for the Maine Coon, and with FIFé's
standard, the number is up to 6. Small wonder,
therefore, that confusion arises due to the
differences in the way these cats look. The
standards are almost the same, but differ on
individual points enough to result in a different
look. US standards prescribe for example a medium
broad and medium long head, slightly longer than it
is broad, while the FIF simply states that the head
should be broad.
Some standards wish
to see large, round and slanting eyes, while some
require them to be large and oval, FIF wants hem
large and open. CFA requires stooping ears, while
other standards require the ears to be straight with
a least one ear's width between them.
The Americans
themselves say that the wish the Maine Coon standard
to accommodate differences because large variations
are found in nature. But the basic things must be
present, such as the size, the length of the head
and body and the quality of the coat.
The state of Maine
has declared the Maine Coon its official state cat,
and it is certainly considered a national treasure,
displayed at every opportunity. At cat exhibitions,
the Maine Coon is the second-most exhibited cat,
outnumbered only by the Persian cat.
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WW95 & `96 EC
Maine-Marke´s Dakota
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The look of
the Maine Coon cat
The Maine Coon is a
large, massive and muscular cat, probably the
largest of thoroughbred cats. A grown male is
impressive, but it should be borne in mind that the
Main Coon develops slowly and is not full-grown
until it is at least three or four years old. A
young male of one or two years has the long body but
is often not as broad as broadness develops last.
Females are considerably smaller, but although they
are often feminine, they must be strongly built.
Compared to the
broad head of the Persian and Siamese cats, the
Maine Coon has a medium-broad head. However,
breeding males aged 3 or more may have very broad
heads. Kittens and young cats up to about 1½ year
should have a head that is longer than it is broad,
as a short head on a young cat always results in a
head that is too short when the cat is fully grown.
High cheekbones, a square nose and strong jaws
characterise a predator. And the Maine Coon is a
predator. In order to crush its prey, exactly this
part of the head needs to be correct. When I say
square nose, I mean square from all angles, and not
at all narrow or pointed but more like a matchbox.
The chin must be strong and in line with the nose
and upper lip, strong enough to be seen from the
side but not prominent. The profile is slightly
concave with an arched forehead. The nose should not
have stops or breaks.
The ears must be
large, very coated, broad at the base and pointed
with tufs. They are placed high on the head with a
fair distance between them. The distance between the
ears is growing on breeding males as the head grows
broader, but the ears must stand up straight because
the predator must be able to hear its prey. If the
ears fall down to the side on an adult cat, they
have been too far apart from the beginning. This is
worth remembering when you look at young cats. The
correct placing of the ears on young cats is not
very far apart and standing straight up. The
Americans themselves emphasise the importance of
correct placing of the ears, and call ears that have
slid into horizontal position “Aeroplane ears”.
The eyes are large
and round, slightly slanting and far apart. The
placing gives the cat an owl-like look and the fact
that the eyes are slanting does in no way give the
cat an oriental look. All eye colours are permitted,
matching the colour of the coat.
The body is
muscular and medium to large. An adult male has a
broad chest, and although a young cat is not yet as
broad as required, the legs should be well apart.
The body is long and well set up and appears
rectangular, equally broad over the shoulders and
hips. It is important that the body is in balance,
equally heavy front and back. Some of the cats
unfortunately have a tendency to become too heavy at
the back. The legs must be solid and medium long,
matching the body. In fact, the legs are long, but
the long coat on the stomach…gives the impression
that they are only medium long. The paws are large,
round and well-coated. “Snow shoes” are a necessity.
With the native population of Maine Coons,
polydactly (several toes) is quite
common, as actually around 40% of the original Maine
Coon cats were poly. As a result, when approval of
the cat as a thoroughbred was applied for in the US
, two standards were submitted, one for
polydactly cats and one for cats with
the normal number of toes. However, the applicants
were advised that it would be hard enough just to
obtain approval of the ordinary cats, and to
withdraw the application for the poly cats. They
did, but several of the “old” breeders continue to
breed poly… cats in the hope that they will be
approved within the foreseeable future and thus can
be exhibited as a group of their own. It should be
emphasised that these cats of course are not
involved in the breeding of the ordinary 5/4 toe
cats.
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MtKittery Socko P
Polydactly
(several toes)
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I myself own a
“poly” and take part in the US breeding programme
for these cats. It is a harmless mutation, or defect
if you wish, and there is widespread opposition
against the project. For me, it is nostalgia or the
“mystical past” that is the attraction. Just as when
I HAD TO own a Norwegian Forest cat picked up in
nature. Working with the “original” cat is very
appealing.
The tail is long,
broad at the base and pointed. The tail must be as
long as the body. The coat is long and wavy with
fine underfur covered by long overhairs, which are
water-repellent. Short on the shoulders and longer
on the stomach and flanks. It is shaggy, i.e. the
hairs are of uneven length. The quality is silk-like
and shiny. There is a noticeable difference between
the structure of the coat of a Norwegian Forest cat
and a Maine Coon. I would go as far as to say that
if you cannot distinguish the two breeds in any
other way, you can feel the difference in the coat,
even with your eyes closed. This difference is
noticeable also on kittens.
As with other
natural cats, their summer and winter coat differs,
however, not as much as with the Norwegian Forest
cat, which is due of course to the thick underfur of
the Norwegian Forest cat, which is fully or
partially missing in the Maine Coon. Outdoor and
indoor cats also differ, as outdoor cats have a
thicker and oilier coat.
The Maine Coon cat
comes in all the colours we know from the Norwegian
Forest cat. However, colours tend to be more
intense, which is probably because the Americans
focus a lot on achieving deep, clear colours in the
cats, as they are exhibited according to colour.
In terms of
temperament, the Maine Coon easily scores 10 out of
10. It is a wonderful cat, quite unbearable as a
kitten/young cat. Naughty and directly mischievous,
always running about. It is very fast, moves like a
gazelle, even when it grows to be large and heavy. A
male usually weighs between 6 and 8 kilos, females
between 4 and 7 kilos. Of course there are examples
of heavier Maine Coons, but they are rare. If you
want Maine Coons, you need to provide lots of toys,
as they are extremely playful. They thrive very well
indoors and get along well with other cats, dogs and
even rabbits and other pets. They will want to join
in on EVERYTHING you do and love human contact. This
makes it difficult to keep them locked up and closed
doors are not tolerated.
…… Dortemarie's
sketch of how a Maine Coon should look.
This article has
kindly been provided by Dortemarie Kaplers,
Guldfakse's Maine Coon.
Translated by
Karin Barfoed, Blackfeet Maine Coon
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