I have a 10 month old grey Maine Coon named Newman. He has a VERY healthy appetite. I always have his bowl of Iams kitten chow out with his water. I feed him about a 1/4 tablespoon of canned food in the am and one before bed. No table food. It seems that he is going thru another growth spurt and he's really picking up some weight, (we ae calling him 2-ton Tony now!) although I don't know what he does weigh.

How big do MC's generally get? I also do not want to overfeed him. I've had other cats but this is my first MC and they are quite different.

Tx! ~Denise Krah

-- Anonymous, June 15, 1999

Answers

Maine Coons CAN get very big....particularly the males and more particularly if they have been neutered! Regarding poundage, all kinds of estimates are made of their "average weight", although these can be very inaccurate. My experience shows that good quality neutered male MCs are usually anywhere in the 14-18 lb. range when grown (and they can take up to 5 years to mature) but you may well see neutered males getting over 20 lbs. The main thing to check is whether your cat is FAT! Their ultimate high weight does not necessarily mean that their are overweight, as such. Take a look at your kitty.....does he look chubby or just "big" (i.e. does he have a flabby tummy hanging down or is he long, tall and muscular?). If you find him getting too fat, you may want to remove the free-feeding dry food and feed him a set amount each morning and night instead. However, if he isn't fat, just keep him exercised (a laser pen does a great job of keeping them running around!) and enjoy your Big Boy!

-- Anonymous, June 15, 1999