We Recommend...

Some of our favorite things. Your cats may like these, too.

Food

We recommend a high-quality pet food such as Nutro, Iams, or similar, with a meat (not cereal) first ingredient. Avoid ground yellow corn and unspecified "meat by-products". Buy food that uses Vitamin E, rather than chemical preservatives; some preservatives are toxic!

We serve Nutro Max Cat (canned), about 1-quarter can each twice a day. Our cats have free access to crunchies all day - Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Adult Cat Food (All natural with vitamins and minerals. Less shedding, fewer hairballs. Cleans teeth, freshens breath. Easy to digest for sensitive stomachs. Guaranteed to improve skin and coat. Wow. All that, and they like the way it tastes too :-)

Serve food in glass or ceramic food bowls to help prevent feline acne. We've found that pyrex bowls with flat bottoms and vertical sides work better than "sloped" dishes. Wash bowls between feedings. Don't allow leftover wet (canned) food to sit.

For storing dry food, we recommend the Vittles Vault to keep food fresh, bug free, and away from inquisitive paws and teeth. The 30-lb size holds nearly two large bags of crunchies, yet is compact enough to fit under a counter in our kitchen.

Water

Provide plenty of fresh water. Maine Coons like to play in their water bowls. Clean and refill the bowl if water is "played with" too much.

Many Maine Coons like running water. We recommend the Drinkwell Fresh Water Fountain and Reservoir.

Sanitary facilities

Be sure to provide a large-enough litter box to accomodate the larger Maine Coon size. Ours is the entire bottom of an otherwise-unused shower stall (30" x 40"). Or, see felinefuture.com for ideas on building your own super litter box!

Use a litter both you and your cat can agree on; if the cats like it, you might want to try Feline Pine. It's a shape that's too big to track, it changes shape when wetted (so it's easy to scoop), and it's biodegradable. Other organic recommendations include Swheat scoop or World's Best Cat Litter. If you prefer a clumping clay litter, try Precious Cat, a truly hard clumping (don't flush!), low tracking, dust-free scoopable that really works... but don't use clumping clay with very young kittens, please.

Be sure the litter box isn't in a noisy or busy part of your home; cats like some privacy. And keep the litter box away from the food and water - would you want to take your meals in the bathroom?

Grooming

Maine Coons are generally fairly low maintenance cats, but with their longer coats and poofy tails they do have some special needs. Pay special attention to "problem areas" such as the upper chest, ruff, armpits, and inside thigh area. We recommend that you maintain a regular grooming kit, optimized for grooming a Maine Coon.

Treats

All cats like treats. We prefer Nature's Recipe Optimum Tartar Control treats. The cats love the taste; the humans love the ingredients. Our guys start asking for their bedtime snack at about 10pm. (Never try to tell me Maine Coons can't tell time).

Greens

Cats like to munch grass; be sure to use a cat-safe blend, such as Cosmic Kitty Herbs. Our cats like grass so much we built them a lawn.

Many cats also like catnip. You can grow your own fresh or buy high-quality organic dried leaves.

Furniture

Coonies aren't particularly territorial, but they do like to have "places" (hidey holes, perches, etc.) where they can lurk, observe, etc. Many cats like to be up near the ceiling.

Be sure to provide plenty of cat trees for climbing and scratching posts and/or pads for scratching. Some cats like to scratch on vertical surfaces; others like to scratch horizontally. Be sure to provide both orientations, lest your own furniture suffer...

Fun

Play with your Maine Coon. Interactive toys are especially good, for example, feathers on a string or a stick. Many Maine Coons will play "fetch" with a fuzzy ball or a soft mouse toy.

We recommend catnip blowing bubbles and interactive toys such as the Cats Claws Interchangeable Cat Activity Toy System and the Cat Dancer. We also love the Multipet Wooly Bully Mouse.

Examine all toys as you would for a child; discard worn or broken toys, remove small parts that could be swallowed, and put away toys with strings, feathers, streamers, or dangly parts when play isn't supervised.

Love

Maine Coons, like all cats, flourish on love. They will gladly share a nap, settle in for some lap time, watch TV with you, and help you with your daily activities. Talk to them and many will talk to you. Maine Coons are feline teddy bears and your best buddies.

Care for Cat-owned People

Dry Skin?

If you have dry skin (who doesn't in the winter) and want a truly fragrance-free moisturizing cream that won't make your cats wrinkle their noses and leave the room, try the Aveeno line of creams, lotions, and soaps, e.g. Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion for dry skin; Aveeno moisturizing lotion, itch relief with natural colloidal oatmeal. No alcohol. No animal testing. Actually fragrance free (as opposed to "smells like something other than flowers"). And not only that, it works.

Available at stores both physical and online. Try www.medichest.com if you can't find it anywhere else.

Lint Catcher Balls

I did two loads of towels and wooly cat beds and these things really work.

Add one, several or many Lint Catcher balls to any laundry load. As Lint Catcher balls bounce around, fuzz and pet hair snags on the polyester microfiber tips. Clumps of fuzz and hair attach to the balls (and other clumps) instead of sticking to clothes. Fuzz clumps can easily be removed and thrown away. By trapping fur, Lint Catcher balls may help prevent clogged washer drains too.

Lint Catcher balls are sold in sets of 12. Balls are 1 3/8" diameter each. Price per dozen can range from $6 to $22 online and shipping costs vary, so shop around. (Also called "Lint grabber" or "grabbing" balls.)

Cat Care Links

• Cat Care Information and Advice

• Caring For Your New Kitten

• Declawing: Issues and Alternatives

• What an Indoor Cat Misses

• Grooming Your Maine Coon

For information, to ask to have a pointer to your site added, or to tell us about your wonderful trusted Maine Coon breeder so we can add them to this site, please contact: Vicki Brown vlb@cfcl.com