Maine Coon Lifespan – How Long Maine Coon Cats Live

The Maine Coon, also known as the gentle giants of cats, make for great pets. However, how long Maine Coon cats live is affected by various factors. Maine Coon lifespan depends on how well you care for them, in addition to any genetic health problems. On average, Main Coon lifespan is 12 to 15 years.

Maine Coon Personality And Needs







Maine Coon
Weight8-18 pounds
Height10-16 inches
Lifespan10-13 years
PersonalityFriendly, Social, Affectionate
Good with kidsYes
ColorsBlack, Red, White
PatternsBi-color, Tri-color, Tortoiseshell, Calico
PlayfulnessHigh

It’s important you know what your cat breed’s specific needs are in order to provide them with a happy, quality life.

Your Maine Coon’s personality and needs consists of the following points:

  • Highly intelligent – Thanks to their intelligence, Maine Coons are easy to train. However, this means that they need daily mental stimulation
  • Affectionate and social – The Maine Coon needs affection to stay happy and healthy. In addition, they also need social contact with their owner. This could be as simple as you talking to your cat
  • Active and energetic – It’s a well-known fact in the cat world that Maine Coons are very active. They are also known as the “dogs of the cat world”. Therefore, they not only need entertaining toys but also need a companion to play with
  • Exercise – As mentioned Maine Coons are very active. These big cats would require minimum of 15 minutes exercise per day

You can affect how long Maine Coon cats live, as long as you understand their needs and provide them with the necessary care.

Learn more about Maine Coon’s features and temperament here Maine Coon Characteristics – What Is A Maine Coon

Maine Coon Lifespan

Although, the average Maine Coon lifespan is 12 to 15 years, in some cases Maine Coon can live up to 16 years. Moreover, there are records of Maine Coon that has lived up to 20 years of age.

Although, a healthy breed, how long Maine Coon cats live can be greatly affected by how well they are looked after.

It’s essential pet owners know the factors that affect Maine Coon lifespan. By focusing on these factors and taking extra care, you could be prolonging your Maine Coon’s life.

The factors that can affect Maine Coon lifespan include:

  • Diet and weight
  • Exercise
  • Love and affection
  • Genetic health diseases
  • Indoor vs Outdoor

Maine Coon Diet

As a pet owner, it’s important you know what is the right diet for your Maine Coon. By feeding your cat a well-balanced and nutritious diet, you’d be providing them with energy to play and improving their health. Moreover, a good diet could affect how long Maine Coon cats live and improve Maine Coon lifespan.

The following is what’s recommended for your Maine Coon diet:

  • Feed your Main Coon that is fat free
  • Main source should be high quality dry kibble. Overall, dry food is a better option than wet food. The reason for that is crunching on kibble reduces the build-up of tartar on the teeth. However, 80% kibble to 20% wet food mix could also be a well-balanced diet
  • Feeding your Maine Coon a raw diet could be very beneficial. By avoiding processed pet foods, you’d improving the Maine Coon lifespan

Maine Coon Weight

Many first-time Maine Coon owners make the same mistake when it comes to the cat’s diet. Maine Coon’s average weight ranges between 10 to 16 pounds. However, they grow and fill out at a much slower speed.

Therefore, the cat would appear underfed to many unexperienced cat owners.

Whilst trying to correct the “problem”, you’d be doing the opposite and overfeeding the young cat which could result in it being overweight.

By being overweight, your Maine Coon won’t be able to do many of its favourite activities. This can result in your Maine Coon’s lifespan negatively affected in the long run.

If your Maine Coon becomes overweight, the consequences could include:

  • Lack of activity which can result in anxiety, depression and joint disease
  • Obesity can lead to other diseases such as diabetes

In order to avoid weight problems, it’s recommended you put your Maine Coon on a high protein, low-calorie and low-fat diet. This approach is especially useful in households where the owner doesn’t have enough time to play with the cat and keep them active.

The right diet can even fix Maine Coon health problems such as Renal Failure (kidney disease).

Exercise And Fulfilment

As Maine Coons are very intelligent cats, they would require daily mental stimulation in order to have happy, healthy and long life.

The lack of mental stimulation can lead to boredom and unhappiness. However, in some cases it can also result in developing health issues that can shorten your Maine Coon lifespan.

Follow these tips in order to provide your Maine Coon with fulfilment and mental stimulation:

  • Just by speaking to your cat and engaging, you’d be mentally stimulating them
  • Paying attention to them such as petting and playing is important to your Maine Coon’s life
  • Maine Coons need minimum of 15 min exercise a day. This could be in the form of playing together with toys or letting them play on a cat tree
  • Maine Coons are known for leash walking. This can be a good way to exercise your cat and spend some quality time together
  • Even when they grow older, Maine Coons require exercise to stay fit and healthy. It’s your responsibility to challenge your cat and ensure it stays active

The Maine Coon needs exercise and fulfilment to stay happy and healthy. By providing them this, you’d be possibly prolonging your Maine Coon lifespan.

