9 Important Reasons Your Maine Coon Meows


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Maine Coon cats are loved internationally and especially in the United States. Maine Coons are loving and adorable, but sometimes they meow. This article discusses 9 important reasons your Maine Coon meows.

1. Cat Oral Infection

Maine Coons often suffer from Oro-dental infections because they don’t sufficiently chew their food. One reason for this insufficient chewing is because their lower jaws are narrower and their upper jaws wider than most other cats, so they tend to grasp kibbles without using their tongues.

Another reason why they don’t care much for chewing is they tend to ingest large quantities with each meal. Maine Coons’ ingestion rate is higher than other ordinary cats. Your gentle giant might be no different and often swallow without chewing.

This eating behavior often leads to dental plaque, gingivitis, and the collection of tartar. Gingivitis is a condition where the gums get inflamed when too much plague forms on the teeth. Subsequently, a build-up of this plague then starts to grow underneath the cat’s gums. It can be extremely painful as the gums get red, swollen, and sore.

Symptoms of an oral infection are as follows:

  • Bad breath;
  • Red, inflamed gums;
  • Difficulty in eating;
  • Lack of eating;
  • Drooling.

If your Maine Coon displays some of these symptoms and seems to meow more than usual, get a veterinarian to check her out, as oral infections can often lead to more serious health issues.

Maine Coon

2.   Infection in Maine Coon Ears

Because Maine Coons tend to chirp and thrill more than they meow, your feline’s meowing might indicate that she’s suffering from a painful ear infection.

The most common ear infection in felines is Otitis Externa, when the external ear canal cells become inflamed. Ear mites are more often than not the cause of these infections.

Ear mites can only be transmitted from one animal to another. Maine Coons are laid-back and friendly. So, if your Maine Coon often leaves home to make new friends, there’s always a chance that she might return home with a few unwanted ‘friends’ stuck in her ears.

A veterinarian will be able to tell you whether your Maine Coon’s ear infection is a result of ear mites. There are various other causes for a painful ear infection if it’s not. It can be caused by a simple allergy, a wax build-up, or even a foreign body that gets stuck in the ear canal.

If your Maine Coon does suffer from an ear infection, the chances are good that she’ll let you know she’s in pain by meowing more often than usual. She will also scratch her ears and most probably shake her head. These signs, together with the following symptoms, should be a clear indication that a visit to the vet is lurking:

  • A loss of hearing;
  • A black or yellow ear discharge;
  • A strong, pungent smell from the ears
  • A waxy build-up in the ear canal;

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3.   Maine Coon Heart Disease

The Maine Coon is, sadly, one of the cat breeds that are predisposed to a disease called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). According to VCA, research shows that 33% of Maine Coon felines had a genetic abnormality connected to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

HCM is a heart muscle disease and is often dubbed the ‘silent killer’ as it’s usually not picked up before it’s too late. One of the symptoms of this heart disease is thromboembolisms – a condition that causes pain and weakness in the hind legs.

Your Maine Coon might start meowing more because of this discomfort and pain she experiences in her hind legs. Other symptoms of HCM include the following:

  • Breathing problems;
  • Vomiting;
  • A change in behavior;
  • Losing interest in food;
  • Swollen tummy;
  • Weight loss;
  • Less playful than usual;
  • Fainting or collapsing.

4.   Maine Coon Hip Dysplasia

Apart from the devastating heart disease Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Maine Coons are also prone to hip dysplasia, a quite painful joint disorder. Sadly, cats with these chronic conditions will only get vocal about it when their pain gets really bad.

Hip dysplasia in Maine Coons is often hereditary, in which case the ball and socket of the hip joint do not develop normally. Conversely, the breed’s imposing size put more pressure on their joints than most other cats.

Hip dysplasia can also be caused by other factors that include the following:

  • Obesity;
  • Rapid weight increase;
  • Lack of nutrition.

If your Maine Coon is true to her breed, she will hardly ever leave your side and always want to be near her favorite human. So, it will be pretty easy to pick up whether your feline meows more than usual. If she does, be sure to also keep an eye out for the following symptoms as they usually indicate a case of hip dysplasia:

  • Reluctance to climb stairs, jump, or run;
  • Reluctance to squat;
  • Gait swaying;
  • Difficulty in getting up;
  • Muscle mass will decrease;
  • Larger shoulder muscles;
  • Inactivity;
  • The area is sensitive to touch;
Maine Coon

5.   Cat Trauma

Cats often get themselves into strange and dangerous situations: The Maine Coon is no different. Unfortunately, these strange or dangerous situations often can cause injury or trauma.

Most of us have experienced excruciating pain from stepping on a piece of glass, getting stung by a bee, spraining an ankle, or tearing a ligament. Our furry friends undergo the same trauma.

For instance, your Maine Coon can fracture her bones when jumping off something too high. She can injure her paws by stepping in glass or other dangerous objects. Because cats are so inquisitive, there’s always the possibility that she might suffer from a spider bite or a scorpion sting.

Although your Maine Coon might be a friendly and sociable creature, her other four-legged neighbors might not be. Cat bites often lead to abscesses. FETCH, by WebMD, explains it well when they say that ‘cat bites are like holes from hypodermic needles – the tissue closes over the wound and traps bacteria and contaminants.’

