Customer Reviews

This Is the Maine Coon Cat

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"This is the Maine Coon Cat" by Sharyn Bass was published in 1983 and if you check its photographs against a recent Cat Fanciers' Association yearbook, you'll see slight differences between the Maine Coons that won ribbons twenty years ago, and those cats that strut their stuff on current breeders' websites, or in the CFA Yearbook. Since Sharyn Bass's book has quite a lot of information on showing Coonies, you need to be aware of changes to the breed standards (or judges' preferences) if you're planning to show your own cat. The CFA and the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association (MCBFA) websites are probably the best places to research current Maine Coon breed standards.

The chapter on "Health Care" is not specific to Maine Coons and is also a bit dated, for instance in its treatment of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). There is actually a vaccine for this disease now, although the extent of protection provided by it is debatable.

An important omission in this book is a discussion of hereditary defects known to occasionally occur in Maine Coons. These include hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, cardiomyopathy and white-linked deafness. Two of my six Maine Coons have slight heart murmurs, and the vet informs me that the older of the two will have to start taking heart medication within the year.

Bass presents good, general purpose information on feeding, caring for, and breeding cats. There are detailed instructions on how to construct a queening box, which we followed, although matters didn't quite work out according to the book. Our queen ignored the box and had her litter under our bedspread.

One final quibble concerns Bass's photograph of a Maine Coon trying to use a litter box that was meant for smaller cats. His hindquarters and tail are hanging over the edge of the box, which negates the purpose of the whole thing, since deposits tend to end up on the floor. We learned this lesson the hard way, and now have super-sized boxes for our super-sized cats.

Although "This is the Maine Coon Cat" is well-written and quite detailed, I'd recommend "That Yankee Cat" by Marilis Hornidge as the most interesting book written about Maine Coons. It's a hundred-and-one pages of sheer delight for those of us who are actually lucky enough to be owned by one of these big old, shaggy down-Easterners.

I refer back to this book regularly, even though I own other books about Maine Coon cats. I thoroughly enjoyed the information on the history of the breed. The book describes the breed's show standards and contains pictures of Maine Coons throughout. The book provides descriptions of the different color classes of Maine Coons, and I have not seen such a complete description elsewhere. The book does contain information on raising Maine Coons that really applies to any breed, but I put that information to good use when my first litter was on the way. The only negative I have is the price; but considering how often I refer back to this book, I believe it was worth it.

After I bought my "coon" I bought this book in hopesof finding out about this great and mysterious breed. The book reallydid not tell me anything that I didn't already know by researchingarticles on-line before I bought her. It did show pictures of alltypes of MC's that I never knew existed, but not what I wanted toknow. I wanted to know more about their quirkiness, etc. that makesthem so unique and fascinating. I actually find more info from otherowners on-line! But, for people who are just learning about MC's, thisbook is probably a good start.

As seems to be the problem with all books about specific breeds, this one also fails miserably. The first half is about the history of the breed. But the second half is very generic about cats in general. Pretty pictures. Don't waste the money on this book.

I'm not a cat person. However, I rescued a kitten a few years ago, and since my Golden Retriever couldn't "live without him", we kept him. I had no idea what he was. Someone mentioned "Maine Coon" to me, and I did an Amazon search. Who would have thought that "our cat" would have been on the cover of this book? The book is a bit out-dated, but none the less a great reference tool. I learned a lot by reading it, and would recommend this purchase to anyone wanting or needing information on Maine Coon Cats.

Decent reference book, but as others have pointed out it is somewhat basic and definitely dated. If you were looking for a basic reference and find a used copy cheap, go for it! If you want an up to date definitive reference keep looking. We had our cats picked out when this arrived, and I found more recent breed info and photos online than this book provided. I still have the book and enjoyed the read.

I have a Beautiful Maine Coon named Heidi whom i adore & love. When i looked up books on her this one jumped out at me. It tells all about her. So much i didn't realize. Great Book. '

This a great hardback book for the serious Main Coon fan