Unveiling the Charms: Persian Cats vs. Maine Coons

With their royal bearing and their equally beautiful (and impractically) silky coats—

Persian cats couldn’t be more different than the rugged and oversized Maine Coon. The two breeds’ ancestry stretches so far back into the past that their origins are speculation. But besides how they look, there are many more differences in the Persian vs the Maine Coon.

The Persian cat is smaller than the Maine Coon, with a longer coat and rounded features and face. The Persian is a low-energy breed suited to the indoors, while the medium-high Maine Coon is more rugged and enjoys better health. The brachycephalic structure of the Persian’s anatomy makes them prone to health issues and requires dedicated grooming and care.

Persians have enjoyed royalty status, from Persian princesses to British queens and American socialites; meanwhile, the Maine Coon was outdoors hunting and thriving in the bitter winters of Maine. So, there are fundamental ways these two breeds couldn’t be more different, which we will explore in more detail.

1. Origin Tale

Persian Cats

It has yet to be determined where the Persian’s long fur originated as there is no such fur phenotype in the domestic cat’s ancestor, the African wildcat. The beautiful Persian first appeared in written history in 1620, brought to Europe by the Italian musician and author Pietro Della Valle from what he called Khorasan—either Eastern Iran or Western Afghanistan.

In the 1950s, a brachycephalic mutation in a red tabby Persian gave rise to the peke-faced Persian, which is still controversial regarding animal genetic health. From the 1990s, the ill health associated with the extreme peke or doll-faced Persians came into the spotlight. From then on, the ill health related to the extreme peke phenotype fell out of favor.

The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) recognized the Persian as one of their foundation breeds as early as 1906.

Maine Coon Cats

The Maine coon is one of the oldest natural cat breeds in North America. The proudly American Maine Coon can trace their ancestry back to cats brought to New England by the Puritans in the 1600s. These cats interbred exotic longhairs brought to the coast of Maine, which Seafarers likely brought them on trade routes.

The first mention of the breed was in 1861, and they first hit the stage in the showing arena in 1895 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. The breed’s popularity plummeted from favor in the 20th century due to cats like the Persians and Angora’s arrival in the West.

However, they have risen from strength to strength and are now one of the most popular cat breeds in the world.

The American Cat Fanciers Association (ACFA) recognized the Maine Coon in 1973, the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) in 1975, and The International Cat Association (TICA) in 1979.

If you’re interested, we have a dedicated article on the origin theories and history of Maine Coon Majesty on our website. Take a journey into the captivating past of these regal felines!

2. Feline Physique

The opulent Persian enjoyed a very different history from the rugged Maine Coon. From Persian times, these long-haired beauties and their unique needs found them in the lap of luxury. The long-haired phenotype would only make survival easy with human care, as the luxurious coats could be a liability in the wild.

Human Care Effects on Body Type

These cats were part of early Persian royalty, where princesses and concubines painted their pet Persians in Henna, adorned them with jewels, and often “kissed them on the mouth.”

While royalty was coddling their Persian pets, the Coon was out hunting in the cold Main winters and living a free-roaming lifestyle. Thus, their physical characteristics and energy levels are vastly different. These differences also show in their body shape and fur.

The Persian has a long, silky double coat uniformly long over the body, whereas Maine Coons have a more rugged coat— shorter on the head and shoulders and longer on the stomach and sides. The Maine Coon guard hairs are glossy and somewhat coarse and noticeably longer than the undercoat hairs.

Maine Coons are also larger and take longer to reach maturity at three to four years, while Persians are fully grown at two years old.

Other physical differences (according to breed standards) include the following.

