If you love large breed cats, then the Maine Coons It’s the cat breed for you. However, you also need to be aware of which ones acquired or congenital/hereditary diseases this breed can suffer. Because they are beautiful, huge (especially the males), long-haired, but they can suffer from various serious pathologies.
And no: all those beautiful, large, long-haired cats that you find strays around are not Maine Coons. These are simply large, long-haired tabbies. Also because those who have a Maine Coon usually keep it sheltered at home, so here there are hardly any purebred Maine Coons that go around mating and giving birth to stray Maine Coon litters.
Maine Coon: everything you need to know before adopting a cat of this breed
The main acquired diseases of the Maine Coon
The Maine Coon is one large cat breed. Consider that males can easily weigh 8-10 kg as adults (females remain a little smaller, around 5-6 kg). I’m among them longest-lived cat breeds (although not as much as the highlander felines, the Siamese), easily reaching 12-15 years (although there are even older specimens).
However they can be easily affected by different acquired diseasesexactly as happens with cats of other breeds or crossbreeds. For example, any cat, whether purebred or not, can contract FIV, FeLV, FIP, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirosis, feline viral panleukopenia, hemobartonellosis… (READ also: What does it mean when cats do cats tremble?)
These are, therefore, the acquired diseases that we will most commonly see in Maine Coons (consider that some of these diseases could recognize both acquired and congenital or hereditary causes):
The most common congenital and hereditary diseases of the Maine Coon
Then there are different ones congenital diseases (i.e. present since birth) which hereditary (i.e. that recognize a mechanism of hereditary transmission from parents, grandparents or ancestors) that can affect our Maine Coon. Indeed, compared to mixed breeds (call them European or tabby, whatever you prefer), it is possible to see a greater incidence of these pathologies in purebred cats.
Consider, then, that for some of these diseases (although not all) there are genetic tests that allow you to establish whether that subject is ill (the symptoms do not always appear during the first months of life), a healthy carrier (his/her DNA contains the diseased genes, but the cat does not develop the pathology, it only passes it on to its offspring) or is healthy. This is important to be able to exclude sick breeders and healthy carriers from breeding, so as not to continue giving birth to sick kittens.
Cardiovascular diseases
Muscular, osteoarticular and neurological diseases
Ocular diseases
Other diseases
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