A Maine Coon is a special breed of cat. They say that once people experience this gentle giant they never own another breed of cat again. Having first owned a moggy before acquiring my first Maine Coon quite a long time ago, I understand this. Thirty years later, I am still an owner of Maine Coons – two brothers, and two girls.
There can be no doubt that the personality of the Maine Coon is, how shall I put this…unusual. In some ways, I’m sure they think they are a dog! They follow us around the home, they talk to us, they don’t like being left alone and, well, they just do some very strange things sometimes.
The Maine Coon is a cat that needs social interaction to be fully content. They need us. Not always when we need them, remember things happen according to their schedule, not ours. They want to be in our company. Not always on top of us, they are not known to be a lap cat, but they do want to be near us.
Is the Maine Coon needy? The Maine Coon is a needy cat, yes but that’s not a bad thing. Actually, you’ll probably find that most cats are needy but the Maine Coon does have some ‘qualities’ that made it seem a bit needier than most.
Why is my Maine Coon so needy? It’s just part of its character! They want to be with you most of the time and can get upset if this isn’t the case.
Are Maine Coons Clingy?
Although Maine Coons are as needy as any cat they are by no means clingy. They are curious enough to hang around you and will soak up as much attention as you care to lavish upon them. However, a Maine Coon can happily amuse itself in an enriched environment. That said, if you never allow a Maine Coon any independence it may develop clingy tendencies.
What Do We Mean By ‘Needy’?
When we talk about a cat being needy, what really do we mean? Do all cats exhibit this behavior or
Following You Around
A needy cat will follow you around the house and even outside. They will want to know what you’re up to at all times. The classic behavior is when they see you leave the room they will get up and follow you, just in case you’re going to do something that might interest them.
You might be going to the kitchen to prepare dinner (they will remind you that they are a bit peckish also) or you might be going to the bathroom. This is probably the strangest way they show this behavior.
They will often follow you into the bathroom, or if you’ve been a bit too quick for them and shut the door will meow their little heads off until you are forced to open the door and let them in.
When they come in they might sit in front of you as you’re sitting on the toilet and just stare at you. I don’t quite know what they want at this point, I have a suspicion it’s just to make us feel a little uncomfortable.
Extremely Vocal
A needy cat will want to talk to you, often. Not always when they just need some food or when they want to play, but sometimes for no apparent reason.
Some cats definitely make a lot more noise than others but it may appear sometimes like they’re just wanting to talk to you. An interesting fact is that cats don’t usually communicate with each other vocally, they reserve this ability just for us!
But what are they actually meowing for? What do they actually want? Well, when a cat meows at you it is doing it for a reason. Some are more obvious than others.
For instance, when a cat comes in through the cat-flap or enters a room and there are familiar people there, it may meow (or rather make a ‘mew’ or trill noise). This is a greeting, a way of saying ‘Hello, here I am everyone’. However, on other occasions, it’s a bit more difficult to understand.
When you’re sitting on the toilet and they are sitting in front of you, staring and meowing – what do they want? Is it just a cry for attention? This brings us nicely onto the next thing…
Wanting Attention
A needy cat will want your attention a lot more than the average cat. No cat will want you all the time, just some of the time. And that time will be dictated by them, not you!
What a needy cat doesn’t like is when you are sitting on your bottom watching television and they want to do something. If you don’t appear to be paying attention, they will try and do something to get your attention.
This might be as simple as jumping on to the coffee table or somewhere and just sitting, right between you and the tv, completely obstructing the view.
Or, they might decide that the things that are sitting on that table, should, in fact, be knocked off. So, they will paw them off onto the floor.
Another trick they might pull is lying on the floor and rolling upside down. This will make them look incredibly cute and may possibly entice you over so you can give them a little tickle on the belly. This will be quickly followed by all four paws grabbing the offending tickle-hand and proceeding to kill it, causing much pain for you and much pleasure for it!
Shows Signs of Jealousy
The needy cat will show signs of jealousy. For instance, when you decide to make yourself dinner. They will sit in the kitchen, watching you prepare the food, assuming that what you are preparing is a splendid treat for them.
They see how much effort you put into it and watch eagerly as you start to dish it up. You lift up the plate with food and proceed to take it into the living room. Hang, on – where are you going? Your cat doesn’t eat in the living room. They will look on, unable to believe that you have spent so much time preparing food for yourself, not them – I mean, how could you?
If you go out to a friend’s house who owns a cat or dog you will come back smelling of them. They will detect this instantly and want to know what you have been up to. They may even show signs of sulking.
They Will Wake You Up
A needy cat will know when it is time for you to get up. Now, this time may not coincide with the time you believe it is time to get up but this is irrelevant to your cat.
If they think you have been in bed way too long (it may be 0430 in the morning) then they will do you a favor by jumping onto your bed, sitting on your belly and if that’s not enough, they may even start meowing.
It doesn’t always matter if they still have enough food in their dishes, they may just be bored. Just because you had a late night and didn’t need to get up until 0700 is irrelevant to your cat – they demand your attention.
Does the Maine Coon Show These Signs?
The Maine Coon does indeed show signs of being a needy cat. In fact, they show quite a few signs. This isn’t a bad thing though. In my opinion, it’s part of the package and actually quite a nice quality to have in a cat. Well, maybe not the whole waking up at 0430 in the morning but most of the things 🙂
The Maine Coon does indeed follow you around. Our Harry has this routine where when I wake up in the morning, he will follow me into the bathroom. I will sit down opposite me and meow for a bit, expecting a bit of a tickle (which he gets).
When I turn the shower on though, that’s Harry’s cue to leave. He will then meow at the door until it magically gets opened. This happens every day now. Actually, one day it didn’t and it concerned me so much I had to go and find him. When I did he was fast asleep. I should’ve woken him up so he knew what it felt like, but I didn’t of course 🙂
The Maine Coon is very vocal. It’s not just that they make a lot of noise, it’s the type of noise they make. They just sound different from other cats. If you want to know more about why the Maine Coon talks so much, do check out my article (opens in a new window).
Another thing one of ours does is when they are in a particularly playful mood I will hear him sprint as fast as he can up the stairs. From here, he will dash into one of the rooms before doing a special, really loud meow. Which basically means, ‘I’m up here, come and play with me!’.
Maine Coons will definitely wake you up! Although saying that, ours tend to wake my son up more than me. Occasionally Harry will jump onto his bed, accompanied with a little meow. He will then just stare at my son and start purring. After a while, he might ‘accidentally’ have to walk across him via his belly to get to the other side.
Conclusion
I think you can conclude from this that it’s obvious the Maine Coon is a needy cat. This isn’t a bad thing though, just part of its character. Actually, if they didn’t exhibit these qualities then it wouldn’t be a Maine Coon!
If you’d like to know more about this awesome breed, then please check out my Complete Guide to the Maine Coon, which should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about this astonishing breed!