- CFA's Norwegian Forest Cat standard requires an equilateral triangle head, with all sides equal from the outside base of the ear to the point of the chin.
- CFA's Maine Coon standard requires a head slightly longer than wide with a visibly square, blunt ended muzzle, and a gently concave profile connecting head and muzzle.
- The Norwegian Forest Cat profile is straight from the brow ridge to the tip of the nose with no break in the line, and CFA disqualifies a severe nose break, a square muzzle or a long rectangular body.
- CFA gives adult Norwegian Forest Cat weights of 12 to 16 pounds (5.4 to 7.3 kg) for males and 9 to 12 pounds (4.1 to 5.4 kg) for females, and says the breed can take up to five years to reach full growth.
- CFA says a mature male Maine Coon's weight not unusually reaches or exceeds 20 pounds (9.1 kg), with the breed reaching full growth in up to three years.
Side by side
| Maine Coon | Norwegian Forest Cat | |
|---|---|---|
| Head shape | Medium in width, slightly longer than wide, reading as rectangular, with high cheekbones. | Equilateral triangle, all sides equal from the outside base of the ear to the point of the chin. |
| Profile | A gently concave profile connects the rectangular head to the square muzzle. | Straight from the brow ridge to the tip of the nose with no break in the line. |
| Muzzle | Visibly square, medium in length, blunt ended, with a chin giving a square 90 degree angle. | A square muzzle is a listed disqualification in the CFA standard. |
| Ears | Large, wide at base, tapering to appear pointed, well tufted, about one ear's width apart. | Medium to large, rounded at the tip, set as much on the side as on top, heavily furnished, lynx tips desirable but not required. |
| Coat | Heavy and shaggy with silky texture, shorter on the shoulders, longer on stomach and britches, frontal ruff desirable. | Double coat: dense undercoat under long glossy water resistant guard hairs, bib in three sections, full britches. |
| Adult weight and maturity | Mature male weight not unusually reaches or exceeds 20 pounds (9.1 kg); full growth can take up to three years. | Males 12 to 16 pounds (5.4 to 7.3 kg), females 9 to 12 pounds (4.1 to 5.4 kg); full growth can take up to five years. |
What to look at
- Trace the head outline. Equilateral triangle, measured ear base to chin point, is Norwegian Forest Cat. A rectangle slightly longer than wide is Maine Coon.
- Look at the profile from the side. A straight line from brow ridge to nose tip with no break is Norwegian Forest Cat. A gentle concave curve between a rectangular head and a square muzzle is Maine Coon.
- Look at the muzzle head on. Visibly square and blunt ended is Maine Coon. A square muzzle is a disqualification in the Norwegian Forest Cat standard.
- Look at the ears. Maine Coon ears taper to appear pointed and are well tufted. Norwegian Forest Cat ears are rounded at the tip, set as much on the side of the head as on top, heavily furnished, with lynx tips desirable but not required.
- Look at the coat structure. The Norwegian Forest Cat wears a double coat, a dense undercoat under long water resistant guard hairs, with the bib in three sections. The Maine Coon coat is heavy and shaggy, silky, shorter on the shoulders and longer on stomach and britches.
- Weigh the cat last. The two ranges CFA publishes barely overlap at the top, but a young cat of either breed has not finished growing, and neither registry figure identifies an unregistered cat.
The coat is the trap
Both breeds were shaped by cold winters and both answer with a long coat, a ruff and a plumed tail, so the coat is the first thing people compare and the last thing that settles the question. There is a real structural difference underneath, but it is a texture difference rather than a length one. CFA describes the Norwegian Forest Cat coat as a distinguishing double coat, a dense undercoat covered by long glossy water resistant guard hairs, with the bib built from a short collar, side mutton chops and a frontal ruff. The Maine Coon coat is described as heavy and shaggy with a silky texture falling smoothly, shorter on the shoulders and longer on stomach and britches, and CFA penalizes a coat that is short or overall even.
Both standards write the other breed out
The two standards are unusually explicit about each other. The Norwegian Forest Cat disqualification list names a square muzzle and a long rectangular body, which are precisely the Maine Coon's required head and body descriptions. Read in the other direction, the Maine Coon standard calls for a body long with all parts in proportion to create a well balanced rectangular appearance, and for a muzzle that may give the appearance of a rectangle but must never taper or point. So the same two features, muzzle shape and body outline, separate the breeds from both sides. That is why a side on photo of the head is worth more than any amount of comparing coats, size or tail plume.
What a photo can and cannot tell you
Everything that separates these two breeds is visible. Head outline, profile line, muzzle shape, ear tip shape and ear set, coat texture and body proportion all read off two good photos, one straight on and one in profile, taken in daylight with the whiskers and fur not obscuring the bone structure. What a photo cannot establish is which registry, if either, holds a record for the cat. A large longhaired cat with tufted ears may match one standard closely, both standards partly, or neither, and still be an unregistered domestic longhair, which is the most common answer of the three. Only a registration certificate naming the parents settles pedigree.
Related guides
- Is my cat a Maine Coon?: Probably not, and that is the ordinary answer rather than a disappointing one.
- Domestic shorthair: Domestic shorthair is not a breed.