We found our kitten at a localo Sonic, got her spayed, got her shots, and named her Lucy after Lucille Ball because of her orangish-yellow coat. Lucy is VERY luvable, plume-like tail, gorgeous green eyes, and almost lion-like features around her face. She loves water - when the kitchen sink runs, lucy's right there and now only drinks fresh ice-water, and another characteristic that i havent heard anything about - she is VERY balanced. She just sits on her hind legs and can sit there for, well, as long as she wants. She's my baby and was just curious as to whether or not for SURE she is a Maine Coon. Thanx!

-- Anonymous, December 25, 2000

Answers

Nikki, What you wrote describing your cat's love of water sounds like my Maine Coon cat, Albert. Whenever I turn the sink tap water on to brush my teeth, Albert comes running up and starts to try to lap up the water coming from the sink. Then as I am brushing, he tries to lap the water up from the toothbrush itself! He doesn't stop until I stop the motion with my hand. When I take a bath, he always tries to drink the water (as yukky as that sounds) in the bathtub. He also walks around the perimeter of the tub. I think that what you describe is one charateristic of Maine Coons that I've heard others talk about. I think in the cat's mind is a running brook or stream outdoors, and in their evolution as a hardy outdoor cat, they came to be comfortable with and even enjoy drinking water (unlike almost all other breeds). Also if your cat has large oval-shape greenish eyes and hairy pointed eartips and is large with a furry tummy, you almost certainly have a Maine Coon. You might try an experiment- try crumpling a small paper bag and tossing it a small distance- if she runs to fetch it, then I'm certain she's a Maine Coon. I haven't seen my cat balance himself on his hind legs, so I can't really say anything about that. Hope this helps!

Scott

-- Anonymous, December 26, 2000