For all those people with the gentle giants…mine

For all those people with the gentle giants…mine is a giant asshole! 😂 Anyone else? I owned cats for 30 years but he’s my 1st Maine Coon and he nearly broke me. I adore him but wow it’s been a challenge raising a nemesis I didn’t ask for! I do adore him and he’s my baby! 🥰 Please share if yours is also the devil child. I even wrote an article way back!

Raising a Maine Coon kitten, a cautionary tale for the modern ages.

When you read articles and guides about buying and raising a Main Coon they are all so rosy – how it is the most dog-like cat, how they love you and give you joy. How they have most delightful personalities and are gentle giants.

It’s like a cult, once you in, one rule about a Maine Coon Club you won’t talk about the Maine Coon club. Some develop a Stockholm syndrome and get another one after the 1st. I salute you, you poor souls.

What they are hiding is that this thing will make you or break you!

For full disclosure, they are the most gorgeous creatures (and they need to be considering the mammoth task of bringing one up is and the financial ruin they bring! He is my 2nd biggest expense after my mortgage).

Not sure if there are any mules crossed with those cats earlier on as they are stubborn and wilful. They will talk back / chirp back at you if you tell them off for jumping on surfaces or destroying your sofa.

Raising a Main Coon kitten is like keeping alive a toddler with a death wish who has claws and sharp teeth!

Alternatives to raising a Maine Coon kitten:

Take a few thousand pounds out of the bank in cash and burn it

Deliberately stop sleeping for weeks and months. Set an alarm to wake up every 2 hours to simulate being startled awake by something jumping on you

Become a social recluse and stop seeing friends and family or going out at all as burned all the money and stopped sleeping and have zero energy for anything

Spend hundreds of pounds on cat food every month and periodically throw it in the bin every day

Whilst official guides suggest playing with your kitten 2-3 times a day for 15 min with toys, prepare to silently scream inside whilst having to do it 2+ hours in the morning and same in the evening – Groundhog day style. I feel like a Gladiator and he is the “people of Rome”. Are the games entertaining enough, is the gladiator slave doing enough to stay alive and please us whilst we are watching and deciding if he lives or dies. We play hide and seek every day and I am a willing “pray”! ☺

Did I put you off getting one? Wish I read one of those articles before I got mine but it’s too late for me now and I am in love with this tyrannical and gorgeous creature.

If I didn’t put you off, then know if you do get one, you will have one of the funniest, intelligent and sweetest cats you ever had the privilege to raise. It will just take all of your time, money and sleep debt to bring one up.

Good luck!

Jules and Kassius

P.S. People at the back who have actual human children. Yes, I am sure raising children might be tougher, but do they possess murder mittens that can claw through you like butter? Can they climb out of the crib to bounce on top of you? Can they jump on balcony railings whilst giving you a heart attack?

No, I didn’t think so….!

#catsoflemon8 #mainecoonkitten