Gosh How I do love cats! I have two little boys... full
grown. One is a Snowshoe (came out like that... from a
'wild' cat) ... he is such a talker.
The other is a huge orange kitty. He barely
makes a sound and his mouth is so tiny ... so sweet!

They are indoor cats. Took them at 3 weeks from
the 25 cats I fed at the time ... which is another story.
They are not related but are inseparable. Sleep entwined
around each other....

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Susan H. Simko" wrote in message
...
jammer wrote:

My Maine Coon also brings me critters unhurt except she can't quite
keep her teeth out of a yummy rat. She gets very upset if i don't
happen to want a half dead rat. Last week she did her GODAWEFUL, i
brought a critter bellow, and when i didnt want the mangled rat, she
did something i have never seen her do. She started with the tail, and
ATE everything up to the two little front legs and the head. It was
like Godfather Kitty or something. The head was in the middle of the
welcome mat. She thinks it's great fun to bring baby birds inside and
let them go for her future hunting pleasure, i GUESS! My favorite, is
when she somehow gets a little garden snake, brings it to the front
door and holds it with her paw then she wails that special known wail.
There is rarely any harm done to the snake by the cat and i let it go
after i finish playing with it.

The Maine Coon "I have a present" scream is hard to miss or ignore.
Until some friends heard it no one ever believed me that it would wake
me up no matter when or where. There's also no ignoring it because they
don't stop.

My male, Wallenda, was the hunter. Frogs and lizards were his specialty
along with any snake he could find. One particular time he brought me a
lizard and I played with it for a while and let it go. Thirty minutes
later, here he is, back with the same lizard, this time with a tooth
mark in it. Played with it again and let it loose. Hour later, he
returns, this time with the head chewed off. (First and only time he
ever killed something.) I guess he was trying to make sure the
"present" didn't get away from the inept hunter once again.

Wallenda has now crossed the bridge and all my current cats are strictly
indoor only.

Great cats, they are. We talk back and forth in kitty talk, i just
don't know what we say.

I talked to Wallenda and still talk to Chelsea. I lover their vocal
range and the fact that they really rarely ever come out with a classic
meow. Lots of other noises but rarely a meow. Another hallmark of
Maine Coons.

Susan
shsimko at duke dot edu

Gosh How I do love cats! I have two little boys... full
grown. One is a Snowshoe (came out like that... from a
'wild' cat) ... he is such a talker.
The other is a huge orange kitty. He barely
makes a sound and his mouth is so tiny ... so sweet!

They are indoor cats. Took them at 3 weeks from
the 25 cats I fed at the time ... which is another story.
They are not related but are inseparable. Sleep entwined
around each other....

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Susan H. Simko" wrote in message
...
jammer wrote:

My Maine Coon also brings me critters unhurt except she can't quite
keep her teeth out of a yummy rat. She gets very upset if i don't
happen to want a half dead rat. Last week she did her GODAWEFUL, i
brought a critter bellow, and when i didnt want the mangled rat, she
did something i have never seen her do. She started with the tail, and
ATE everything up to the two little front legs and the head. It was
like Godfather Kitty or something. The head was in the middle of the
welcome mat. She thinks it's great fun to bring baby birds inside and
let them go for her future hunting pleasure, i GUESS! My favorite, is
when she somehow gets a little garden snake, brings it to the front
door and holds it with her paw then she wails that special known wail.
There is rarely any harm done to the snake by the cat and i let it go
after i finish playing with it.

The Maine Coon "I have a present" scream is hard to miss or ignore.
Until some friends heard it no one ever believed me that it would wake
me up no matter when or where. There's also no ignoring it because they
don't stop.

My male, Wallenda, was the hunter. Frogs and lizards were his specialty
along with any snake he could find. One particular time he brought me a
lizard and I played with it for a while and let it go. Thirty minutes
later, here he is, back with the same lizard, this time with a tooth
mark in it. Played with it again and let it loose. Hour later, he
returns, this time with the head chewed off. (First and only time he
ever killed something.) I guess he was trying to make sure the
"present" didn't get away from the inept hunter once again.

Wallenda has now crossed the bridge and all my current cats are strictly
indoor only.

