Maine coon

At first glance, you might think the Maine Coon Cat is a dog in drag, and with good reason. This is a large cat. At ten months, my nephews Maine Coon, George, was nineteen pounds of muscular machismo and had taken a lion's share of awards at the Empire Cat Show. My advice for keeping a Maine Coon in keen shape is to feed it a high biological value protein nutritionally balanced cat food. Three to four times daily (no free feeding). If you are using a supermarket label cat food, add a well rounded supplement with vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fats. This will supply correctly proportioned amounts of energy, keeping the cat muscular and active. You do not want a fat Maine Coon, believe me - obesity problems aside, you could get a hernia just carrying him to the vet! As big as Maine Coons are, they are gentle, loving,  adaptable to all sorts of household situations and climates, and they make terrific pets. A regular, weekly combing should be enough to keep their coats tangle free, but you may want to add brewers yeast or torula yeast for that "extra" hair conditioning, and don't forget hair ball treatments!

Disease susceptibility