{"id":672,"date":"2026-03-09T14:51:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpdev.winerau.at\/the-origin-of-the-maine-coon\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T15:07:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T13:07:57","slug":"the-origin-of-the-maine-coon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/the-origin-of-the-maine-coon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Origin of the Maine Coon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Origin of the Maine Coon<\/h3>\n

The large, sturdy American forest cat probably came to America with immigrants from Europe. Without any breeding intervention, it adapted over time to the harsh living conditions. <\/p>\n

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\n

\u2744\ufe0f The All-Weather Coat<\/h4>\n

A dense, semi-long, water-repellent coat with plenty of undercoat protected it during the harsh winters of the northern states. In summer, however, it wears a light summer coat without a ruff. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\ud83e\udd9d The Trademark<\/h4>\n

Its name derives from the U.S. state of Maine<\/strong> and the raccoon (English: raccoon<\/strong>)\u2014an allusion to its bushy, bear-like tail.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The “Robust Farm Cat”<\/h3>\n

The Maine Coon had to be strong and muscular to catch its own food. Affectionately called “Shaggycat”<\/strong> by their owners, the most magnificent specimens were already being shown at agricultural fairs around 1860. <\/p>\n

\n “In 1895, the best cat at the first official cat show in North America at Madison Square Garden was a Maine Coon neutered male named Cosie.”\n <\/div>\n

After exotic breeds like Siamese or Persian temporarily displaced the Maine Coon, it experienced a rapid resurgence starting in 1953 with the founding of “The Central Maine Cat Club”<\/em>. Many enthusiasts fell for the subtle charm of these bear-like, good-natured “giant cats”<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Triumph and Downsides<\/h3>\n

In the nineties, the Maine Coon filled European show halls like hardly any other breed. But the huge demand led to problems: <\/p>\n

    \n
  • Type distortion:<\/strong> Crossbreeding with Persian or Colorpoint cats (Siamese masks) distorted the original appearance.<\/li>\n
  • Loss of size:<\/strong> The once proud males (9-10 kg) became increasingly delicate through irresponsible breeding.<\/li>\n
  • Hereditary diseases:<\/strong> Through careless breeding, diseases like HCM<\/strong> (heart disease) and hip dysplasia<\/strong> (HD) were introduced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Responsibility for the Future<\/h3>\n

    Just in time, people recognized that the breed must be kept pure and in its natural, original beauty\u2014far from short-term fashion trends.<\/p>\n

    \n A responsible breeder is aware of this today. They confirm the health of their cats through appropriate veterinary examination results (HCM ultrasound, HD X-ray) to preserve this robust breed for the future.\n <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-672","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":676,"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/672\/revisions\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winerau.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}