The true story of....Maine Coon

Legends and fantasy aside, the very first cat show for Maine Coons was held in the 1860s. Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines, a black and white coon, left his paw print in cat show history, in 1861. In 1895, Cosey, a female brown tabby Maine Coon took home the Best of the Best prize in a New York show.

The Maine Coon's show career had only just started but they were quickly overshadowed by more exotic cats like the Persian. It was not until 1950 that efforts finally began to save the Coons from oblivion. That year, The Central Maine Cat Club was founded and the Club gained recognition from the CFA in 1976 and the FIFe in 1980. We had to wait several years more before the Maine Coon craze finally caught on in Europe: Germany in 1972 and France in 1981.