page_title: Maine Coon
section_title: Health
hierarchical_section_title: Maine Coon / Health
caption_attribution_description: English: An all-white Maine Coon (domestic cat).
context_page_description: The Maine Coon is the largest domesticated cat breed. It has a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the US state of Maine, where it is the official state cat.
  No records of the Maine Coon's exact origins and date of introduction to the United States exist, so several competing hypotheses have been suggested, the most credible suggestion being that it is closely related to the Norwegian Forest cat and the Siberian. The breed was popular in cat shows in the late 19th century, but its existence became threatened when long-haired breeds from overseas were introduced in the early 20th century. The Maine Coon has since made a comeback and is now one of the most popular cat breeds in the United States.
  The Maine Coon is a large and sociable cat, hence its nickname, "the gentle giant". It is characterized by a prominent ruff along its chest, robust bone structure, rectangular body shape, an uneven two-layered coat with longer guard hairs over a silky satin undercoat, and a long, bushy tail. The breed's colors vary widely, with only lilac and chocolate disallowed for pedigree.
context_section_description: Pet insurance data obtained from a study during years 2003–2006 in Sweden puts the median lifespan of the Maine Coon at > 12.5 years. 74% lived to 10 years or more and 54% lived to 12.5 years or more. Maine Coons are generally a healthy and hardy breed that is adapted to survive the challenging climate of New England. The most severe threat is feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common heart disease seen in cats, whether purebred or not. In Maine Coons, it is thought to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Middle-aged to older cats and males are thought to be predisposed to the disease. HCM is a progressive disease and can result in heart failure, paralysis of the hind legs due to clot embolization originating in the heart, and sudden death.
  A specific mutation that causes HCM is seen in Maine Coons for which testing services are offered. Of all the Maine Coons tested for the MyBPC mutation at the Veterinary Cardiac Genetics Lab at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, approximately one-third tested positive.  Not all cats that test positive will have clinical signs of the disease, and some Maine Coon cats with clinical evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy test negative for this mutation, strongly suggesting that a second mutation exists in the breed. The HCM prevalence was found to be 10.1% (95% CI 5.8 -14.3% ) in this study. Early growth and nutrition, larger body size, and obesity may be environmental modifiers of genetic predisposition to HCM.
  Another potential health problem is spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), another genetically inherited disease which causes the loss of the spinal-cord neurons which activate the skeletal muscles of the trunk and limbs. Symptoms are normally seen within 3–4 months of age and result in muscle atrophy, muscle weakness, and a shortened lifespan. A test is offered to detect the genes responsible for SMA.
  Hip dysplasia is an abnormality of the hip joint which can cause crippling lameness and arthritis. The cats most commonly affected with hip dysplasia tend to be males of the larger, big-boned breeds such as Persians and Maine Coons. The relatively smaller size and weight of cats frequently results in symptoms that are less pronounced. X-rays submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) between 1974 and 2011 indicates that 24.3% of Maine Coons in the database were dysplastic. The Maine Coon is the only cat breed listed in the database. The hip dysplasia registry (public and private) collected by OFA through April 2015 also showed that there were 2,732 cats got hip dysplasia, and 2,708 (99.1%) were Maine Coons. Dysplasia was more severe in bilateral than unilateral cases and with increasing age.
  Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is an inherited condition in cats that causes multiple cysts (pockets of fluid) to form in the kidneys. These cysts are present from birth. Initially they are very small, but they grow larger over time and may eventually disrupt kidney function, resulting in kidney failure. While renal cysts are observed with a low incidence in Maine Coons, PKD appears to be a misnomer in this particular breed. In a recent study spanning 8 years, renal cysts were documented by ultrasound in 7 of 187 healthy Maine Coons enrolled in a pre-breeding screening programme. The cysts were mostly single and unilateral (6/7, 85.7%) small (mean 3.6 mm in diameter) and located at corticomedullary junction (4/6, 66.7%), thus different in size, number, and location from those observed in Persian-related breeds. In the same study, not only did all six Maine Coon cats with renal cysts test negative for the PKD1 mutation, proving the disease in these cats to be unrelated to the PKD observed in Persians and related breeds, but gene sequencing of these cats failed to demonstrate any common genetic sequences. ‘Maine Coon PKD’ thus appears to represent a form of juvenile nephropathy other than AD-PKD. The presence of renal cysts in the absence of other changes, does not appear to negatively impact the patients' quality of life, as those f
caption: An all-white Maine Coon
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