Maine Coon/Wegie? Any experiences

Anyone have experience of either breed, Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat? Always had dogs in the past but since our last one passed we're thinking it's time for a change. We're thinking of getting a male pair from the same litter, options for both breeds We have a house with a garden but want good house cats (Seestrasse is pretty busy). Any advice/experience welcomed!

Personally I’ll never get another cat. They are mass murderers, and until they get old and fat, want to be outside a lot.

Also if you keep them indoors, your house will stink.

Forest cats do look lovely though.

What about Chihuahuas?

I have two Forest Cats and they are a delight. Well, mostly, with the younger one, his breeder turned out to be not so great and he left his mam at barely 12 weeks, while the older cat I got back in 2011 had stayed longer. So the former is a bit of a hooligan and pretty rude to the older cat. Getting bonded siblings is definitely a good idea. They should still have access to an outdoor space like a secured balcony or a catio, most if not all reputable breeders will require that.

Both breeds are the most dog-like of cats, mine do a few tricks and listen to being told to sit. They want to be part of your life and are very affectionate. They chirp a lot when they are just happily wandering about and are quite talkative in general. Great climbers, so you will need to get them at least one tall and sturdy cat tree.

As for the nonsense about the house stinking - I have three litter boxes for the two cats. Looking into getting a Litter Robot but they are very expensive and a bit complex to import.

Be prepared to spend upwards of a grand, more like 1200 per cat if you buy them in Switzerland and don't fall for anyone who will commit to giving you a kitten before you have seen them in person. Even if you go to Germany to get the kittens, anyone offering them for less than 700 - 800 Euros has saved money somewhere and it may be in a way that affects your cats' health. Bear in mind that these large breeds are susceptible to HCM and that responsible breeders will not pair at risk cats as well as check for this risk regularly (they will say their cats are "HCM geschallt", not sure what it is in French). So anyone who can't give you papers is not paying attention to breeding a healthy line, they are just producing more kittens.

Thank you - I'm in contact with a breeder who seems to tick all the right boxes and the price that you state is right on the money.

The info that I have until now ...

Female and male

Born on 03.07.2021

Pedigree ANFI

Pet contract

Passport

2 vaccinations

microchip

Sterilized

copies of the parent echodardium

'kitten kit'

Seemingly they know what to do. Had cats years ago, never noticed a smell

Totally agree with Kittster's post.

In the UK, we looked after a neighbour's Maine Coon for seven months whilst she was recovering from an illness, and because she'd fallen out with her litter sister. She was very much an outdoor cat and all the village knew her, but she was always waiting in the doorstep when I got home from work and stayed home until the following morning.

She was very chirpy, talkative and affectionate, and our biggest task was hiding her food away as she could easily open all the kitchen cupboards and drawers.

Maine Coons require a lot of grooming. Some will happily self groom, but we had a constant battle to groom our adoptee. Many of them also love water, including ours. We lived across the road from a large boating lake and she often came home wet through. One of our neighbours here has a Maine Coon which I've seen paddling in Zürichsee several times, but our last cat - a European shorthaired - also used to paddle in the lake and come home with his legs and chest wet.

I would definitely have a Maine Coon again as they are very doglike in some of their behaviour. They know when you're not feeling well and will snuggle up with you, but I can't imagine keeping one as a house cat, purely because ours would yowl the house down when she wanted to go out.

Be ready to vacuum hair up every day...

My niece brought home a forest cat on returning to California from uni in Norway. Most wonderful cat I've ever met, except my tiny black female kitten I found in the ranch woodpile. I named her Mike Tyson. Lest this provoke anyone, I would have named her that no matter her colour. She was just a champion puncher of dogs, usually from her perch on the kitchen counter.

Why not adopt? There are so many cats who need homes. I adopted two kittens from Spain & they are the greatest joy.

Mine are indoors aside from our roof terrace & they keep our bugs indoors to a minimum - our house smells lovely, good litter box hygiene is an easy task.

That's what daughters are for. And grooming. And bathing. Nail clipping...

Both are lovely breeds both in terms of looks and personality. My mum in the USA has one of each in her crew, and friends of mine have acquired Main Coons here in CH. If you'd like the breeder info in CH please send me a PM, as I don't have permission to post the info publicly.

I can't speak for Maine Coons but we usually vacuum twice a week, three in springtime. Skogkatt shed much less than my friend's British Shorthair. As for grooming, once a week in summer/autumn, maybe twice in winter/spring is enough. Definitely much less involved than Persians (which I would never get for ethical reasons) or Birmans.

I've had a NFK for about a year now, and he's the best thing ever! They're friendly, chilled, and love attention from people. Only downside with mine is that's he's got a lot of white hair, so we have to vacuum and brush of the sofa a LOT. Hair removal aside, though, I would highly recommend a Wegie, they're just great.

They are also pretty content with being indoors (maine coons too, apparently), and as long as the litter box is kept clean then your house will not stink. That being said, if you have an uncastrated male then you run the risk of him scent marking the house; mine is castrated though, and my flat smells fine (even my mother confirmed this, and she has the nose of a bloodhound).

I agree with everything Kittster said.

We had decided to get two Norwegians just before Corona and they are the best home office coworkers ever! They will always spawn in whatever room you happen to be and chirp at you for pats. They are somewhat dog like. They give high fives and even play fetch. They will steal your seat. They are very smart and active, though very gentle giants and very chill. Only times we get scratched is when they can't control their biscuits.

They are two brothers from the same litter and they are great together. They do require quite some space and they will ask for attention. They usually bring their toy and ask for play time twice a day. They are very interested in new things. Ours have their own secured balcony with a tree and lots of apple crates to build new obstacle courses every now and then to keep them interested. We made most our furniture climbable, they love chilling up high on shelves. Their favorite spot is wherever they can yell at birds.

Over all, they are low maintenance and so far hassle free. They are mostly clowns and I love it!

They will calculate the longest possible routes through the apartment and hold speed contests.

They will ignore you hard when presenting them with the latest and fanciest toys and will play for hours with the box they came in. They will ignore the cat beds until they are too small. They will not do cuddles on your request but happily plant their butts on your face at 4 AM. You will never poop alone.

We go through a A LOT of Kratzpappe.

We use the cat's best pellets, the litter hardly ever smells. We have one litterbox in the bathroom and one on the balcony, they prefer the one outside.

We have to occasionally brush out some butt rastas but usually a brush or two a week do the trick. Hair balls are a thing but they clean up quickly.

Oh and... this thread is useless without pics!

Dr. Dolittle and Doogie Mouser

LOL, thats actually quite funny. No offence to Chihuahua owners but they are pretty daft dogs. They rate as below average for working & obedience intelligence and are the 125th smartest dog breed (out of 138) on the Stanley Coren scale.

No match for a cat

Thanks to all the knowledgeable posters here... Pinky and Perky (tbd) are Maine Coon brothers from the same litter and will be joining the family towards the end of September, thanks again.

Do post some pictures then please? Friend of mine just posted a picture of her 2 MaineCoons that will also come at the end of September

Happy to oblige, although I already changed my acatar

As in The Good Life, or as in 1957 BBC?

The lads have settled in well.

And are an absolute pleasure!

Could you please share a contact of the breeder in a private message? We are looking for a two kittens to add to our family and it proved to be very difficult to find in CH...

Thanks a lot in advance!