GROOMING

Maine Coons present little grooming problems. Their coats are easy to maintain, and a weekly combing with a wide-toothed comb (about 9 teeth per inch) followed by a narrow-toothed comb (about 12 teeth per inch) is all that is generally necessary (use a flea comb on the face and ear furnishings). Keep in mind that regular grooming is necessary to prevent the cat from developing hairballs which can cause vomiting and/or intestinal blockage.
You will have to comb your cat more often in the spring and fall, which are seasons of heavy shedding. Pay particular attention to the areas behind and below the ears, the flanks, the britches, between the back legs, and under the front legs. These are the areas where mats most readily form.

If you wish to keep your cat looking like a champion, a bath once a month with a good pet shampoo, followed by blow-drying and a good combing is recommended. If the tail is extra oily (a particular problem with unaltered male cats), rub mechanics' hand cleaner (Goop or Go-Jo) into the dry tail and wash out with Dawn dishwashing liquid. Be sure to rinse all traces of soap out of the coat, and don't ever leave the cat unattended with hand-cleaner on its coat. Your kitten is accustomed to baths, so if you decide to do this, you shouldn't have too much trouble. If the kitten objects to the blow-dryer, place it in its carrier with the dryer propped up about 12 inches from the door. Leave the kitten in the carrier for about 15 minutes, then comb it out and allow it to air dry in a warm, draft-free room. Keep the heat set on low whenever using a blow-dryer on a cat.

DECLAWING

Declawing is a mutilation, not the minor operation that proponents of this procedure would have you believe, and is expressly forbidden in our contract. Those in favor of declawing point out that most cats can still climb trees after declawing. This is all very well until the cat is cornered without a tree, back to the wall, and has nothing at all for long-range defense. Additionally, a declawed cat is very likely to bite (because it doesn't have its claws for defense) and to refuse to use its litter box (because its mutilated toes hurt when it tries to dig). It is perfectly possible to train your kitten not to scratch your furniture, and keeping its claws clipped will protect your possessions while it is learning its manners.

Provide at least one, or better yet, several scratching posts for your kitten as soon as possible. (The kitten has been used to using one at our house.) Try to get the posts covered with a material of a different texture than your carpeting or upholstery, so the kitten doesn't get confused about which object is O.K. to scratch and which isn't. (A wooden post wound tightly with heavy sisal rope [they don't like nylon or plastic] makes an excellent scratching post.) Encourage and praise the baby when it uses the post; squirt it with a spray bottle of water and shame it when it uses something else (see 'Training')

excerpt from an article originally written by Trish Simpson