Siberian Cat vs Maine Coon

This is a comparison between the Siberian and Maine Coon purebred cats. They look similar. People sometimes want to know the differences. The differences come from the origins of the breed, their appearance and character. However, all of these factors are somewhat elastic so it is not possible to provide a difference that is as clear cut as black is from white.

The Obvious

Forgetting the color and patterns because both cats can have a wide range of colors and patterns, what strikes you as the obvious difference in appearance?

It has to be the ears. The Maine Coon ears are larger and more pointed which with the ear tufts creates a completely different appearance to the smaller more rounded Siberian cat ears. The breed standard for ears for these breeds is (verbatim for accuracy):

•  CFA: SIBERIAN EARS: medium-large, rounded, wide at the base and tilt slightly forward. The ears should be set as much on the sides of the head as on top. The hair over the back of the ear is short and thin. From the middle of the ear, the furnishings become longer and cover the base of the ear. Ear tipping is allowed.
• CFA: MAINE COON EARS: Shape: large, well-tufted, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed. Set: approximately one ear’s width apart at the base; not flared.

Without getting too technical and becoming a hard core cat fancier, the respective breed standards tell us about the appearance of the ears,  a major difference between the Siberian cat and the Maine Coon.

Another difference that you can't see in the pictures by Helmi Flick (images are copyright protected, please note), is that the Maine Coon is larger than the Siberian. On my assessment the Maine Coon is the largest purely domestic purebred cat.

I won't quote the breed standards anymore but highlight some general differences in appearance, character and history.

Appearance

Coat: Siberian: a long thick coat with a tight undercoat. The coat is referred to as triple coated. The hairs are of similar length. Maine Coon: uneven shaggy coat is not dense or full.

Muzzle: Siberian: shorter than that of the Maine Coon. It is full and rounded. Maine Coon: broad and square muzzle.

Head: Siberian: large and impressive modified wedge. Medium in size. Maine Coon:  broad modified wedge. The head shape is similar for these cat breeds as confirmed by the photographs.

Conclusion: the Maine Coon has larger and more pointed ears with a slightly more slender face and a slightly less neat coat. It is also a larger cat. The tail in the picture is more plumed for the Maine Coon than the Siberian but this may be just an individual cat difference.

See: Siberian breed standard and Maine Coon breed standard (links to cat association standards). 

Character

Siberian: strong minded and independent and therefore likes plenty of living space. Dog-like devotion to human companion. Maine Coon: a relaxed cat and relatively easy going. The Maine Coon is not overdependent on people and good with children and other companion animals.

History

Siberian: native Russian cat. Thought of as an ancient breed. Let's say that this cat was around as a cat companion about 1000 years ago in Russia. Obviously at that time it was not thought of a breed of cat. It was a random bred cat. Maine Coon: I think that the history of the Maine Coon is more interesting but that may be because we know more about it. This is a semi-longhaired cat that originates in the state of Maine, USA. They were farm cats before becoming show cats in the mid-1800s, when the first cat shows in the USA took place. The early origins are probably in the imported long haired ship's cats from Europe that accompanied the first immigrants to America. These long haired British cats where Angoras. Angoras were probably Turkish Angoras. Turkey is near the place where the first domestication of the wild cat took place (fertile crescent).  The Maine Coon may have origins that are better connected to the absolute beginnings of the domestic cat.

Popularity

The Maine Coon is ranked the most popular (1st) on my 4,500 vote poll out of over 60 breeds. The Siberian is ranked about 21st. This may partly be because the biggest cat fancy is in America (most visitors to PoC are American) and the Maine Coon is the American cat.

Brown Classic Tabby Maine Coon Photo

A classic portrait of a brown classic tabby Maine Coon by the celebrated Helmi Flick. Helmi is one of the world's top cat photographers. Brown tabby is one of the best coat types for the Maine Coon perhaps because it is more natural and this was a farm cat between 1650 and mid 1800s.

You probably know that "classic tabby" refers to a tabby pattern that is swirls and blotches against the background color. You can see some of the dark pattern against a brown coat on the body of this cat (bottom left of photo).

The photographer owns the copyright of this photo. Use without permission of the photographer is not allowed. Violations are reported to Google.com (DMCA policy)

I love the Maine Coon face. The photograph was taken in March 2005. The focal length of the lens was 75 mm. This is a slight telephoto for the 35 mm format. Ideal for portraiture. The exposure was 1/250th of a second but strobe light was used. Aperture was F5.6 and ISO 100.  There is plenty of light in the set up used by Helmi. See the Helmi Flick set up.

The frame around this Helmi photo was created by Google Picasa, incidentally. Unfortunately the hosting server for this site adds a shadow as well so it is a bit overdone, perhaps.

Maine Coon Slide Show

The best Maine Coon pictures on the internet in a large format slide show. Most of the pictures are of course by the celebrated Helmi Flick. The cats that Helmi photographs are nearly always show cats and some are really high class award winners at the top of the show cat tree. Some of the other pictures are by Dani who lives in the Netherlands. She is an amateur photographer and breeds cats including traditional Persians, Ragdolls and Maine Coons. All the photos have credits.


Fine photos by Helmi Flick, Dani and others

The Maine Coon has a very distinguished appearance I think. It is what cuts them out from other purebred cats.

You will see "pretty" Maine Coons registered with the CFA and more shaggy, natural Maine Coons registered with TICA. You will see a slight difference between the US Maine Coons and the Dutch cats.

