You’ve probably heard that Maine Coon cats are expensive to buy. What you might not realize is just how expensive they can be to keep!
We’ve shared our lives with Maine Coons for 30 years but our most costly ownership venture began In 2020. After losing two brothers (pictured below) in quick succession we found ourselves in a cat-free home for the first time in 15 years.
Our son had never experienced kittens so we joined a breeder’s waiting list. One day soon after, the breeder offered us an ex-breeding Maine Coon, a tortie girl named Mona. It was love at first sight so Mona came to live with us.
A short while after, Mona’s “best friend” Rosie was looking for a new home and of course, we couldn’t resist her. Kittens Fred and Oscar joined us a month after Rosie and a hectic life with 4 Maine Coons commenced.
We didn’t think about how much we were actually spending on our Maine Coon tribe until over a year had passed. And then, I decided to do the math. Oh my goodness, what a surprise the total amount was!
How have 4 Maine Coons cost us $14000? Here’s a summary, followed by further details.
How our 4 Maine Coon cats have cost us $14000
| Purchase | $ USD | £ GBP |
| Mona (black smoke tortie adult) | 690 | 500 |
| Rosie (blue smoke tortie adult) | 690 | 500 |
| Fred (red smoke kitten) | 1180 | 850 |
| Oscar (red smoke kitten) | 1180 | 850 |
| Raw food | 2360 | 1700 |
| Wet food | 830 | 600 |
| Dry food | 560 | 400 |
| Drinking fountain/filters | 110 | 80 |
| Litter boxes | 83 | 60 |
| Cat litter | 750 | 540 |
| Large cat tree | 560 | 400 |
| Small cat tree | 83 | 60 |
| Outdoor climbing frame | 625 | 450 |
| Scratcher lounger | 70 | 50 |
| Various toys/tunnels | 220 | 160 |
| Vet health plan | 625 | 450 |
| Cat insurance | 1390 | 1000 |
| Fences to prevent escape from the garden | 2080 | 1500 |
| Total | 14086 | 10150 |
The price of Maine Coons from a registered breeder
In June 2020, the price of a Maine Coon kitten from our chosen breeder was $1180 (£850). Our girls cost $690 (£500) each because they were ex-breeding cats.
We chose our breeder very carefully because we wanted to be certain that our cats would be healthy and sociable.
If you are about to buy a Maine Coon make sure you do your homework; ideally, go by recommendation. There are many things to consider and our guide to choosing a Maine Coon breeder will help you make an informed decision.
The price of our Maine Coons’ food
There is no need to buy special Maine Coon food but choose a brand that’s good quality and high in protein.
Whether you choose raw, wet, or dry is a decision for you to make. We offer our Maine Coons all three and always ensure they have plenty of fresh water available.
We buy Purrform frozen raw food, Bozita, Thrive wet food, and Meowing Heads dry food.
The raw food is the most expensive. It comes in 16-ounce (450g) tubs at £4.45 ($7.60) each. The cats eat one tub per day between them meaning we spend approximately £134 ($186) each month on this alone.
We also buy Bozita wet food in 13-ounce (370g) tetra packs at a cost of £1.17 ($1.62) each. One per day means we spend around £35 ($49) per month on Bozita.
Then there’s Thrive Chicken which is £1 ($1.40) per 2.6 ounce (75g) tin. Four of these are consumed each day, so £120 ($167) per month.
Our cat’s favorite dry food is Meowing Heads Paw Lickin’ Chicken. It comes in 53-ounce (1.5 kg) bags which cost £13 ($18). A bag lasts just over a week so we’re spending £52 ($72) per month on dry food.
Add all those up and our monthly Maine Coon cat food bill is £341 ($474). Obviously, the raw food and Thrive bump this price up considerably. You can opt for just wet food like Bozita if you want to keep the cost down.
Which cat drinking fountain did we choose?
There are many drinking fountains suitable for cats with varying prices. One thing to bear in mind is that many have exactly the same pump unit.
We chose a fairly cheap fountain by Cat Mate. It’s dishwasher-proof, the pump is easy to clean and the filters are simple to replace once a month.
What I really like about this fountain is it has a bowl which means water is always available even during a power cut. Not all fountains have this feature.
The Cat Mate fountain is conveniently available on Amazon. Here’s a link to see the current price and delivery options. All 4 of our cats love the fountain and drink from it every day.