You should never allow your Maine Coon’s nails to get too long as they can easily slip or tear their nails, which can be pretty painful.

It might prove challenging to find the actual cause of your feline’s discomfort, but always be on the lookout for injuries or bleeding when your Maine Coon is less affectionate, stops grooming herself, or starts meowing excessively.

6.   Attention Seeking Cat

Maine Coons love charming their humans and thrive on regular human interaction and playtime. Your gentle giant might meow more than usual because she longs for your love and attention.

If you constantly leave your cat home alone while you are out gallivanting, she will start feeling deprived of your love and attention and will most probably feel lonely and depressed.

This breed loves to play games, and playing fetch is at the top of the list. Have a look at this adorable YouTube video of a Maine Coon playing catch with her owner.

Astonishingly, the Maine Coon is also one of only two cat breeds well-known for their ability to walk on leashes. If you don’t have time for new games, teaching her to walk on a leash might be easier and beneficial even to your own health.

Alternatively, you can always introduce your kitty to an interactive game to keep her attention. One such game on Amazon is the LickiMat Tuff Cat (Amazon Affiliate Link). Maine Coons are both smart cats and rough cats, so this product should do a good job capturing a Maine Coon’s attention while being more tough.

7.   Maine Coon Always Hungry

No one wants to go to bed hungry, not even your Maine Coon. A sure sign that your furry friend is not getting enough food is a constant meowing, especially near her food bowl.

Reasons why your Maine Coon is constantly hungry varies between factors like she’s not getting her prescribed daily intake, the wrong type of food, or even a medical reason.

Maine Coons are large cats, and you might find it quite a balancing act in giving your cat the exact daily intake that she needs. Furthermore, owners have different views on whether their cats should eat wet or dry food.

Most owners even go for a mix of the two. Luckily, Royal Canine developed the following feeding charts to make feeding your four-legged friend a bit easier. The adult Maine Coon feeding chart: Royal Canin Feeding Guide for Adult Maine Coons. The Maine Coon kitten feeding chart: Royal Canin Feeding Guide for Maine Coon Kittens.

As stated earlier, your Maine Coon might also still be hungry because of a medical reason. She could have diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or an intestinal problem. Be sure to visit the vet if you feel that her daily intake is adequate in portion and nutrition, but she still keeps on meowing.

8.   Overweight Maine Coon

Although your Maine Coon might meow so much because she’s hungry, the opposite can also ring true: she might meow so much because you’re feeding her too much.

The ideal weight of a male Maine Coon is 13-18 lb (5.9-8.2 kg), while for a female, it is 8-12 lb (3.6-5.4 kg). If your cat’s weight exceeds these guidelines by 10% or 20%, chances are good that she’s overweight.

An overweight Maine Coon can suffer from life-changing and life-threatening conditions like cancer, osteoarthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. Some of these conditions can be quite painful, which might lead to excessive meowing.

Here are a few measures you can take that might help your Maine Coon to lose some of her unwanted weight:

  • Ensure her food contains adequate nutrition and the right number of calories. Speak to your local veterinarian to discover what food is best;
  • Feed her small meals throughout the day. Maine Coons are prone to over-indulge, so giving small portions at numerous intervals throughout the day is much better;
  • Ensure that your cat’s eating corner is quiet and isolated. Cats can get quite stressed about their feeding spaces; this stress might, in turn, lead to overeating.
  • Make sure that your cat gets enough and regular exercise.

9.   Maine Coon in Heat

Apart from being more affectionate than usual, being in heat usually goes hand in hand with your cat becoming extremely vocal. So prepare yourself for a few days of listening to a constant yowling and meowing.

During the breeding season, female cats go through multiple estrus cycles. The average length of a typical being-in-heat cycle is six days. Apart from meowing more than usual during this period, your Maine Coon might also display the following behavior:

  • She will rub against you more than usual;
  • She will raise her rear quarters and thread with her back legs when you stroke her;
  • She will urinate more than usual;
  • Some female cats might spray their urine on objects.

Apart from the obvious solution of spaying your Maine Coon, there are a few things you can do in making her feel less stressed during this period:

  • Brush her more often;
  • Give her more attention than usual;
  • Create a private space where she can go whenever she wants some peace and quiet;
  • Introduce new toys and play with her more often;
  • Give her some catnip or alternative herbal remedy to calm her nerves;
  • Clean her litter box more often than usual. Because she will have the urge to mark and spray her territory, she will continuously go back to her litter box to do just that. Perhaps, this solution will lead to her going outside less often.

As a last resort, you can also contact your veterinarian. He will be able to prescribe the necessary medication to keep her calmer while reducing the symptoms of the estrus cycle, including excessive meowing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many reasons your Maine Coon could be meowing a lot. Some of those reasons are that your Maine Coon could be in heat, is overweight, or seeks attention. I hope you enjoyed this article and will check out a few more like:

Christopher Carlson

I have an Domestic Shorthair Tabby named Charlotte. She is full of energy when she isn't sleeping most of the day. I share what I learn about cats on this site.

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