With this breed, the grown cat is the one you can actually know.
Maine Coon
Maine Coon
Maine Coon
Maine Coon
Maine Coon
Maine Coon mix
Maine Coon
Maine Coon mix
Buying a Maine Coon kitten means accepting a long list of unknowns. This breed keeps growing for three to four years, so a kitten is a forecast that takes a very long time to resolve. Every cat in the grid above has already resolved it. That is the honest case for adopting a grown Maine Coon, and it is stronger here than for almost any other breed.
Can you know this before you commit?
Five of six, answerable before you commit. Every one of them is a guess when the cat is twelve weeks old.
Short answer
Maine Coons tend to develop heart muscle thickening young, at around two and a half years. An adult that is older than that with a recent clear scan has come through the window in which this breed usually declares. A kitten has not.
Researchers compared 344 cats with the condition across five breeds. The median age at diagnosis was 2.5 years for Maine Coons, against 8 years for domestic shorthairs and 11 for Persians.[1] In most breeds this is a problem of middle age. In this one it shows up early, which is uncomfortable news for a kitten buyer and genuinely useful news for you.
Here is why. A kitten seller can only offer you claims about the parents, and those parents may themselves have been scanned before they were old enough for it to mean much. With an adult cat you can ask about the animal itself. An echocardiogram, an ultrasound scan of the heart, on a five-year-old cat is real information about that cat. The ACVIM consensus statement calls the scan the gold standard for diagnosis.[2]
Two practical notes. If the cat has never been scanned, that is not a reason to walk away, it is a reason to book one after you adopt and to budget for it. And do not treat a normal stethoscope check as screening, because many affected cats have nothing abnormal to hear.[2]
Short answer
A Maine Coon needs a larger version of nearly everything. The long coat mats without regular brushing, so grooming becomes a routine rather than an occasional job. None of that is difficult, and all of it is easier to plan for when you can already see the cat.
Weight is the part that ripples outward. Researchers measuring how cats load their limbs noted that Maine Coons appear over-represented for orthopaedic problems of the hind limb. They named two: hip dysplasia, a badly fitting hip joint, and patellar luxation, a kneecap that slips out of place.[3] When you meet the cat, watch it jump down from something and land. Ask whether a vet has ever looked at its hips.
On cost generally, a 2025 study put lifetime cat ownership at $20,073 to $47,106 across 15 years and found owners typically predict under $6,000.[4] A Maine Coon sits toward the top of that range. Knowing it now is better than discovering it later, which is how a lot of cats end up needing a second home.
Short answer
On Petmeetly you are usually talking to the person the cat lives with right now. Nobody knows it better, and no document replaces what they can tell you.
Questions that predict your life with the cat
Ask to meet the cat where it currently lives if that is possible. You will learn more in ten minutes watching a Maine Coon move around its own home than in an hour of messages.
Short answer
Usually because of something in the owner’s life rather than something wrong with the cat. Cost and size surprise people, and a big long-coated cat asks more of a household than a first-time owner expects.
A study following more than two thousand relinquished cats over two decades found that owner-related reasons outweighed behaviour problems. The researchers thought that mattered enough to put it in the title of the paper.[5] Housing that no longer allows pets, a change in health, a change in circumstances. None of them are the cat’s fault.
Most rehoming on Petmeetly happens directly between owners rather than through an institution, which is an advantage worth using. The person handing the cat over has lived with it every day. They can tell you how it behaves when the doorbell goes and whether it hates being brushed, and no intake form would ever capture either.
When to slow down
Short answer
Start small. One quiet room, the litter tray, the food it already eats, and somewhere to hide. Let the cat decide when the rest of the house happens.
How long settling takes varies so much between cats that any confident number is invented. Some are on the sofa the first evening and some take weeks. Ask the previous owner how this particular cat has handled change before, because that is the only real evidence you have.
If you are still deciding between an adult and a kitten, the trade is simple, and with this breed it is unusually lopsided. An adult is a known quantity you can assess before committing. A kitten is a three-year forecast. You can see Maine Coon kittens listed for sale if you are set on starting from the beginning.
Petmeetly connects owners to each other. Talk to the person who has lived with the cat, and choose the one whose real size, coat and temperament suit the home you actually have.
Because almost everything you are guessing at with a kitten is already visible. Maine Coons take three to four years to finish growing, so an adult has reached its real size, coat and temperament. You are choosing a cat you can see rather than a forecast.
You can get closer than with any kitten. Ask whether the cat has had an echocardiogram, an ultrasound scan of the heart, and when. A recent scan describes this actual cat, while a kitten comes with claims about its parents instead.
Earlier than most breeds. Across 344 cats from five breeds the median age at diagnosis was 2.5 years for Maine Coons, against 8 years for domestic shorthairs. An adult that is past that age with a clean recent scan has come through the breed’s typical window.
No. Age brings information, which is the opposite of a drawback. An older cat has a known history, a settled personality and, if it has been scanned, a documented heart. Ask for vet records and read them rather than guessing from the year of birth.
Whatever the cat in front of you already is, which is exactly the point. Rather than reading size charts, weigh the cat or ask its current owner what it weighs. A cat over three years old has essentially finished growing.
Yes, and it is the cost people forget. The coat is long and dense, so it needs regular brushing to stop mats forming, particularly behind the legs and under the belly. Ask the current owner how often they groom and whether the cat tolerates it.
Generally yes, because everything scales with the cat. More food, bigger litter tray, sturdier furniture, and grooming either in time or at a groomer. A 2025 study put lifetime cat ownership at $20,073 to $47,106, with owners predicting under $6,000.
They are over-represented for hind limb problems including hip dysplasia, a badly fitting hip joint, and a kneecap that slips out of place. Watch how the cat moves, jumps and lands, and ask whether a vet has ever assessed its hips.
Ask why the cat is being rehomed, what vet care it has had, how it behaves with visitors, and whether it has lived with children or other animals. Ask about grooming and litter habits too. These answers predict your life with the cat.
Usually because of something in the owner’s life rather than something wrong with the cat. A study of more than two thousand relinquished cats found owner-related reasons outweighed behaviour problems, which is the finding its authors put in the title.
It varies enough that any confident number is made up. Give the cat one quiet room with its litter tray, food and a hiding place, and let it come out on its own schedule. Ask the current owner how it handled its last change of scene.
Not for anything that matters to you. Registration papers describe ancestry, not health or temperament, and they change nothing about how the cat lives in your home. Vet records are the paperwork worth asking for.
Sources
Fact-checked against peer-reviewed feline cardiology and relinquishment research, and against the ACVIM consensus statement on feline cardiomyopathies.
Real stories from cat owners who found perfect companions on Petmeetly
Very grateful to Petmeetly! I found Cola, a 10-year-old black cat who is experienced with dogs and the outdoors, and is so affectionate and sweet. He’s settling in slowly, as cats do, and gaining more confidence every day. His previous owner so generously gave me his scratchers, food bowl, bed, remaining food, litter box, brush, water fountain, and even his adorable bow-tie collar. He was very sad to part with him, but may visit to say one last goodbye ☺️ I hadn’t wanted to go through shelters, and Petmeetly felt so much more personal. I was able to learn about Cola’s health, past life, and his likes and needs. Keep doing amazing work — many blessings to you! 🙌
Anastasia
Victoria, AU
Everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, he lived too far away and had no means of transportation.
Leyna Tomlinson
Florida, US
Hey, Alisa has adopted Zeus
Rebecca Jaime
Illinois, US
Find loving cats of various breeds waiting for their forever homes
171+ Maine Coon cats are on Petmeetly. Talk to the person who knows each one best.
Meet Maine Coons near you