Litter boxes and litter for Maine Coon cats
Maine Coons like large litter boxes. After all, they are large cats! We bought two PetFusion cat trays and they work well for our 4 Maine Coons. Here’s Fred showing you how they are the right size for Maine Coons.
I like PetFusion because it’s a strong tray with a non-stick surface which makes cleaning it so much easier. You can see this litter box on Amazon at this link.
As our cats have access to a safe garden all day, we find two indoor trays are enough although it is often recommended to have at least one per cat.
We have tried a variety of litters over the last 14 months.
- World’s Best clumping litter is one we’ve actually used for 15 years. It clumps really well and lasts a long time. It’s excellent in multi-cat households too. You can buy it from Amazon – here’s a link to the multicat version.
- Breeder Celect is excellent for kittens. It’s made from recycled paper and contains no chemicals. We used this for Fred and Oscar until they were 9 months old. It’s available on Amazon – here’s a link to see the price.
- Catit GoNatural is a litter we’ve been trying recently and, so far, are pleased with it. We’re using a clumping version made from wood as it is compostable. They also make a Pea Husk clumping litter with a lavender fragrance. See more about that on Amazon at this link.
Clumping litter is good value as it is so easy to scoop out the used areas meaning it lasts longer than regular litter. Once a week, we totally empty and clean the litter boxes with cat-safe disinfectant.
A 30 lb (15kg) bag of Catit GoNatural costs £15 ($21) and lasts our cats 2 weeks which means we spend about £30 ($42) per month on litter.
Our Maine Coons’ cat trees
Maine Coons have a lot of energy so large cat trees are ideal. We chose a 2-meter-high tree with plenty of scratching posts and platforms. It came from Cat Tree UK but is similar to those on Cat Tree King.
We also bought a smaller tree from Amazon to fill in the gap next to the large one.
The cats never tire of playing, climbing and sleeping on these so it was money well spent – a total of £460 ($640).
As an alternative to vertical scratching, we also bough a PetFusion scratcher lounger. It doesn’t take up as much space and is well used by all four cats. It’s made of compact cardboard and over a year later is still in one piece.
We bought this on Amazon – you can see more about it at this link. It gets incredible reviews and quite rightly so. Oscar loves it.
Buying cat toys for Maine Coons
We have bought so many toys ranging from wands to laser toys to balss and tunnels. We make a point of playing with our Maine Coons multiple times a day to keep them active and happy.
The tunnel is always a favorite, especially for Rosie. All four play in this, hiding and pouncing on each other. We bought this one a while back from Amazon. It’s 12 inches (30cm) high to allow for large Maine Coons. and cost £15 ($21).
Our latest purchase was a Fynigo wand wth a variety of attachments. You can see the details and price on Amazon here.
Vet health plan
It’s advisable to have a Maine Coon vaccinated and then have boosters every year to prevent many common health issues. Even indoor cats can contract fleas and parasites so monthly treatments are advisable. Then there are annual health checks to ensure your cat is keeping well.
Some veterinary practices offer a health plan whereby you pay monthly to cover the costs of all the things I’ve just mentioned rather than paying for them as and when. This should work out cheaper than pay-as-you-go.
Our vets offer this for £10 ($13.80) per cat per month and this definitely saves us a fair amount of money.
Cat Insurance
Many people don’t think of insurance until it’s too late. Pre-existing conditions are not covered so it really is worth taking out cover when a cat is a kitten.
There are many things to consider such as excess per claim, yearly limits, dental, and multipet discounts – so it’s worth researching the best policy for you.
I know many people who think it’s better to put away money every month instead of buying insurance but this is unlikely to cover an expensive operation or ongoing health problem.
We have a multi-pet plan for our four cats which includes dental cover, as Maine Coons are renowned for having teeth problems. It costs us £112 ($155) per month, provides $15000 of cover per cat each year and gives us peace of mind.
The cost of our cat-safe garden
Our Maine Coons love being outside so we enclosed our whole garden with fencing from a UK company called Protectapet.
It involved hammering 6-foot posts into the ground with overhanging brackets and then adding welded mesh and netting. We chose this to preserve the view from our garden.
Because we installed it ourselves, it cost us £1500 ($2080). The cats have been safely enjoying the garden ever since and we’ve had no escapes, so it was money well spent.
The true cost of Maine Coons; Conclusion
Maine Coons might be expensive to buy but it’s the cost of keeping them that is really high. Obviously, the essentials are food and health care but as you can see there are so many other things you’ll need to purchase besides.
My best advice? Thoroughly check your disposable income before you buy a Maine Coon!