FIFe Maine Coon standard

Maine Coon Standard

Updated

***Maine Coon Standard (FIFe)***
The Maine Coon is a natural breed of amiable character that traces its origin to the working cat found on the farms of Nort-East America.

Maine Coon Breed Standard
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 flowing tail. Good muscle tone and density give the cat the appearance of power and robustness.
General	Size	Medium to 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.
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.
Eyes	Colour	Any colour is permitted. There is no relationship between eye- and coatcolour. Clear eye colour is desirable.
Neck	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	Legs	Substantial, medium length to form a rectangle with the body
Legs	Paws	Large, round and well tufted between the toes
Tail	Tail	At least als long as the body from shouderblade 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.
Coat	Colour	All colours are acceptable except pointed patterns, the colours chocolate, cinnamon, lilac, fawn, and the burmese factors. Any amount of white is permitted.
Condition	Condition	The Maine Coon should always be in good balance, condition and proportion.
Remarks		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.
Faults Faults Faults	General	Unbalanced proportions Overall small cat
	Head	Round head Straight or convex profile
	Nose	Nose break
	Muzzle	Pronounced whisker pads Round or pointed muzzle
	Chin	Undershot chin
	Ears	Wide set, flared ears
	Eyes	Slanted, almond shaped eyes
	Body	Fine,light bone structure Short cobby body
	Legs	Long stilty legs
	Tail	Short tail
	Coat	Lack of belly shag Coat of overall even length Lack of any undercoat

SCALE OF POINTS
TOTAL			100 POINTS
Head	General shape, shape of nose, cheeks and muzzle, jaw and teeth, forehead, chin	25	40
	Shape and placement of ears	10
	Shape and placement of eyes	5
Body	Shape, size, bonestructure, legs, shape of paws	25	35
Body	Shape and length of tail	10	35
Coat	Quality and texture	10	20
Coat	Length	10	20
Condition		5	5

Special thanks to Anneke Kuys of Patchwork cattery, for providing the table data.