How Long Does It Take For A Maine Coon To Reach Full Size?

Let me guess, you got a Maine Coon, probably around one year ago and now you are asking yourself why the hell your Maine Coon is still that small. Let´s be honest here, most people are excited to have a cat that gets as huge as a dog. When we got our Maine Coon kitten we were also excited about having a huge cat in the future. However after one year we got worried, because our Maine Coon was still pretty small. Let me explain you why.

Most Maine Coons need three to four years to reach full size. While most Maine Coons can get over 3 feet long and weigh over 26 lbs, they grow very slowly. This means that even if your Maine Coon is over one year old, you might still have a relatively small cat. They really start to get close to their full size by the end of the second year of age. Not all Maine Coons get that big. Especially in the U.S. there are a lot of people who sell Maine Coon hybrid kittens as purebred Maine Coon kitten. Those cats are normally way smaller and overall different in appearance from purebred Maine Coons. 

This is your answer in short. There is definitely more to know about Maine Coon size. Continue reading!

How Long Does It Take For A Maine Coon To Reach Full Size?

As I said, most Maine Coons need three to four years to reach full size. They grow very slowly and because of this a one year old Maine Coon cat seems to be pretty small compared to a regular house cat, for example, that is fully grown with one year of age.

Male and female Maine Coon cats can get over 3 feet long and they can weigh over 26 lbs. Female Maine Coon cats are often smaller than male ones. So if you want to get a huge Maine Coon, you should go for a Male. Even though the females are huge, too. When it comes to the size, choosing the right breeder and other factors can make the difference between getting a cat that gets huge and getting a cat that stays small compared to other Maine Coons.

Here are a couple of tips on how to make sure that your Maine Coon growths at a good rate and how to make sure that your Maine Coon has the potential to become huge.

How To Make Sure That Your Maine Coon Grows Well

There are a couple of things you have to keep in mind when getting a Maine Coon kitten. As you know now, it is absolutely okay if your Maine Coon is not that big with one or two years of age.

You can accelerate growth, though. Feeding the right food to your Maine Coon is key here and that is why you should always make sure to get the best food possible. A lot of people even recommend to feed raw food to accelerate growth. This doesn´t mean that you should constantly only feed raw food, but it is great too feed it from time to time. Young chickens deliver a great deal of energy which your Maine Coon needs to grow.

Neutering Or Spaying Your Maine Coon

When your Maine Coon is 6 to 8 months old, it will reach sexual maturity. They are constantly looking for partners. Even if your cat is an indoor cat, it will look for a partner. This leads to marking the territory and constant meowing from time to time.

Looking for a partner requires a lot of energy. This means that during this time your Maine Coon will not grow very well, because it needs too much energy for meowing, marking the territory, running through your house restlessly and rolling over the floor.

If you decide to spay or neuter your Maine Coon, your Maine Coon will definitely grow quicker after that. When we neutered our Maine Coon, Maze, she immediately became way bigger, way heavier.

By the way, before we have done that we were also asking ourselves why Maze wasn´t growing properly. So you see, this can make a difference.

Does Every Maine Coon Get Huge?

Every Maine Coon owner hopes that their Maine Coon becomes a very large cat. There is nothing wrong about that, even though a lot of people say that the size doesn´t matter. The size does matter if size is important to you. So don´t be ashamed to say that one reason why you got a Maine Coon is, because they get so huge.

Unfortunately not all Maine Coons get that big. There are a lot of breeders that breed relatively small Maine Coon cats. This happens often when the breeder is not that experienced or just does it as a hobby. Further there are a lot of breeders that sell kittens as Maine Coons even though they are not Maine Coons.

There are a lot of people who sell Maine Coon hybrids as Maine Coon cats and unaware people buy those kittens thinking that they would get a majestic and huge Maine Coon cat. Often you can clearly see that those kittens are not Maine Coons, but sometimes you can´t really tell at the beginning, but after a year it is clear that this is not a Maine Coon. (I don´t want to bash hybrids here. What makes me angry are scammers.)

Why do those people do that? The reason for that is simple. Maine Coons are pretty expensive and by saying that you are selling Maine Coons you can instantly demand more money for a kitten. However those people always demand less money then a respected breeder, so that buyers think they would make a great deal when buying one of those kittens.

How Can You Avoid Being Scammed?

There are numerous respected Maine Coon breeders in the world. All of them can show you the family tree of their Maine Coons. Most of the times you can even see both parents, so you can get an idea of how your Maine Coon is going to look after 3 to 4 years.

Those breeders definitely demand more money. Maine Coon cats can cost between $1000 and $1200, but the price is worth it. Those breeders only breed with beautiful Maine Coons that are not sick. Every kitten will be vetted and vaccinated before they move into your house. Those breeders make sure that you get a very healthy, wonderful, real Maine Coon that gets as big as a Maine Coon should get.

So, long story short, don´t try to save money when buying the cat of your dreams. Pay the price for a healthy Maine Coon cat from a respected breeder if you really want one. You won´t be disappointed, you won´t be surprised, you will just get what you pay for. (Adopting cats is totally fine, too.)

Some Are Simply Too Big

Some breeders specialize in breeding healthy Maine Coon cats which is great. Other aspects are not that important for them, though. Because of this, some Maine Coons are smaller than others. There are also breeders that specialize in breeding the biggest cats possible.

While those cats look beautiful most of the time, it can happen that those Maine Coons become way too big. Their size and their weight is bad for their joints and very often those Maine Coons suffer when they become older. Further, a lot of those Maine Coons don´t become that old.

Conclusion

As you see, Maine Coon cats become very large, but you have to make sure to buy them from a respected breeder if you want to get such a large Maine Coon. There are too many breeders that sell Maine Coon hybrids that do not get as huge as normal Maine Coon cats.

Further feeding the right food and neutering or spaying your cat can help to accelerate growth. Don´t be worried if your Maine Coon is not as big as you thought it would be with one year of age. Maine Coon cats grow very slowly.

If you have any further questions, leave a message in the comment section below and I will be more than happy to help you out.