Great cats, they are. We talk back and forth in kitty talk, i just
don't know what we say.

I talked to Wallenda and still talk to Chelsea. I lover their vocal
range and the fact that they really rarely ever come out with a classic
meow. Lots of other noises but rarely a meow. Another hallmark of
Maine Coons.

Susan
shsimko at duke dot edu

Gosh How I do love cats! I have two little boys... full
grown. One is a Snowshoe (came out like that... from a
'wild' cat) ... he is such a talker.
The other is a huge orange kitty. He barely
makes a sound and his mouth is so tiny ... so sweet!

They are indoor cats. Took them at 3 weeks from
the 25 cats I fed at the time ... which is another story.
They are not related but are inseparable. Sleep entwined
around each other....

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Susan H. Simko" wrote in message
...
jammer wrote:

My Maine Coon also brings me critters unhurt except she can't quite
keep her teeth out of a yummy rat. She gets very upset if i don't
happen to want a half dead rat. Last week she did her GODAWEFUL, i
brought a critter bellow, and when i didnt want the mangled rat, she
did something i have never seen her do. She started with the tail, and
ATE everything up to the two little front legs and the head. It was
like Godfather Kitty or something. The head was in the middle of the
welcome mat. She thinks it's great fun to bring baby birds inside and
let them go for her future hunting pleasure, i GUESS! My favorite, is
when she somehow gets a little garden snake, brings it to the front
door and holds it with her paw then she wails that special known wail.
There is rarely any harm done to the snake by the cat and i let it go
after i finish playing with it.

The Maine Coon "I have a present" scream is hard to miss or ignore.
Until some friends heard it no one ever believed me that it would wake
me up no matter when or where. There's also no ignoring it because they
don't stop.

My male, Wallenda, was the hunter. Frogs and lizards were his specialty
along with any snake he could find. One particular time he brought me a
lizard and I played with it for a while and let it go. Thirty minutes
later, here he is, back with the same lizard, this time with a tooth
mark in it. Played with it again and let it loose. Hour later, he
returns, this time with the head chewed off. (First and only time he
ever killed something.) I guess he was trying to make sure the
"present" didn't get away from the inept hunter once again.

Wallenda has now crossed the bridge and all my current cats are strictly
indoor only.

Great cats, they are. We talk back and forth in kitty talk, i just
don't know what we say.

I talked to Wallenda and still talk to Chelsea. I lover their vocal
range and the fact that they really rarely ever come out with a classic
meow. Lots of other noises but rarely a meow. Another hallmark of
Maine Coons.

Susan
shsimko at duke dot edu

What greatly disturbs me is that we are wiping out habitat at the rate the
land mass of a small city every single day. We push wildlife out of their

We will reap what we sew. The animals will acclimate to our cities, get
really street-smart, and give us a real pain. We are seeing natural
selection even as it occurs.

Compared to city streets, a backyard pond is like a candy store to many
animals. Sad fact of life.

Bob

On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 16:27:31 -0400, "Susan H. Simko"
wrote:


I talked to Wallenda and still talk to Chelsea. I lover their vocal
range and the fact that they really rarely ever come out with a classic
meow. Lots of other noises but rarely a meow. Another hallmark of
Maine Coons.

Susan,

Do Maine Coon's make sweet pets? Do they have a wild streak and tear up the
house trying to get out, or are they content to stay indoors? I dislike the
sight of flattened cats on the road.

Do you (or anyone else) know if Bengals make sweet pets?

How about longevity? Is either breed notoriously short-lived or susceptible
to ailments?

I love the impressive size of the Maine coon's, and the unusual look of the
Bengal's. However, in the end, it's not size or appearance that makes a good
pet.

