Are Maine Coon Cats Good With Dogs? Why This Is A Great Idea

Are you one of those people who could literally have a hundred pets and still find another pet that looks just too cute to say no? Well, I am like this, but I somehow always get myself to be reasonable again, lol. If you are asking yourself: Are Maine Coon cats good with dogs? – you are probably thinking about getting a new friend for your Maine Coon or for your dog.

Maine Coon cats are known for being the most gentle and friendly cat breed. They are very good with kids, since they are very tolerant and sensitive. And they are also good with dogs, actually. Most Maine Coon cats tend to be a little shy at first, but after a couple of days, your Maine Coon will try to get in contact with your dog. Since Maine Coon cats are not aggressive at all, they are one of the best cat breeds that can be kept together with dogs.

There you have it. If you have a dog or a Maine Coon and you are planning on keeping these pets together, you should definitely go for it. If you want to know in detail why this is a great idea and what you should be looking out for when bringing the two together, continue reading.

Are Maine Coon Cats Good With Dogs? Yes!

As you know now, Maine Coon cats are very friendly, patient and tolerant. Most other cat breeds would, even if they tolerate the dog to a certain point, slap or bite the dog when they are tired of the dog doing something that annoys them. Not a Maine Coon, though. Most Maine Coon cats will simply go away instead of scratching the dog.

Actually, we have a house cat and a Maine Coon cat. The house cat is very grumpy at times and she can be really mean. Even though our regular house cat bites, scratches and hisses at our Maine Coon cat, I have never seen our Maine Coon cat being aggressive.

Our Maine Coon always stays calm and endures the mean behavior of our regular house cat until she calms down. No biting, no scratching, nothing. If our house cat does not calm down, our Maine Coon simply walks away … even though she is a little bit sad then.

So as you see, Maine Coon cats are known for being good with other animals and my personal experience totally backs this up.

Why Keeping A Maine Coon And A Dog Is A Great Idea

I own various pets for quite some time now and the more research I do about any pet, the more I come to the conclusion that most pets simply should not be kept without other pets. I would even say that most of the times, keeping only one pet of a species should be forbidden.

How many people keep a single bird and never get another bird for them? A lot of those birds get serious psychological problems. How many people keep a single cat even though it is recommended to keep two? Cats need another cat to be really happy.

I´d even say that even dogs should not be kept without another dog. This, of course depends on how much time you have for your dog.

I am not bashing anybody who just didn´t know this and is planning to get, for example, a second cat now, but I actually think this whole “I just get one cat” thing is a serious problem. It´s not good for a cat (nor for a bird, nor for a dog) to be alone too much without any company.

So even though dogs and cats speak a different language, they can get along and getting a new friend for your dog or for your Maine Coon is a great idea and I want to encourage you to do that. I mean, just look at these two in the video below.

Do Your Research On Both Pets

This is very important. Many pet owners think because they have a dog, they automatically know how to care for a cat as well, or the other way around. This can be a fatal mistake as cats and dogs have different needs. I highly recommend to do a thorough research on both pets before bringing them together. This will prevent problems in the future.

However I am sure you have done, or would do your research anyway.

Is Your Dog Okay With Cats?

If your dog, or the dog you are planning to get has a very strong hunting instinct, bringing that dog together with a cat could be a problem. Most dogs with a strong hunting instinct simply can´t resist chasing the cat. It is in their DNA and if you didn´t train your dog to resist, it will be very hard to keep the dog from doing that.

Even the nicest Maine Coon in the world will have enough after being chased by a dog for a couple of days. So you should really test if your dog is okay with cats.

Give Them Time

If you know that your dog gets along with cats well, this probably isn´t a thing that applies to your dog, but you should give them time to get used to each other. As I said, most Maine Coon cats are very shy at the begining, but get curious after a couple of days.

However it could also be that your Maine Coon is very afraid of the dog and needs more time to get used to it. This is okay though as long as both animals don´t hurt each other and give each other enough space. If this is the case, everything will be fine. It is just a matter of time.

When we got our Maine Coon, our regular house cat was really mad. She was hissing, growling and howling loudly the whole time. Luckily our Maine Coon gave her the space she needed and never attacked.

Our patient Maine Coon with our regular house cat

Now our regular house cat is still grumpy, but she definitely accepted the other cat and it is no problem for them to be together. Mostly because our Maine Coon is so laid back and accepts everything our regular house cat does. Just a quick update: Our Maine Coon and our regular house cat just started to play with each other from time to time.

Conclusion

So Maine Coon cats are great with dogs and I encourage you to bring both together because it is just better for them to have a partner. Even though, cat and cat or dog and dog might be a better combination, dogs and cats can still be very good to each other and even form a strong bond.

The Maine Coon cat is probably the best cat breed to make this happen. If you have a dog that gets along with cats, this will definitely turn out to be great.