Maine Coons are extremely sociable cats and like to spend as much time with their owners as possible. One might not always choose to sit on your lap but will often sleep next to you or close by. It is possible to develop a strong bond with a Maine Coon and then it will be as loyal to you as a dog. What happens if there are two or more people to choose from?
Are Maine Coons one person cats? Maine Coons often bond with one person or family but not to the exclusion of other people. A Maine Coon is loyal to its owners but this doesn’t prevent it from being friendly and sociable with visitors. You can definitely develop a real connection with a Maine Coon cat.
Maine Coon Qualities
A Maine Coon might seem to bond more with one person because of its extraordinary temperament. It is said by many that a Maine Coon displays loyalty like a dog.
The Maine Coon is a sociable cat and to lead a truly happy life, it needs companionship. Many cats behave just like cats. I love them all but many breeds are quite content to spend their time eating and sleeping and show little interest in what you’re doing (as long as you feed them).
The Maine Coon is not like this. It’s different. It will interact with you throughout its life. It wants to be involved in everything you do every day.
Of course, every Maine Coon is different. Each one I’ve known (and owned) has been unique. I don’t mean in the occasional thing they do -I mean their whole personality. They all have their own quirky ways.
You will find some are more extroverted than others, and this has a part to play in whether they are likely to click more with one individual or not.
Nervous or Extrovert Cat?
Our two Maine Coons have been different from the moment we got them. They came from a local breeder and they had already been homed and returned to her – we have no idea why. Because of this, we got them when they were almost 5 months old.
Whatever happened to them during that first failed ownership may well have shaped their personalities – we will never know.
Whatever happened during those first few months of their lives may be the reason why our two brothers are so different. They were different when we got them and they are different now. Despite the fact that we have treated them in exactly the same caring way, their personalities have always been vastly conflicting.
Harry, our ginger Maine Coon, is bold and wants to be in the middle of everything. He is the first one to check out new toys, will not care one bit if a dog happens to invade his space and hardly ever sits on our laps. He plays more and is generally more mischievous and adventurous.
I have a feeling that if we were to just disappear tomorrow he would make new friends and just get on with his life without giving us much thought.
Charlie, our white Maine Coon is not like Harry at all. He is timid and scared of pretty much everything. The only people he really trusts are my wife and me and if he hears, let alone sees, a dog, he’ll be up the stairs and under the bed in an instant. Charlie is more of a loving cat.
He wants to be in the same room as me and when I am working from home he will sleep wherever I am working. Charlie will sleep on my lap and generally get a lot closer to me than Harry ever does. He really only does this with me.
So, Harry,- the extrovert, most certainly does not have just one person that he needs – anyone will do. Charlie, on the other hand, the introvert, does seem to want to spend more time with me than other people.
Personality of Owners
Cats, in general, naturally prefer someone who is calm and relaxed rather than someone who is lively and noisy. This is why they can appear quite nervous around children as they never really know what they are going to do and when they do actually do something it is often fast and loud!
Do some cats need a certain type of owner?
I think it’s fair to say that certain cats prefer a certain type of owner. If a cat (like Charlie) is timid and nervous then it is obviously going to prefer an owner who is calm and relaxed around them.
But this doesn’t explain why Charlie might not be so close to my wife? Then, you need to add another dimension – what about any previous owner? We often don’t know much about those people. Charlie and Harry were owned briefly by another family before being returned to their breeder.
Perhaps Charlie had a bad experience at this stage in his life that made him nervous of women. We have no idea of knowing whether this is true of course, but it is possible. You see this behavior more with dogs usually and they can
What you can say though is that regardless of its history, a Maine Coon (in fact, any cat) will feel more relaxed with people who are calm and composed around them.
How to Bond With Your Maine Coon
These are tricks that dog owners use with quite a bit of success and indeed they are easier to use on dogs but can work with cats.
Just spend time with them
It’s an obvious one but to get your Maine Coon to trust you more, you must give them more reason to do so. Fortunately, this is easy. Just sit with them and play with them. Get down to their level, but not too close, and don’t make sudden movements.
I’ve got a great trick actually, one I might actually create a separate article about as it works so well and doesn’t seem to be used widely.
Slow Blinking at Your Maine Coon
You may have noticed that sometimes when your Maine Coon (or any cat) looks at you, they blink slowly and sometimes turn away for a second, before turning back. This is something they do to show they are not a threat.
So, what you must do is mimic this process and if you do you will find that often, they will then blink back. It’s actually a way of communicating to your Maine Coon that you are not a threat. I’ve been doing this with ours for years and believe it really works – I have also got my son doing it now.
Honestly – just try this, I have tried it on several cats and it has never failed to work once yet!
Another trick you can try is to yawn and I usually combine this with the slow blink. When they are looking at you, perform the slow-blink, followed by a really big yawn and then look away for a second, before slowly looking back. This is also a sign to your Maine Coon that you pose no threat to it.
Be the one to feed them
An obvious one, but if you find your Maine Coon doesn’t seem to trust you or want to spend much time with you, do try the above tricks – they genuinely work. Also though, keep doing the obvious things, such as being the person to feed them.
When you do this, get down low with them, onto your knees. Act like you’re going to eat some too.
All these things that you try will make the right signs to your cat that you are a friend and you can be trusted. It won’t work overnight but I am sure it will work, just give it sometimes.
Conclusion – Are Maine Coons One Person Cats?
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand why your Maine Coon might bond with someone else rather than you but will help you become that one person your cat adores. It can be quite upsetting for someone who loves their Maine Coon so much to find it acts wary of them.
There are things you can do about it though as detailed above and these can certainly work – the earlier you start on these tricks the better.
If you want to know more about the Maine Coon then do check out my Complete Guide to the Maine Coon article which should tell you all you need to know about this astonishing breed.