Bob,,,

With cat hair clinging to his monitor. :-\

My Mainecoon is extreme sweet but I have known ones that can be less so
(perfectly happy to bite or scratch you if you don't behave properly). Just
like people every individual has their own personality. None of the ones I
know are quite the stereotypical feline "type". They really do seem more
bear or raccoon like in some way (if nothing else, just the way they move
and walk). We used to open our kitchen silverware or utility drawers and
there would be the Koosh Bear as flat as a pancake snoozing away. When we
first adopted her she was insistent about laying on our feet and didn't like
being held in our lap but now she moves in and snuggles up anywhere she can
to be in contact. Koosh is a house cat and has no problem with that (though
she will go walking outdoors with me she also comes in with me). I don't
think any home raised Mainecoon is at all wild. It may be that they have a
very sure sense of themselves. That is they are not timid. They strike me
as grounded and some think of them as more dog like than most cats. Our
family is a big fan but we like all cats (have five as well as a blind/deaf
aussie). DK

"Bob Adkins" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 16:27:31 -0400, "Susan H. Simko"

wrote:


I talked to Wallenda and still talk to Chelsea. I lover their vocal
range and the fact that they really rarely ever come out with a classic
meow. Lots of other noises but rarely a meow. Another hallmark of
Maine Coons.

Susan,

Do Maine Coon's make sweet pets? Do they have a wild streak and tear up
the
house trying to get out, or are they content to stay indoors? I dislike
the
sight of flattened cats on the road.

Do you (or anyone else) know if Bengals make sweet pets?

How about longevity? Is either breed notoriously short-lived or
susceptible
to ailments?

I love the impressive size of the Maine coon's, and the unusual look of
the
Bengal's. However, in the end, it's not size or appearance that makes a
good
pet.

Bob,,,

With cat hair clinging to his monitor. :-\

Bob Adkins wrote:

Do you (or anyone else) know if Bengals make sweet pets?

I love the impressive size of the Maine coon's, and the unusual look of the
Bengal's. However, in the end, it's not size or appearance that makes a good
pet.

Bob,,,
With cat hair clinging to his monitor. :-\

Our 16 pound black cat brother and sister are supposedly part Maine coon
(they didn't come with papers so who knows ...) They are both sweet and
feisty, rambunctious and lazy, curious and "who cares," and love each
other to distraction. So if they're really part Maine coon cat, I say go
for it.

Now Bengals are a different story. They're wilder, meaner, harder to box
train, harder to please (food, litter, people), and generally
disagreeable. Of course, that might be just the ones I've met. Our
neighbor breeds them, and the only time I've ever been able to hold one
is when it's newborn to 8 weeks old. After that they're too mean or
skittish to handle for long.
--
zookeeper

Bob Adkins wrote:

Do Maine Coon's make sweet pets? Do they have a wild streak and tear up the
house trying to get out, or are they content to stay indoors? I dislike the
sight of flattened cats on the road.

Mine have been content to stay in the house. Pretty much any cat gets
used to the situation sooner or later. All will try to escape giving a
shot at it.

Maine Coons are certainly different than a lot of other cats. I can't
live without at least one in my life. They tend to live longer than
average, reaching twenty not being uncommon for them. (The one I grew
up with lived to twenty-two.) Each seems to have a very distinct
personality and know what they want. Mine have all been very set in
their ways in one way or another. Chelsea, my current MC, must be
touching me, likes to initiate the contact, hates to be touched if she
doesn't initiate it and loves to groom (lick) me. If anything does not
go her way, she won't hesitate to scratch or bite. These range from
"warning shots" (don't do that again if you know what's good for you) to
inflicting serious damage. I just can't imagine living without their
supremely in control, regal character.

Do you (or anyone else) know if Bengals make sweet pets?

I've heard mixed things about them. I think it all boils down to making
sure you research the breeder. I've heard they're wonderfully sweet
tempered but like any other animal, bad breeders do too much in-breeding
which results in neurotic animals. I actually thought seriously about
getting one but then stumbled across my gorgeous baby Spike at the
shelter so that was that.

How about longevity? Is either breed notoriously short-lived or susceptible
to ailments?

As I said, Maine Coons are known for their longevity. Chelsea is almost
11 and romps the house with out 11 month old kitten.

I love the impressive size of the Maine coon's, and the unusual look of the
Bengal's. However, in the end, it's not size or appearance that makes a good
pet.

I don't know about that. *grin* Next cat for me will be another Maine
Coon or a Norwegian Forest Cat.

Susan who has a perverse fondness for black clothes considering she has
four cats, two gunea pigs, a hamster and other assorted pets *laugh*
shsimko at duke dot edu