It’s hard to imagine such a large feline as simply a house cat. Indeed, the Maine Coon were primarily used as rat-hunting and mouse-hunting cats in farms, ships, and shipyards. Their physique, as well as their intelligence and friendliness, made them an ideal pet and partner for people at the time, easily rivaling and surpassing dogs in terms of rodent hunting. With the passage of time, however, the need for rat-hunting cats slowly decreased and once the long-haired breeds came from the east, people readily accepted them as house pets over Maine Coons due to their uniqueness. In recent years, Maine Coons started to stand out as “unique” compared to other house cats, thanks to their impressive physique, thus making a resurgence.