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  #1  
Old September 10th, 2010, 02:43 PM
linglan linglan is offline
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Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat???

Hello,

I am trying to find out what kind of breed do I have. I got 2 cats of the same litter from a farm. Can never figure out exactly what kind of breed they are. I read through different info on both breeds, I think they are more of the Norwegian Forest Cat. Not very sure. Can any one help?

They are 4 years old females - 7lbs and 11lbs.

Here are their photos.

http://www.myspace.com/linglan/photo...s/pets/1284478

Thanks in advance.
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  #2  
Old September 10th, 2010, 03:29 PM
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quincymycat quincymycat is offline
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Hi Linglan and welcome to the board.
In response to what breed you have, my guess is they are both domestic long hair kitties. Beautiful ones at that!
Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest cat breeds are usually suspected by owners when ever they see photos of them and they are lucky enough to own lovely DLH's like your's, but unfortunately, with these breeds, (Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest cats),they do resemble in many ways perfectly un-purebreed or pedigreed kitties.
I own 3 pedigreed Maine Coons and have had so many photos sent to me asking if the kitty they found is in fact a Maine Coon and my response to them is usually that the only positive way to know your kitty is pure Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest cat is to have the pedigree line in front of you on their registration papers.
There are many qualities that when all combined will usually point to a pure Maine Coon, some being the cat is VERY sturdily built and solid..usually fairly large in stature as well...16-20 pounds for a female is quite common. The heads are square..right to the muzzle and broad with a nose that is slightly upturned at the end, eyes are large and wide set, ears are large and quite wide at the base, and have large tufts at the end. The feet are huge!!! I have the bruises on my abdomen to prove that one!!! and the temperament should be pretty laid back and gentle.
I also will say that all 3 of mine have varying temperaments on the laid back part.
I don't have specifics on the Norwegian Forest cat, but likely the same things would apply in varying degrees.
They are beautiful. Enjoy them for who they are and not what they may be!!!
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Old September 10th, 2010, 03:50 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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I did have a Maine Coon many years ago and he was huge,weighing in at almost 22lb's.
I think QMC is right,your 2 kitties are stunning and the tabby almost looks like mine,but I believe her weight indicates she's not a Maine Coon,or a NFC.
But they certainly are beautiful,especially the Tabby-girl.
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Old September 11th, 2010, 10:14 AM
linglan linglan is offline
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Thanks for all the helpful response.

Yes, they are both adorable! Although they don't like to be hugged or put on lap, they are very good companion and playful. I love them no matter which breed they are.

The reason I think they are NFC because of their weight is much less for Maine Coon even for female. I know their parents are on the big side. The tabby one has very solid bone structure. But I guess, domestic long hair cat is good too. LOL
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Old September 12th, 2010, 03:16 PM
Ozzie Ozzie is offline
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So this is a Main Coon?
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=h...1t:429,r:1,s:0
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Old September 12th, 2010, 03:44 PM
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quincymycat quincymycat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozzie View Post
No way to know for SURE without registry papers, BUT, uhmmm...judging by the BIG furry hands and feet and just plain BIG size, I'd say that there was pretty darn good chance it is a Maine Coon!!
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Old September 12th, 2010, 03:59 PM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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WOW,he is huge,gorgeous though
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Old September 13th, 2010, 12:21 PM
linglan linglan is offline
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Wow, Maine Coon is REALLY big and so cute! That is a male I assume?!
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Old September 13th, 2010, 12:29 PM
linglan linglan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by quincymycat View Post
I own 3 pedigreed Maine Coons and have had so many photos sent to me asking if the kitty they found is in fact a Maine Coon and my response to them is usually that the only positive way to know your kitty is pure Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest cat is to have the pedigree line in front of you on their registration papers.
Hmmm... I understand that the only way to know if they are pure breed is with registration papers. But how do breeders proof that to begin with? Not that I want to breed mine, they are already neutered. I just want to know more if ever I want to get a pure breed dog or cat.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 01:29 PM
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quincymycat quincymycat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by linglan View Post
Hmmm... I understand that the only way to know if they are pure breed is with registration papers. But how do breeders proof that to begin with? Not that I want to breed mine, they are already neutered. I just want to know more if ever I want to get a pure breed dog or cat.
Not just registration papers....liniage which is required to have those papers. A good, reputable breeder will be able to give you the full background on your kitty right back to the foundation kitties used (no longer an issue with Maine Coons, long since stopped using as the lines have been established)
Since your's are not likely pure breed, nor do they have the established liniage, (I believe you said they came from a farm), if you did breed yours, were they not neutered, they would unfortunately produce only "mutt" kittens of which there are way too many unwanted around now.
If you should choose to go the pure breed route, there is a need to know your breeder and the reputation of the breeder and his/her practises. There are a lot of back yard breeders and people just out to make a buck by selling purebreed animals...with and with out papers.
I have pure breeds only because I have coveted the Maine Coon for over 25 years....way before most people had even heard of them. They were way out of my price range. When my last group of furkids passed on, I got my first Maine Coon, unfortunately, they ended up being like potato chips and I got 3 within 2 years.
These were and will likely be the only pure breed animals I ever have....my others are rescues and I will likely continue to only take in rescues, but I would never have missed the relationship I have with my coonies.

Last edited by quincymycat; September 13th, 2010 at 04:10 PM.
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Old September 13th, 2010, 02:14 PM
linglan linglan is offline
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True, there are far more pets available in rescues that we should simply adopt than buying pure breeds. It's more the temperament and genetic background that we should pay attention to. I love my 2 cats' temperament; not too demanding but still asking attention sometimes. They would come to sleep on top of me (they are heavy enough that I can't breath sometimes ) or cuddle with me when they want to but not everyday, so I don't have to worry about sleeping on top of them. LOL It's because of this temperament that I want to know which breed they are, so I can get similar ones just like theirs.
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  #12  
Old October 7th, 2010, 07:04 PM
bigdogs1 bigdogs1 is offline
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Norwegian forest cat ??

We're fostering a kitty for a local rescue and we have some questions about her. While we know our karge dog breeds head to toe, up and down, we know next to nothing about cats.

Anyway, we've only had this big girl in our home for about a day and already, several people have pegged her as a Norwegian forest cat.

We have a Main coon who resembles her a bit with the whispy coat, ear tufts, guard hairs, large paws etc/ etc., but this girl does not have a step to her brow and her eyes look a bit different.

What do you think?
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  #13  
Old October 8th, 2010, 08:58 AM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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omg,she is beautiful
her coloring,makes me think"ragamuffin",but with cats,it's very difficult to say,unless you know where the cat came from.
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Old October 8th, 2010, 12:04 PM
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linglan, What you have, imo, are 2 lovely DLH. Because they were "farm cats", there is no way of knowing their lineage, but I would say that they tend to look more like a NFC than a MC in their looks, judging by shorter body length, smaller ears and less upright earset. The only way of getting a purebred registered cat is from a registered breeder in one of the recognized cat fancy organizations (CFA=Cat Fanciers' Assoc., CCA=Canadian Cat Assoc., TICA=The International Cat Assoc.) that hold sanctioned cat shows. You can always contact the cat association to determine if a breeder is one "on record and in good standing". There are some mail-in or online organizations that will give you a "cat registration certificate" without a registered pedigree for a fee. This is a fraud.

bigdogs1, Your foster cat is beautiful DLH, unusual blue silver classic tabby in colour, but she does have some Maine Coon resemblance.
http://www.mcbfa.org/mainecooncolorsII.html
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