r/MaineCoon

Next Saturday I am bringing home my Maine coone kitten and I’m struggling to decide whether to keep her indoors (and build a catio) or let her go outside.
For context, I had had cats my whole life, one grey tabby who sadly died in 2020, and one black cat who we let roam around. These have always been outdoor cats once they are old enough and have had the appropriate jabs etc. we’ve never had any issues. I live in the countryside in the uk where everyone lets their cats out and that is just the norm.
However because of the breed I’m afraid of her getting stolen but I feel bad having seen what my cats get up to, climbing trees, exploring the local area etc, I would feel guilty not allowing this cat to enjoy it. I would also feel like the cat would find it unfair if I let one cat out and not her.

I also know that lots of well meaning old ladies in the area feed multiple cats from various houses which has caused disputes between neighbours.

Basically I am just having a moral dilemma because on one hand I feel bad keeping her in. On the other, I’m worried she will be stolen

Edit: after seeing the comments I’d like to make clear if I were to let her outside she would be spayed for her own safety against male cats in the area.

I do not live by busy roads. My house neighbors a park and forest where I see my other cat in the trees and grass all the time. My town is a small community, I never hear of cats being hit by cars in the area. I would also like to make clear I have owned cats my entire life.

My main concern is stealing, I know people are passionate on this topic but please take into mind the conditions of the area in which I live, and some basic respect.

I am not getting this cat as an investment, I’m getting this cat with the intention of giving it the best life possible and companionship. We all care very strongly for our beloved animals but manners cost nothing

Has anyone else had a Maine Coon with a very sensitive stomach? We are in desperate need of help. We have been working with our vet through all of this, but very little seems to be improving and I’m wondering if anyone out there has experienced this.

Our kitten is 5.5 months old, we got him 5 weeks ago from a reputable breeder in our area, and he has had diarrhea ever since we brought him home. The breeder says he had no stomach issues that they noticed when they had him. His diet was originally Farmina Natural & Delicious Chicken & Pomegranate Grain-Free Formula Dry Cat Food, free-fed and Purina Pro Plan Pate/Classic Chunky Chicken Entree wet food, about 1/2 can 3x/day. The first we had him, we miscommunicated on the specific canned food flavor, so he got Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Chicken/Turkey Favorites in Gravy variety pack instead for the first week. Once we learned about the miscommunication, we got him back on the Pate/Classic Chunky Chicken wet food. Wet stool the entire time. After a week of this, we decided to try transitioning him to the from the Farmina dry food to Hill’s Science Diet Kitten Indoor Dry Cat Food, Chicken, because our 11-month old cat eats this and the kitten was starting to steal his food when they were out together. We tried this for ~5 days, slowly integrating the Hill’s food, no change in stool. We waited 4 days, and then at our vet’s recommendation we added in the Purina Pro Plan FortiFlora probiotic with his food. We saw a couple of normal-ish bowel movements a day, but then at least still one that was diarrhea. This past week, our vet told us to put him on the Proviable-DC probiotic, so we have done that once a day with breakfast, and will continue it for a total of 30 days. She also said to switch to the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Kitten dry cat food. We are on day 3 of that transition.

He eats 2/3 of a can of the Pate/Classic Chunky Chicken Entree morning and night, mixed with 3 Tbsp of dry, and 1/2 a can at lunch mixed with 2 Tbsp dry (the dry is our progressive mix of the Hills dry food and Royal Canin dry food).

He has couple of normal-ish bowel movements a day, and then usually one that is completely loose. The loose stool most often happens at night, but it has happened a few times during the day too.

We have been in contact with the breeder and they have no advice, and has recommended we not go back to the Farmina dry food because of quality control issues they recently learned about.

Throughout all of this the past 5 weeks, he’s also thrown up twice. We’ve taken him to the vet multiple times, and he checks out fine every time. The vet ran a fecal test, everything was negative ( Report: Ova & Parasites zinc sulfate centrifugation: no ova/parasites seen, Roundworm antigen negative, Hookworm antigen negative, Whipworm antigen negative, Flea tapeworm antigen negative, Cystoisospora antigen negative, Giardia antigen negative).

Our kitten is otherwise COMPLETELY NORMAL. He is full of energy, he is gaining weight as the vet expects, he is playful, loving, loves to eat, drinks a ton. We’ve had cats before, and this is unlike anything we’ve dealt with. He steps in his loose stool most days, which means at least his legs require a bath most days, and we are getting extremely desperate for a solution. The vet said the next steps are blood tests/imaging of his intestines.

PLEASE HELP if you have any experience with this! Thank you!

Ive been dealing with this situation for quite a while and Im not sure what to do anymore. My MC has some kind of allergies and it comes and goes. Currently hes been scratching himself extra bad. Ive taken my MC to 3 different local vets and all three keeps giving me different information and not helping. The first one gave him a shot and it didnt help. I took him to another one thats more well known and they told me that the shot that was given at the previous vet works for most cats but not MC’s because it can mess up their heart in the long run. So they recommended me use Royal Canine Ultramino, and told me that my MC’s diet would have to be that for the rest of his life, but it has gotten TOO expensive with a 5 lb bag being $85 and my MC being 2 years old and eating it within 2 weeks.

I contacted the breeder about this and she told me she would ask her other MC parents for recommendations on vets but theyre all 5 hours away, and the breeder never contacted me back about this or even knows anything about her MCs having a bad allergic reaction like this. But to keep feeding him raw chicken “smoothie” but Ive noticed that chicken makes him worst. Im at a loss and dont know what to do. Any recommendations?

PS, he does not have fleas.