| II |
MCO |
Maine
Coon Standard |
| |
|
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
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 |
|
Substantial,
medium length to form a rectangle with the body. |
| Paws |
Large,
round and well tufted between the toes. |
| Tail |
|
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. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
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 |
| Recognized
Colour Varieties |
| Remarks |
The
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 |
MCO
d/e/f/g 01/02/03/09 |
| with
white |
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 |
|
| with
orange eyes |
|
| odd
eyed |
|
| with
green eyes |
|
