| Category II |
MCO |
Maine Coon Standard |
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the Maine Coon is a natural breed of amiable character that traces its origin to the working cat found on the farms of Northeast America |
| General |
Appearance |
the breed of the Maine Coon is large framed with a square outline of the head, large ears, broad chest, solid bone structure, a long, hard muscled, rectangular body and a long flowing tail. Good muscle tone and density give the cat the appearance of power and robustness |
| Size |
large |
| Head |
Shape |
medium in size; square outline. Profile with a gentle concave slope |
| Forehead |
gently curved |
| Cheeks |
cheekbones high and prominent |
Face Nose Muzzle |
face and nose of medium length with a square outline of the muzzle distinct transition can be felt between muzzle and cheekbones |
| Chin |
firm, in vertical alignment with nose and upperlip |
| Ears |
Shape |
large, wide at the base.
moderately pointed.
lynx-tufts are desirable, tufts of hair in the ears extend beyond outer edges of ears |
| Placement |
set high on head with a very slight outward tilt.
ears should be placed one ear's width apart, the width extends slightly in older cats
lower base set just slightly further back than upper base |
| Eyes |
Shape |
large and widely set.
slightly oval, but not almond shaped, appear round when wide open
set slightly slanted towards the outer base of the ear |
| Colour |
any colour is permitted, there is no relationship between eye- and coat colour
clear eye colour is desirable |
| Neck |
|
males have a very strong muscled neck |
| Body |
Structure |
the body should be long, substantial bone structure
hard muscled, powerful, broad chested
large framed, all parts of the body in proportion to create a rectangular appearance |
| Legs |
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substantial, medium length to form a rectangle with the body |
| Paws |
large, round and well tufted between the toes |
| Tail |
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at least as long as the body from shoulderblade to base of tail
wide at the base tapering to the tip; with full, flowing hair
the hair on the tail is long and always remains flowing |
| Coat |
Structure |
all weather coat, dense
short on head, shoulders and legs, becoming gradually longer down the back and sides, with long, full shaggy baggy trousers on the hind legs and belly fur, a frill is expected
texture silky
coat has distinct body, falling smoothly
the undercoat is soft and fine, covered by the coarse smooth outercoat
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| Colour |
all colour varieties are permitted, including all colour varieties with white; except pointed patterns and chocolate and lilac, cinnamon and fawn
any amount of white is allowed, i.e. a white blaze, white locket, white chest, white on the belly, white on the paws, etc.
for colour varieties refer to tables below |
| Condition |
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the Maine Coon should always be in good balance, condition and proportion |
| Remarks |
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- type must always take preference over colour
- very slow maturing of the breed should be taken into account
- mature males may have larger and broader heads than females
- females are proportionally smaller than males. Allowance must be made for this significant difference in size
- length of coat and density of undercoat vary with the seasons
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| Faults |
General |
- unbalanced proportions
- overall small cat
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| Head |
- round head
- straight or convex profile
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| Nose |
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| Muzzle |
- pronounced whisker pads
- round or pointed muzzle
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| Chin |
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| Ears |
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| Eyes |
- slanted almond shaped eyes
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| Body |
- fine, light bone structure
- short cobby body
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| Legs |
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| Tail |
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| Coat |
- lack of belly shag
- coat of overall even length
- lack of any undercoat
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| Recognized Colour Varieties |
| Remarks |
Maine Coon is judged in one of the following colour variety groups, i.e. in each colour variety group a certificate can be awarded |
| Colour |
EMS Code |
| Group I |
| Black/Blue |
MCO n/a |
| Group II |
| Black/Blue with white |
MCO n/a 01/02/03/09 |
| Group III |
| Black/Blue agouti |
MCO n/a 22/23/24/25 |
| Black/Blue golden |
MCO n/a y 11/12/22/23/24/25 |
| Group IV |
| Black/Blue agouti with white |
MCO n/a 01/02/03/09 21/22/23/24/25 |
| Black/Blue golden with white |
MCO n/a y 01/02/03/09 11/12/21/22/23/24/25 |
| Group V |
| Red/Cream/Tortie solid/agouti |
MCO d/e/f/g |
| MCO d/e/f/g 22/23/24/25 |
| Red/Cream/Tortie golden |
MCO d/e/f/g y 11/12/22/23/24/25 |
| Group VI |
| Red/Cream/Tortie solid/agouti with white |
MCO d/e/f/g 01/02/03/09 |
| MCO d/e/f/g 01/02/03/09 21/22/23/24/25 |
| Red/Cream/Tortie golden with white |
MCO d/e/f/g y 01/02/03/09 11/12/21/22/23/24/25 |
| Group VII |
| Black/Blue/Red/Cream smoke/silver |
MCO n/a/d/e s |
| MCO n/a/d/e s 11/12/22/23/24/25 |
| Tortie smoke |
MCO f/g s |
| Tortie silver |
MCO f/g s 11/12/22/23/24/25 |
| Group VIII |
| Black/Blue/Red/Cream smoke/silver with white |
MCO n/a/d/e s 01/02/03/09 |
| MCO n/a/d/e s 01/02/03/09 11/12/21/22/23/24/25 |
| Tortie smoke with white |
MCO f/g s 01/02/03/09 |
| Tortie silver with white |
MCO f/g s 01/02/03/09 11/12/21/22/23/24/25 |
| Group IX |
| White |
MCO w |
| with blue eyes |
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| with orange eyes |
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| odd eyed |
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| with green eyes |
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