Characteristic (Breed Standard TICA)	Persian	Maine Coon
Build	Appearance of rounded shape and full boned with sweet expression in wide-set eyes. A short yet sturdy body with long, lustrous fur.	Muscular and broad-chested, medium to large, with females smaller. Slow maturing 3-4 years.
Weight (Average, Can Be Heavier)	Medium-sized 7-13 lbs. Females are slightly smaller, 7-11 lbs.	Males 13-18 lbs Females: 12-18lbs. Learn More >
Color Divisions	Solid Silver & Golden division Smoke & Shaded division Tabby division, Parti–color, Calico & Bicolor division, Himalayan division.	Solid, Tabbies Tortoiseshell Smoke Shaded Bicolor Particolour.
Colors	Persians come in almost every shade and hue, with the primary colors of White, black, red, chocolate, cream, blue lilac, silver, golden, tortoiseshell, blue-cream, tri-color, and sable. Persians also offer a host of patterning, including bicolor, tricolor, tortoiseshell, tabby, smoke, shaded, and the iconic Himalayan toned body with darker points like a Siamese, with blue eyes).	Solid colors: Black, red, cream, white, and blue. Tabbies: ticked, classic, or mackerel or patched in brown, silver, and red (can be patched). Other tabby colors are blue, cream, and cameo, with some silver variations. All tabby colors may mix with white. Bicolor combinations include black, blue, red, cream, and white. Particolor: tortie and tortie/white, blue/cream, calico and dilute calico. Author colors include chinchilla, smoke, and shade in the above colors. Learn More >
Coat Type	The coat is glorious, and the fine-textured hair has a high sheen. The long hair covers the whole body, with an enlarged ruff extending between their front legs. They have tufted ears and toes and a glorious brush on their tails.	The Maine Coon has a Heavy and shaggy coat, with longer fur on the stomach and britches. The fur texture is silky and falls smoothly with a pronounced ruff.
Head	Large and gently rounded with a large, expressive set wide apart. The forehead, nose, and chin should align when viewed in profile.	The medium-sized head is longer with a longer length than width. Square muzzled with high cheekbones.
Eyes	Large and brightly colored eyes set wide and level. Eyes of deep blue, brilliant copper, or a mix of the two colors if the cat is an odd-eyed white.	Large oval, wideset with an open oval shape. Eye color can be green, gold, green-gold, or copper shades. White or partly white cats may have blue eyes
Ears	These small ears complete the rounded lines of the body and have round tips tilted forward.	Large and well tufted with furnishings, broad base, and tapered to pointed tips.
Muzzle/Chin	Firm and rounded chin with an even bite and a smooth muzzle that is not overly conspicuous.	Square, medium-length muzzle when viewed in profile.
Tail	The Persian tail is short but in proportion to the body. Persians carry their tail lower at the back with no pronounced curve.	Maine coon’s have Long tails and have made the Guinness Book of Records several times for longest tail. Their tails have a broad base and taper with long and flowing fur.

Other Persian Varieties

Persians also come in several varieties, unlike Maine Coons, which only offer coloration differences. These Persian varieties include:

• Traditional Persian: Doll-faced, with a larger face and longer nose closer to the original Persian breed.
• Peke-Faced Persian: Also called ultra-tying or extreme typing. They have flat features with a snub nose and are prone to ill health.
• The Exotic Shorthair: Similar features to the classic with slightly shorter fur, making them easier to maintain
• Himalayan: Traditional Persian features with color points similar to Siamese cats
• Chinchilla: This beautiful variation arose as a spontaneous mutation in England in 1882. The wondrous undercoat is white with black-tipped guard hairs on the head, back, sides, and tail, giving a shimmering silver appearance.

3. Personalities Unveiled

In keeping with their regal ancestry, the Persians are rather lazy compared to their Maine Coon cousins. As a working breed, Maine Coons fulfilled their role in the early Americas by catching all kinds of critters and living a life relatively free of human intervention.

The unlikelihood of a Persian surviving in the wild is a no-brainer. The long-haired coat cat lovers adore wouldn’t help the Persians in the great outdoors. Matting, parasites, and potential skin conditions would have erased the long-haired mutation if left to fend for itself.

The fact that Persians need human care reflects their nature over hundreds of years of human intervention in breeding and care.

The Maine Coon and Persian differ in several respects. The most obvious include the following:

Vocalizations

There is no doubt that Maine Coons love to chat with their humans with a stunning variety of meows, chirps, and trills. The Coon is quite a chatterbox and likes to deliver commentary on various interests and issues throughout the day. My Halo has a fantastic vocabulary, from “Hey, look at that” chirps to “Whatcha doing?” trills.

If you’re curious to uncover the mysteries of Maine Coon cat vocalizations, you can explore more in-depth through this article on our website.

Persians are moderately vocal, but some owners note their occasional tendency to chat. Some proud owners make a note of the Persian’s sing-songy meows!

Trainability

The internet is full of happy humans walking their XL Maine Coons on a leash, and Maine Coons show a strong capacity for training. On the other hand, Persians have a poor reputation for learning tricks, perhaps due to their more sedentary natures. However, much depends on the personality of the individual cat.

