Woman’s Maine Coon Cat Is So Big He Gets Mistaken for a Bobcat
“Why is no one talking about her pet bobcat?” asks a viewer on the video of a California influencer, to the amusement of many—primarily the maker of the video herself. Nicolette Simon’s TikTok generally covers the usual beauty influencer topics—her manicures, outfits, cosmetic routines, and favorite supplements. But, int eh background of several videos lurks an enormous fluffy beast. What is this massive feline? Does Simon actually own a wild cat?
Don’t worry—it’s not a bobcat, or any other kind of wild animal. It’s just a Maine Coon cat, one of the largest breeds of cat. This one, Onyx, is a giant, fluffy tabby with a grouchy expression and huge, tufted ears that probably led the viewer to mistake it for its wild cousin.
And she isn’t the only one! Simon admits that the first time she saw Onyx, she also thought the animal was a wild thing, and was even nervous to enter the room with the cat. But now she realizes her twenty-five-pound monster is nothing more than a “gentle giant” like all Maine Coon cats.
Well, all of them outside of Stephen King novels, at least.
All About the Maine Coon Cat
Maine Coon cats are among the largest breeds of cats in the world. And they are only getting bigger, as breeders select for the largest and most striking lengths and colorations to impress buyers and cat show judges. The largest Maine Coon cat recorded was over four feet long!
Despite their massive size, Maine Coons are known for their winning personalities. Some people even describe them as “dog-like” because of their love of performing tricks, being sociable with strangers, and even swimming. They are excellent companion animals for children and families, too.
That is not always the case with the exotic “hybrid” cat breeds.
Wild Hybrid Cats
In the past few decades, some cat breeders have experimented with creating new types of cats by crossing domestic breeds with wild cats from all over the world. A variety of wildcats have been used for these crossbreeding experiments. The Asian Leopard cat produced the shimmery, leopard-spotted “Bengal” breed, which is the size of a normal cat, but has longer hind legs and markings that make it look a lot more like its wild ancestor. The Serval—a Saharan desert wildcat—formed the basis of the Savannah cat, which supplanted Maine Coons as the world’s largest breed of domestic cat and has a long body, long legs, spotted coats and large ears.
But there are many breeds of wildcats, and not all of them make suitable crossing candidates. Though cat-fanciers make ever more fascinating designer cat crosses, some inventions are more fanciful than based in reality. For instance, cat breeders have created a “pixie bob” breed of cat, designed to look like a bobcat. This cat contains no bobcat DNA (despite origin legends to the contrary), as this species of lynx is generally considered too distantly related to crossbreed with domestic cats. However, they have short tails and spotted coats.
But, after seeing this video, I think the question is, are they actually part Maine Coon?
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