The earlier ancestors of today’s domestic cats spread from southwest Asia and into Europe as early as 4400 B.C. The cats likely started hanging around farming communities in the Fertile Crescent about 8,000 years ago, where they settled into a mutually beneficial relationship as human rodent patrol. The first mention of the Maine Coon is made in Francis Simpson's, "The Book of the Cat" in 1902. In fact, a whole section is dedicated to this very old breed, written by F.R. Pierce. Here he asserts;
“After years of local competitions and adoration, the Maine Coon Cat was chosen as Best Cat at the first major cat show ever held in the United States. “Cosey,” a brown tabby female Maine Coon Cat, was awarded this distinction at the Madison Square Garden show held in NYC in May of 1895. The silver collar and medal awarded to Cosey is on display at the CFA headquarters in Alliance, Ohio. “
Phylogenetic map of cat breeds from Lipinski 2008.
The transition from adorned or glorified “Barn Cat” to pedigreed CFA finalist was neither an easy one nor did it happen quickly. The Maine Coon was all the rage in the early 20th century but lost popularity after the introduction of other long-haired breeds to the U.S.
The Maine Coon Cat was even thought extinct in the 1950’s. Luckily, rumors of their death were greatly exaggerated and thanks to the dedication and perseverance of breeders, the Maine Coon Cat Breed was accepted for CFA championship status in 1976. At present, sometimes the most significant number of entries in a CFA show will be Maine Coon Cats and it is not unusual for one of them to be named Best Cat in a ring or even of the entire show. Recently, GC, NW, Highlander Tony Bennett of Wenlock achieved one of CFA’s top awards: Highest Scoring Cat in Premiership.
Cosey, The Maine Coon
Cosey was awarded a silver medal marked “National Cat Show, 1895,” with a cat face in the middle, a silver cat collar engraved “National Cat Show, 1895, won by Cosey,” and a picture of “Cosey” wearing a collar ribbon marked “National Cat Show.”
Cosey was awarded a silver medal marked “National Cat Show, 1895,” This silver collar, an important piece of cat fancy history, was purchased by the CFA Foundation for its Jean Baker Rose Memorial Library housed at the CFA Central Office. This purchase was made possible thanks to a generous donation from the National Capital Cat Show.
Foundation Cats & Catteries
The top 5 of the Maine Coon foundation cats are:
Andy Katt of Heidi Ho – about 20%
Bridget Katt of Heidi Ho – about 20%
Dauphin de France of Tati-Tan – about 15%
Tatiana of Tati-Tan – about 8%
Whittemore Smokie Joe (or Smokie Joe of Whittemore) – about 7%
Some of the earliest Maine Coon Catteries include:
Abnaki - Liz Bicknell
Havenwood - Patricia McIntire
Heidi Ho - Connie Condit
Highmeadow and Kent - Diane Ziessow
Illya - George Andre
Jo Stad - Rod & Betty Ljostad
Le Beau Minu/Mountview - Carol & Tom Pedley
Mor-Ace - Anthony Morace
Norwynde - Lillias Vanderhoff
Quan Yin - Cynthia Wilson
Sundar - Phyllis Voth
Tanstaafl - Beth Hicks
Tati-Tan - Sonya Stanislow
War-Tell - Florence Wartell
Whittemore - Ethelyn Whittemore
Woods End/Woodriver - Diane Reynolds
Yankee Cats - Judith Ansell