The gentle giant Maine coon.

Maine cats are different from other cats because they are smart, agile and lively. Maine cats tend to pick up things with their front paws, and finally learn to open closet doors, turn on faucets, flush toilets and even pick up small things with their feet. Some Maine Coons eat or drink with bowls instead of bowls. Maine cat is one of the easiest cats to train because it is smarter than other cats. The meow of Maine Cat sounds like a combination of "meow" and "purr", which is only made when it is happy or scared. Maine cats seldom eat alone and like to eat with cats or people.

1, very large

Some people like to say that Maine Coon is the biggest cat, but it is actually between Norwegian forest cat and bag cat. The former weighs 16 Jin, while the latter weighs 20 Jin.

2. Colorful origin stories

As the name suggests, Maine cats are native to Maine, USA. Because of their brown fur and bushy tail, and the "COON" after Maine Coon's English name, it has something in common with raccoons. A popular but unscientific explanation is that the origin of this species was produced by mating between semi-wild domestic cats and raccoons. Another theory is that Maine cats were brought to Maine by a captain named Kuhn. The captain's client is the luxurious Queen Marie Antoinette, who originally intended to escape from France to the United States, but obviously the pace of the French Revolution was much faster than her escape.

Most breeders believe that Maine Coon is a combination of short-haired cats from North America and long-haired cats from across the sea. Perhaps the New England sailors introduced the hairy Turkish angola cat to the New World, or perhaps the Vikings brought the Norwegian forest cat, whose hometown was also a long-haired cat, to North America (the reason for the introduction was that the days of ancient sea navigation were more boring than romantic, and it could be used as one of the trade items after landing). In short, the appearance of Maine cats is either similar to that of Norwegian forest cats or almost the same as that of Siberian cats, which is the result of biological convergence and evolution; Different biological species have evolved similar or even identical biological characteristics through environmental similarity. The latitudes of Maine, Norway and Siberia are slightly different. The climate, such as humidity, annual average temperature and even annual rainfall, is slightly different, but the most similar place is winter; In the cold environment, mammals must evolve fluffy and thick hair to isolate the low temperature and make it huge, so as to increase the proportion of fat adhesion and increase their viability at low temperature. )

3. Dress up for winter.

Maine cats have evolved to survive in severe winter. They have evolved some features, such as large furry claws as built-in "snow shoes" and thick and thick tails that can wrap around them when they feel cold.

Their most prominent feature is dense waterproof coat, and the hair on the abdomen, collar and sides is longer. These furry parts keep Maine Cat's lower body warm, whether it is sitting on ice or walking on snow. The hair on the shoulders is shorter, which allows the kitten to play in the Woods without being entangled in branches or bushes.

Not all Maine cats are brown.

They come in a variety of colors, including smoke, cream and guest colors.

(relief), mackerel (mackerel), tortoise shell (tortoise shell). However, CFA does not allow the following colors: lavender (clove), chocolate (chocolate color), or seal Siam color (emphasis color). If it appears, it means hybridization.

They won the first popular cat show in America.

From 65438 to 0895, one of the earliest and most famous cat exhibitions in the United States was held in Madison Square Garden in new york. There, a brown spotted Maine cat named Cauchy won the "Best Cat" award. Today, Cauchy's silver collar and medal won in this activity are on display at the headquarters of the Ohio Cat Lovers Association (CFA).

For a long time, Maine cats were the most coveted species in this country, until Persian cats became popular. After that, cat lovers stopped raising award-winning Maine cats. This kind of cat has become so rare that some sources say it was considered extinct in the 1950s. 1968 fans joined forces to save this furry cat and established the Maine Cat Farmers and Fans Association. 1976 Maine Kuhn won the CFA championship.

6. It is very popular in Maine and anywhere else.

Maine Cat officially became the state cat in Maine on 1985, but it is also deeply loved by cat lovers all over the United States. In 20 15, according to CFA registration statistics, Maine Coon is the third most popular breed in the United States. They are also very popular in Japan and Europe.

7. A Maine cat appeared in Harry Potter movies.

In the Harry Potter movies, a Maine female cat named Pebble is one of three kittens who play Filch's pet cat, Mrs. Norris. Peppers is a sterilized female cat, which was "found" by an animal trainer in a cat house in southwest England. It is reported that her reaction to complex training is not as good as that of other cat actors in the film, but she is good at crossing the set and stopping under orders. Remember those photos of Mrs. Norris pacing in Hogwarts Auditorium? That's pebbles.

8. A Maine cat was cloned.

In 2004, a Maine cat named Nicky Jr. became the first commercial cloned pet. After Nicky died at the age of 17, its owner Julie in Dallas (she refused to disclose her full name to the media) kept her organization in a gene bank. She spent $50,000 to save California's genes &; Cloning company) transplanted Nicky's DNA into egg cells. The company is committed to cloning dogs and cats, which is a controversial company. A surrogate mother cat gave birth to a kitten with this embryo. Its appearance and temperament are very similar to Julie's precious kitten.

According to the newspaper interview, Julie is a satisfied customer. However, in the short term, she will not entrust Nikki III. Gene savings &; The cloning company made headlines all over the world because it produced the first cloned cat CC in 200 1 year, but it was reported that the company closed down in 2006 for financial reasons.

9. The longest cat in the world

Stewie, an 8-year-old Maine cat, held the Guinness World Record for the world's longest domestic cat until she died of cancer in 20 13. When fully extended, Stewie is 48.5 inches from the tip of the nose to the tailbone.

They like water.

Probably because of their thick waterproof coats. In short, Maine Coon likes water for some reason. When other cats avoid the bathtub, a Maine cat is likely to jump into it.

1 1. Some Maine coons have six fingers.

Maine coons sometimes have six toes. In the early days of the breed's development, Maine cats were usually multi-toed, which meant that they were born with extra appendages on their paws. Some experts estimate that as many as 40% of early Maine coons have this feature. It comes from gene mutation. Some people say that this genetic mutation helps cats to use their paws as "natural snowshoes" in Maine's snowy winter.

Due to the rise of the cat lovers' association, the multi-toed animals lost the qualification to participate in the purebred animal competition, and this function was finally considered unpopular. The owner stopped raising multi-toed Maine cats, and the number of six-toed cats gradually decreased. However, some non-purebred cubs still produce extra toes.