Just look at this gorgeous Persian doing some doggy tricks:

Friendliness

The Persians have a reputation as being aloof in keeping with their privileged ancestry. Maine coon are also not the top cuddle cats, but they do show greater human sociability. Persian cats tend to require gentler handling and don’t adapt well to children’s rough handling, while Maine Coons can make great family pets if supervised and handled respectfully. ( Dive deeper into understanding the intricate nuances of Maine Coon cat personalities and temperaments on our website)

A University of Helsinki study of 4300 cats by Salla Mikkola and colleagues showed the following results of character traits of cats from 56 different mixed and pedigree breeds, house cats, and mixed grouped into 26 groups.

Breed Traits (Out of 26 Breeds)	Persian	Maine Coon
Fearfulness	Bottom ⅓ of the most fearful out of the cat breeds, 8/26	Bottom ⅓ of the most fearful, just below Persian 9/26
Activity levels and playfulness	The uber-chilled Persian takes the last place on the breed list for energy and playfulness	Slightly below average energy, 9/26
Sociability to other cats	Bottom six out of 26 breeds. Not a social butterfly	4th from the bottom in sociability compared to other cats
Sociability to humans	Oops, Persians and Exotic breeds were stone last here!	Maine Coons are slightly below average sociability 9/26
Excessive grooming	Average. 14/26	4th least likely to groom excessively out of 26
Aggression to humans	Number 7/26 of the least likely to display aggression against humans	Oops! Top 4 cats most aggressive to humans
Most likely to exhibit litter box problem behaviors	Higher than average. Number 10 of 26 most likely for litter box issues	Lower than average. 9/26 least likely to mess up their litter box

4. Cat Wellness Check

Persian cat Health Issues

However beautiful the Persian cat may appear, people have long associated the breed with compromised health and genetic-related illness. The Persian cat’s peke/doll face snub features appeared as a mutation in the 1950s, and scientists refer to the formation as brachycephalic.

Brachycephaly comes from Greek and means “short head.” Persian cats have broad and short skulls with a width of almost square with its length. This mutation that breeders eagerly latched onto resulted in 4 severity categories, from mild to extreme. Extreme brachycephaly can cause the following:

• Extreme discomfort and distress
• Sleep issues
• Limitation of activity
• Reduced quality of life

Even more severe, the extreme peke/doll face mutations have a host of ill health effects.

Breathing Issues and Heat Intolerance

The extreme peke-faced mutation may give rise to Brachycephalic Obstructive Airways or BOAS. Depending on the severity, BOAS can cause respiratory changes, labored breathing, and low oxygen levels. The shortened skull structure creates less space for air exchange, affecting the cat’s thermoregulation or the ability to cool themselves down.

Stenotic nares occur when the breed’s nostrils are extremely narrow, which leads to the soft palate, which is too long for the mouth and further obstructs their airways. Coupled with this, the reduced trachea size and everted laryngeal saccules are two small sacs that get pulled into the airway, completing the BOAS syndrome.

Dental and Digestive Issues

Extreme peke Persians may suffer from maxillary dorsal rotation in which the upper jaw rotates upwards, causing dental and eating issues. Brachygnathism is another jaw abnormality. Persians may be prone to a short top jaw, leading to gum and teeth issues.

The teeth may be overcrowded with the shortened skull and jaw, leading to ineffective chewing because they lack the proper hinged movement to masticate their food correctly. This lack of adequate chewing may lead to digestive problems.

Eye Issues

Their tear ducts are so narrow that they do not function properly and develop a condition called epiphora. When this happens, the tears constantly stream from their eyes and cause a breeding ground for bacterial infections. Other eye problems include:

• They may have excessive folds of skin rubbing against their corneas, causing discomfort and eye damage.
• Their eye socket is shallow, exposing too much of their eyes, called exophthalmos in Persian cats. This exposure can lead to corneal ulcers and areas of the eye where part of cornea cells die off in the form of necrosis.

Other Persian Health Issues

The Persian is, unfortunately, a cat prone to health issues that far exceed the Maine Coons relative health. In fact, the ill health suffered by this breed has made many animal rights organizations, such as PETA, actively call for an immediate breed ban on these poor cats. There is no reason a cat is doomed to live a life of miserable ill health to satisfy our human need for exotic features.

