Breed Tips

What Color are Maine Coon Cats?

Fact Checked
Key Points
  • Maine Coons are recognized in 80+ color combinations across solid, tabby, smoke, parti-color, and bicolor categories.
  • Chocolate, lavender, and colorpoint patterns are not accepted in CFA or TICA Maine Coon breed standards.
  • White Maine Coons with blue eyes carry a documented genetic risk for hearing impairment.
  • Tabby is the most common Maine Coon pattern; tortoiseshells are almost always female.

Colors & Patterns of Maine Coon Beauties

Maine Coon cats are known for their large size and great beauty. Their distinctive appearance makes them stand out in a cat crowd. Nicknamed “the gentle giant,” Maine Coon personalities are characterized by their sweet disposition and high intelligence, paired with well-honed hunting skills. They are one of the oldest natural breeds in North America and are the official state cat of Maine.

Furry, large, and fluffy-Maine Coons are all three! With either long or medium hair length, their coats are soft and silky but texture often varies by color.

What color are Maine Coon cats?

Maine Coons come in all different colors, (at least 85 different color combinations!), and while their hue may indicate crossbreeding, their color patterns can be as interesting as they are. Divided into groups, Maine Coons can be solid, tabby, tortoiseshell, shaded, smoke, or ticked tabby, to name a few.

So, what are the most popular Maine Coon cat colors?

Here are a few of the most common variations:

Solid Maine Coons have fur that is only one color with no markings. These colors are:

  • Black

  • Red (or Ginger)

  • Cream

  • White

  • Brown

  • Blue (or Grey)

  • Silver

Smoke-colored means that while the cat looks like it’s all one color, the roots are lighter than the tips. And Tabby Maine Coons have fur that is streaked with stripes. So basically, these are just solid colors with various markings. Like, black smoke, black tabby, cream smoke, cream-tabby, red smoke, and red tabby, and so on.

Maine Coon cat colors may mean more than just how they look. Some people actually believe the different colors indicate different Maine Coon personalities! No matter what, they are undoubtedly beautiful in their variety and smarts and make wonderful family pets.

Article author Lexie Alpeter

The resident animal enthusiast at Spot. I have a lifetime of pet parent experience. If it has fur, feathers, or scales, I’ve probably shared my home with it. I aim to be a reliable source, blending experience with a dedication to the well-being of pets.

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Sources
  1. Cat Fanciers' Association. "Maine Coon Breed Standard." CFA. https://cfa.org/maine-coon/

  2. Kronenberg ZN, et al. "PAX3 haploinsufficiency in Maine Coon cats with dominant blue eyes and hearing loss resembling the human Waardenburg syndrome." PLOS Genetics, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11373664/

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