Talk:Maine Coon

message: The sources we cite on the origins of Maine Coon's in North America are exceptionally poor quality. I wasn't able to find much better, excepting this one, which is at least by-lined (but is still basically a blog). Suriname0 (talk) 16:17, 23 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Origin 

message: The part of the Health section on polydactyly is outdated/inaccurate. In fact, some of the references given (16, 20, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49) actually refute the claims. 
The Health section says that Polydactylism is “rarely seen in Maine Coons in the show ring since it is not allowed by competition standards.” This is outdated. Polydactyly has been present in the Maine Coon breed since it’s beginning (see references 20 and 49). The Maine Coon polydactyl trait has been historically accepted some organizations, and others have re-added it to the breed standard. More are working on getting it added. For example, TICA began accepting polydactyl Maine Coons in to full Championship status in 2015 (see reference 16).
The Health section also says the polydactyl gene “has shown to pose a threat to the cat's health. The polydactylism are genetic problems which are not encouraged for breeding.”
The type of polydactyly found in Maine Coons is isolated, and not known to be connected to any health issues or genetic problems. This is corroborated by references 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 in the article. ChicagoK9 (talk) 18:59, 27 June 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: It says it's not common in the show ring, it doesn't mention how common it is in the breed. Traumnovelle (talk) 22:48, 15 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Polydactyl info 

message: I will not present myself as an expert on Maine Coons - I am a veterinarian working with dogs and cats and this breed of cat is fairly uncommon in the area I work. That said, I have worked with a few and they have a very distinctive look. 
I will also note that in my professional experience, many, many pet owners with rescued domestic long haired cats (DLHs - regular domestic cats with long hair) will identify their cats as Maine Coons or Maine Coon crosses when they are almost certainly just regular long haired cats. It is basically a shared joke among veterinarians, and we're always excited to see a real one. 
With that in mind - I am not sure all the cats on this page are Maine Coons. Specifically the main image as of writing - the facial structure seems... inconsistent with the verified Maine Coons I have seen in practice, and more consistent with a DLH (there is a gallery at the bottom of the page that shows good examples of facial structure, and a somewhat suspect red tabby and silver tabby). Are there any die-hard Maine Coon people (like, breeders or showers that have experience with verified MCs) that monitor this page? Are these photos within reasonable variation of the breed or are they just random DLHs that well intentioned (but wrong) pet owners have thrown up on Wikimedia? The ones I am most suspicious about are the main image (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon#/media/File:Maine_Coon_cat_by_Tomitheos.JPG) and (to a lesser extent) the red tabby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon#/media/File:%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82.jpg) and silver tabby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon#/media/File:MaineCoonSilverTabby.jpg) at the bottom. Unless someone can demonstrate otherwise I think the main image should be changed. Connor Long (talk) 22:31, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: Can't answer for the others, but the silver tabby is a purebred Maine Coon with breeders code MCO 64 18 (source: it's my cat). Barry Wom (talk) 11:41, 22 August 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Photos on page - evidence these are Maine Coons?