Above and beyond the above brachycephalic issues, through their lengthy inbreeding, Persians are also prone to:

• Polycystic kidney disease (PKD): This genetic condition causes cysts in the kidneys that may lead to kidney failure.
• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: This heart condition involves thickening the left ventricle walls, resulting in hampered heart functions.
• Dermatophytosis: The long hair gene carries a protein disorder, making these cats more prone to fungal skin infections.
• Hydrocephalus: The shortened skull causes an abnormal build-up of cerebrospinal fluid, which may cause seizures and irregular breathing.
• Trichobezoar or Hairballs: A large amount of swallowed hair may obstruct the stomach and intestines.

Maine Coon Health Issues

Maine Coons also carry with them the genetic risk of several health issues. However, their standard confirmation precludes the terrible litany of the Persian cat’s breathing, ocular, and dental problems. Generally, the Maine Coon is hearty and healthy, with an ancestry relatively free of human interbreeding. The diseases the Maine Coon may suffer from include:

• Hip Dysplasia: The larger build of the Maine Coon makes them prone to this condition which is common in giant breed canines. The hip joint ball does not fit properly into the socket and causes arthritis over time, affecting mobility and causing pain and limited movement.
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy: This neurological condition causes the spinal neurons that control the limbs to die off. The condition usually manifests at 3-4 months. Although not fatal, this condition necessitates special care for owners.
• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: As explained in Persian health issues above.
• Polycystic Kidney Disease: Described above in Persian health issues.

5. Care Requirements

While the Maine Coon humans can get by with bi-weekly grooming, Persian cat lovers have a more high-maintenance role in caring for their kitty. The long and lustrous locks of the Persian require a hands-on approach with daily care and grooming to stay healthy and shiny.

Dedicating time to maintaining your Persian cat’s coat is essential because they are genetically prone to fungal and bacterial skin infections. Matts and dirty fur may create breeding grounds for skin conditions that are hard to cure in the Persian breed.

Persian Care Requirements

Besides the coat, the Persian breed is prone to eye and ear conditions, so you would need to include regular care in addition to your grooming. Thus, Persian care involves:

• Brushing daily: A wide-toothed metal comb is the best object to groom a Persian coat.
• Eye cleaning: The narrowed nostril causes leakage from the tear ducts, which may cause dermatitis. So it would help if you gently wiped their eyes with warm water or a vet-recommended solution twice daily.
• Ear cleaning: You should look for oil or wax build-up and wipe it away daily with a cotton ball or ear cleaner.
• Nail trimming: Because Persians are usually indoor cats and not highly active, you should aim to trim their front nails every two to three weeks.
• Dental care: Persians are prone to several dental issues, so daily brushing (or twice daily) is necessary to prevent disease.
• Bathing: You should raise your Persian with regular baths from kittenhood to avoid encountering resistance—because Persians notoriously dislike water. As they are usually indoor cats, a bath once every month or so is adequate.

Here is an excellent tutorial for grooming Persian cats:

6. Pick Your Purrfect Match: Persian or Maine Coon?

Best Family for Persian Cat

Persian cats are the ultimate homebodies, with their low-energy drives and love of comfort. However aloof they may seem, Persians bond with their humans and may suffer ill health from separation anxiety.

If you socialize your Persian early, they may tolerate boisterous, child-friendly households but tend to fare better with older children and adults. They thrive in calm, quiet households that fit their low-energy lifestyles.

Best Family for Maine Coon

Maine Coons are affectionate and curious, and their medium to high energy requires plenty of play and human attention. Many Maine Coon owners attest that they are great with kids in noisy, busy households where children are respectful and under supervision.

And the Winner Is?

⭐Best for beauty and calm, indoor-friendly nature: Persians are a joy to touch and admire, but they require owners with time to devote to their unique care needs.

⭐Best for trainability and family-friendly nature. Maine Coons are great in family homes, and their laid-back, intelligent nature makes them easy to train.

Conclusion

Persian cats ooze aristocracy; like royalty, they require much of their human carers. Maine Coons are burley and bright chatterboxes with hearts as large as their oversized frames. If you decide a Persian is for you, ensure that you source reputable breeders who screen their cats for genetic illness and move away from the extreme brachycephalic or peke-faced characteristics.