Love And Affection

Although, Maine Coons are very proud and independent, they still need love and affection to live a happy and long life.

By giving your Maine Coon love and affection, you’d be improving the quality of their life and prolonging it.

Maine Coons are known for being very loyal and affectionate towards anyone that cares for them. Therefore, you might be giving them attention and affection but you’d be receiving it back.

If you fail to provide your Maine Coon with that care, it could lead to health problems such as stress. By being in constant stress, it can result in your Maine Coon developing other health problems and changes in behaviour.

All you need to remember is – the happier and loved your Maine Coon is, the better and longer their life will be.

Genetic Health Conditions

One of the main factors that affect how long Maine Coon cats live is genetic disease.

As most animals, Maine Coons are predisposed to certain health problems. The following are the illnesses that can affect your Maine Coon lifespan:

  • Hip Dysplasia – As Maine Coons are a large breed, they can suffer from this disease. Furthermore, the disease can progress into arthritis. Although unpleasant, your Maine Coon would do just fine living with it as long as it’s managed. However, if left untreated it could lead to paralysis
  • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a heart disease that affects some Maine Coons. If the case is severe, it could seriously affect your Maine Coon lifespan and quality of life
  • Spinal muscular atrophy is a common genetic disease found in Maine Coon kittens. This health condition causes the muscle development to slow down and weaken. Having this condition can negatively affect how long Maine Coon cats live
  • Dental disease is a common health problem in this cat breed. However, this is easily preventable by cleaning your cat’s teeth. However, if this is not done, it could lead to heart and liver issues
  • Obesity. This happens especially when unexperienced Maine Coon owners overfeed them in the first year

Maine Coon Health Care

Many cats hide their disease and don’t show when they are in pain. Therefore, it’s essential that you take your Maine Coon for frequent vet checks. The absolute minimum recommended is once a year.

Furthermore, taking your cat to have their teeth professionally cleaned can help you avoid any dental health problems.

By taking your cat to the vet frequently, you’d be:

  • Preventing diseases from developing and catching them on time
  • Prolonging your Maine Coon lifespan
  • Providing your cat with a quality life that is pain free

Indoor vs Outdoor

Another factors that can affect how long Maine Coon cats live, is if they are indoor or outdoor cat.

It’s thought that indoor cats have a longer lifespan. The reasons for that include the following:

  • If allowed outside, your Maine Coon could eat animals or plants that could make them sick
  • Being hit by a car
  • Getting attacked by another animal

Although dangerous, letting your Maine Coon roam outside can have some benefits.

In the early 19th century, Maine Coons used to be mousers or a farm cats. Even if they don’t have the same purpose, their instinct and need to hunt, remains.

The benefits of allowing your Maine Coon outside include:

  • Their instinct to hunt keeps your Maine Coon active and mentally stimulated. By letting them outside, your Maine Coon would have the opportunity to hunt for small animals such as birds, mice and even bugs
  • Outside events such as cats chasing one another could be beneficial and sharpen your Maine Coon’s senses
  • By exploring the outside, your Maine Coon would always be learning new things and being mentally stimulated

However, the negatives might outweigh the positives when it comes to letting your Maine Coon outside. In this case, there is a way to substitute that need to explore and climb.

If your Maine Coon is going to be strictly indoors cat, you should purchase a cat tree. This can be a great way for your cat to exercise, stay active and give them a taste of outdoors life.

Being indoors or outdoors can affect your Maine Coon lifespan. As mentioned earlier, strictly indoor cats tend to live longer because the environment is safer.

On the other hand, outside is not a stable and safe environment, filled with various threats such as other animals, toxins and more.

Conclusion

As discussed in this article, how long Maine Coon cats live depends on various factors such as well-balanced diet and exercise. Therefore, prolonging your Maine Coon lifespan and providing them with quality life is not complicated.

The Maine Coon cat needs a caring owner who has enough time to play with them and be affectionate. In addition to that, you should also be aware of possible genetic health conditions.

By taking your Maine Coon cat for regular vet check-ups, you would be aware of what’s going with your cat’s health.

Top Tips

  • Regular vet check ups
  • Keep Maine Coon indoors
  • Balanced and nutritious diet
  • Playtime and mental stimulation
  • Exercise and playtime
  • Affection and quality time
  • Check and clean their teeth regularly

unusualpetsguide

My name is Iliyana and I'm a passionate animal lover and pet owner. As there is significantly less information online about unusual and exotic pets, I decided to found this website and recruit expert writers to help pet owners.

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