Alright, let’s talk about this Maine Coon hair thing. Someone asked me the other day, “Hey, can you get Maine Coons with short hair?” And honestly, it got me thinking because you always picture them as these big, fluffy giants, right?
So, I decided to dig into it myself. My first step was just remembering all the Maine Coons I’ve actually seen or pictures I’ve stumbled across over the years. They were all pretty majestic, long fur, bushy tails, the works. None of them screamed ‘short hair’ to me.
Then I started looking around more actively. I spent a good chunk of time scrolling through images online, specifically searching for anything labeled “short hair Maine Coon.” You know what I found? Mostly pictures of regular, long-haired Maine Coons, maybe some that were groomed down a bit, or kittens whose coats hadn’t fully fluffed out yet. And a lot of cats that looked like they might be mixes. They had some Maine Coon features, maybe the size or the face shape, but the coat was definitely shorter and different.
My Process Went Something Like This:
- Recalling experience: Just thinking back on actual Maine Coons I knew or saw. All long-haired.
- Image searching: Specifically looking for pics labeled ‘short hair Maine Coon’. Led mostly to long-haired cats or potential mixes.
- Reading up (casually): I glanced over some basic info from breeder sites and cat club descriptions. Not the super technical stuff, just the general descriptions.
What I gathered pretty quickly is that the long, shaggy, water-resistant fur is a defining trait of the breed. It’s part of their history, helping them survive harsh New England winters back in the day. It’s literally written into the breed standard – the official description of what a Maine Coon is supposed to look like.
So, what about those cats people think are short-haired Maine Coons? My best guess, based on what I saw and read, is usually one of a few things:
- They’re mixed breed. They might have one Maine Coon parent, inheriting some traits but not the full coat. This seemed the most common explanation.
- They’re young. Maine Coon kittens don’t start out with their massive adult coats. It takes time to grow all that fluff.
- It’s just misidentification. Some large domestic cats with slightly longer-than-normal short hair might get mistaken for Maine Coons, especially if they have tufted ears or a big build.
So, after poking around and relying on my own observations, I landed here: purebred, recognized Maine Coons are built for fluff. That long, flowing coat is part of the deal. If you see something that looks like a Maine Coon but with definitely short hair, chances are you’re looking at a handsome mix or maybe just a cat that shares a few similar features. Finding a true, purebred short-haired Maine Coon? Seems like that’s not really a thing based on everything I could find and what the breed is known for.
