# Maine **** vs. Ragdoll; just want some comparisons



## thundercat (May 4, 2008)

We have a new ragdoll kitten and if we think we can handle it we may get another one or a Maine ****. I'd like for some folks experienced in these breeds to compare and contrast them if they like. Thanks.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I don't have a Ragdoll so I can't do a comparison, but I can tell you about my Maine ****....

Holly is an extremely sweet cat, very gentle about everything she does. Goes with the flow, rarely gets angry about anything. Will let me pick her up and hold her on her back like a baby, more often than not will lay there and purr although sometimes she'll wiggle away.

She's extremely furry and tends to leave tufts around the house. Her coat is very easy to care for, I don't brush her nearly as often as I should as she's not thrilled with it. But I get in a couple quick swipes on her back and sides a couple times a week and a really good brushing including her belly (which she hates, but never gets nasty with me) once a week. She rarely gets mats and they're usually small when I find them during the weekly good brushing. She needs to have her butt shaved every few months or she gets cling-ons.

Holly is very, very inquisitive. She has to check out EVERYTHING. Even when I clip her nails (which she's really good for), I have to let her sniff and bite the clippers before she'll cooperate. She loves to play and can occupy herself for hours. Da Bird is a real favorite. Her face is very expressive and you can pretty much figure out what she's thinking.

Holly loves everybody she meets, will let anyone pet her and is good with company. She's not much of a lap cat, but will lay across my chest for 10 minutes or so just about everyday. She likes to sit next to me on the couch and 'hold hands'. If I try to take my hand away, she'll pull it back and wrap her paws around it and hold on. 

She's very smart and understands that the toilet handle makes the water flush, which she loves to watch and has tried to flush for herself. She knows that doorknobs open doors and will attempt to open them. If she's on the screened porch and the door to the house is closed, she will bang on the door when she wants to come in. She's a total clown, is always doing something goofy, definitely not a diva. She gets along great with Kobi and Maggie and definitely understands where she fits in the pecking order. She knows that she can do no wrong with Kobi, he indulges her completely. On the other hand Maggie can be short tempered and if she shows any signs of being aggravated with her, Holly will immediately fall to the ground and play submissive. 

She's kind of small for a Maine ****, haven't weighed her recently, but I'd say she's probably around 11 pounds. But she won't be 2 until August so she potentially has 2+ more years of growth and filling out (right now she's pretty bony under all that fur). 

Basically she's a total sweetheart, couldn't ask for a better cat.


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