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It will be important for you and your kitten to get used to grooming. There is nothing more horrible than having to do a chore you need to do and nobody is happy about it. Start young and continue as needed through your cat’s life. This will make it less chore like and more looked forward to. Also, this will turn into a bonding moment.

Food

Cats need a high protein low carbohydrate food source. We feed several different types of food depending on what the need of the cat is and the life stage.

Mothers and new weaning kittens get a different food than already weaned kittens.

I feed Orijen foods plus NuVet supplements. There are many different cat foods that will let your cat grow to their biggest potential weight. Maine Coon will get big and need the proper nutrition to get them there while keeping them healthy.

Follow the high protein low carb rule with low amounts of additives and you can’t go wrong.
Check the food line for recalls. The less recalls the better!
Make sure they use quality ingredients.
Wet food helps to keep cats hydrated.
NuVet supplements are wonderful and cut down the cost I was feeding my cats. I was adding many different types of foods to get a whole diet. With NuVet I do not have to worry about what they are not getting already in their foods. I have asked them many questions and if you have some please contact me or them at www.nuvet.com/340817.

I can’t stress the importance of nutrition. We are growing huge maine coon cats! We need the best.

Grooming and grooming products

There are so many different kinds of brushes.

I use a regular human brush the most. This gets down through their thick undercoat.

I also use a comb and a furminator brush to easily remove mats that form. Mats happen more often when the air is dry and the static is in the air. We have this bad in the winter so I use a cat friendly PH fur moisturizer and run a humidifier in our home.

You should only have to brush them 1 time a week but could be more if necessary. I enjoy this time so much I brush everyone when I am watching TV. I hold the brush and let them come to me as they want. I have a steady stream of cats coming to visit me.

Teeth

It’s important to brush cat teeth. This will help with health later in life. Just like humans if you don’t brush their teeth, their teeth will get bad and that causes pain and discomfort. Brushing also helps with bad breath.

This doesn’t have to be hard. Most of the tarter gathers on the outside of the teeth closest to the gums.

There are many ways to do this. Getting a tooth brush for babies and putting the special cat toothpaste on the brush and letting them bite chew on the brush.

There are finger toothbrushes (this is what I do). Place a small dab of the special cat toothpaste on the tip of the finger toothbrush and rub the teeth. They help by “chewing” the yummy flavor toothpaste.

Nails

Nails are easy to cut if a cat is used to you touching them. Gently push the toe bean and nail together which forces the nail out of its hiding place. They are usually see through so you can see where not to cut (the pink part is a no no and painful). They cannot feel you cut their nails if you do it properly and doing this will save accidental scratches to you. Cats like to “knead bread” when they are happy. Nails makes this hurt, but short nails makes this a nice experience.

Declawing a cat is a morbid practice where you remove the bone from the first joint to the end of the toe. This is mutilation and will cause lasting pain to the cat. I strongly disagree with this practice and will not share my kittens with anyone who wants to mutilate their animals. Please watch videos on what this does.

Instead: Scratching posts in your living spaces. If you have a cat scratching your couch, place a post to scratch on in front of that area. Some cats like to scratch stretching up, like a tree, and some like to scratch along the ground. I have a carpet just for the cats and many posts around the house for them. You can take dried catnip and rub it into the places you want them to practice scratching. There are products you can get that are deterrents to cats for your furniture. Be creative!

There is a product called Soft Paws. Please look into this option. This is where you take a plastic cap and push it onto the nail of the cat. The cap is made from a soft plastic and is just like fake nails that humans use.

Ears

A damp cloth, baby wipe or special made cat ear cleaning wipes are the best way. Simply wrap the cloth around your finger and sweep into the ear to remove built up wax. No need to use a Q-tip. If the ear needs cleaned deeper than you can reach, the vet can do it when they have their visits.

LOVE

The number 1 most important part of letting a cat own you is love. Be kind, give water, food, a warm place to sleep, and a toy or two and you will have a friend for life. Cats are independent but still need a friend, especially Maine Coon. They are such social cats that will sit with you while you watch TV or follow you around the house to keep you company. If you are gone for long periods of time, consider getting your Maine Coon a companion. This can be anything from a dog or another cat.