Picture of Large Maine Coon

Huge Maine Coon cat at a cat show. The image quality is not great but this domestic cat has a quality about him that makes him look like a cat from another planet - almost.

Maine Coon at cat show - Photo: copyright Little Baby Zorak all rights reserved

I cleaned up the image a bit. His mackerel tabby coat gives him a fishy quality! Not surprising as the term "mackerel tabby" comes from the mackerel fish.

When you scale this cat up with the show judge who is struggling to manage him, he looks to be about 2/3rds her height if measured from tip to toe. He actually looks a similar size to her! He probably weighs about 22lbs or something like that. Average domestic cat weight is about 8 lbs or should be (a lot of domestic cats are a little overweight). He is interested in the light. I hope he didn't burn his nose.

The Maine Coon is the largest all domestic cat (excluding wildcat hybrids). See another large one on this page: largest domestic cat breeds.

Maine Coon Kittens Picture

Ooops...What is going on? Well I thought that this super Maine Coon kittens picture, by the well known photographer Helmi Flick, was better seen on its side for this reason: you can see it larger. The benefit of seeing it larger outweighs the slight discomfort of having to twist your head or computer to one side! Horizontally it would be much smaller.

Do you think Ken Flick (Helmi's cat wrangler) managed to get all these gorgeous silver tabby and white kittens with mitted feet in line in one go for Helmi's camera? No! I have seen Ken at work and it is highly professional work but it is all but impossible to get cats all lined up in these numbers.

Perhaps managing up to five kittens is just possible. The difficulty is getting them all to look in the right direction for a split second. That said, sometimes, you can get nice interaction between kittens and cats. However, there are time limits in taking these photographs. You can't keep trying for ever.

In conclusion this is a beautifully created composite picture of Maine Coon kittens.

See:

• Maine Coon Cats
• Free Maine Coon kittens

Picture of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Cats

This is a photograph of the cross-section of a cat's heart diseased by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The cat's human companion wanted to find out the cause of death. The photograph was taken by the staff at the Cuyahoga Falls Veterinary Clinic. This photo has been used with permission for teaching/educational purposes at www.pictures-of-cats.org (PoC). I want to thank Ryan G. Gates, DVM of the clinic for granting permission. If people want to use the picture please ask the clinic first.

HCM is the most common cause of heart disease in cats. It is also the common cause of spontaneous death in full-time indoor adult cats¹.

The walls of the ventricles thicken and the muscle fibers are replaced by scar tissue. The heart is weakened because the heart wall becomes less elastic and the chamber smaller.

Increased heart rate, heart murmur, loss of appetite, increased respiratory rate can be signs. In purebred cats the Bengal cat is known to be predisposed - HCM in Bengal cats. Other breeds are also predisposed including the ever popular Maine Coon - see MC health problems. Other purebred cats that can inherit this disease are Ragdolls, British SHs, American SHs and Devon Rexes. The disease usually affects cats from 1-5 yrs of age

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Note (1) Cat Owner's Veterinary Handbook ISBN 978-0-470-09530-0

Siberian Cat Picture

A strong, solid looking domestic cat, you can tell that this cat breed comes from somewhere cold. In this case it is East Russia. This is a heavier than average cat breed with a triple coat including a "tight" undercoat. You can see a large ruff on the cat in the Helmi Flick Siberian cat picture above. The fur above the hock is longer too. Breeders (or one breeder!) claims that this breed is hypoallergenic. It is not true. There a lot of talk about that subject in general. Watch out for misleading information. I bracket the Siberian with two similar cats; the Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat. This is a stately looking cat with an independent mind and strong limbs! The Siberian cat is still in Siberia as a random bred cat. They have been there for perhaps a thousand years. The cat fancy is quite strong in Russia so no doubt breeders turned the robust moggie into a purebred cat and from there it was exported to the USA (1990), the UK and Europe generally. You will see this cat in a wide range of colors and patterns. Read more if you wish....

Maine Coon Picture

Maine Coon "Shiner" - Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Shiner is a fantastic silver classic tabby. His tail is a massive plume of flashy hair. His ears have that pointed look because of the ear tufts that grow from the tips. He looks quite stocky but I think you will find that he is quite slender under that impressive coat. You can see why the Maine Coon is probably the world's most popular breed of cat. Add to the impressive appearance the fact that this cat breed was developed in the USA, which is the largest market for purebred cats and you can see where the popularity comes from. Like all the best things in the USA the Maine Coon originates in Britain! Just joking. This is the largest of the breeds registered by the CFA in my opinion and size counts. Read and see more...See another Maine Coon cat picture.

Brown Tabby Maine Coon Cat Picture

Brown tabby Maine Coon - Elixir - Photo by Tambako the Jaguar

This is a Swiss Maine Coon cat. His name is "Elixir". He has a very strong Maine Coon face with an equally strong classic "M" mark on the forehead. He has nice, sharply tipped ears and a fantastic shaggy ruff. His coat is brown tabby but it has a bright, golden or orange quality about it. The colour can be seen on his nose as well. There is a little bit of white there too so Elixir might be a tabby and white. This is a really nice cat picture.

RW, SGC Magnacats Jack Black

RW, SGC Magnacats Jack Black


RW, SGC Magnacats Jack Black (Regional Winner and Supreme Grand Champion). He is 1.2 year old black/white Maine Coon male (at Nov.2008) Breeder and Owner: Carol Campbell, Magnacats Maine Coons, Austin, Texas Photograph ©copyright Helmi Flick Click
the photo for a large format image - the image is strictly copyright - please respect it - thanks