Adopting a Maine Coon in Nottingham: rescues, costs and health

The number at the top of the page updates itself: it counts every Maine Coon or Maine Coon cross that a rescue we work with has listed within about 25 miles of Nottingham, an area that takes in Derby and Mansfield. It will often read zero. When we checked in October 2026, the rescues around the city had no breed recorded for any of their cats, so a big, shaggy cat with some Maine Coon in it may simply be listed as a longhair: look on our Nottingham long-haired cats page.

For a pedigree Maine Coon, the breed world is the more likely route. Every club affiliated to the GCCF, the body that registers UK pedigree cats, has a welfare officer, it says, who keeps lists of older or rescued cats needing homes.

The cat is rarely the reason. The Maine Coon Cat Club gives examples such as an allergy to cats in the household, a move abroad, or a marriage or partnership breaking down. It says most cats on its page have no known medical or behaviour problems, though a few do, and some need a home without children or other animals.

Start by asking what vet work the cat already has. Rescue fees normally pay for it up front: Ashbourne Animal Welfare's cats leave health checked, microchipped, fully vaccinated, flea and worm treated and neutered if old enough, with 4 weeks of Petplan insurance if eligible, and Meow and Furever Cat Rescue's £125 includes flea and worm treatment and 5 weeks of Agria insurance, and a volunteer brings the cat to your home. An owner rehoming through the club should know whether the cat is neutered, which jabs it has had and when it last saw a vet.

Buy from a breeder instead and you pay £200 to well over £1,000 for a registered kitten (Cats Protection), and still need answers about its jabs and vet checks. After that, a Maine Coon costs what any cat does, at least £79 a month on PDSA's figures.

Two inherited problems stand out in an otherwise healthy breed, according to the GCCF. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) the heart muscle thickens and pumps less blood per beat, which can end in heart failure. A DNA test exists for it, and breeders can add an ultrasound scan of the heart. Hip dysplasia can't be found with a simple gene test; X-rays of a breeding cat's hips are the check instead.

• Ask about screening. International Cat Care says Maine Coons are at greater risk of HCM and that screening combines a heart ultrasound with a blood sample or cheek swab. A rescue or owner may not know whether either was ever done.
• Watch the back legs. PDSA adds patellar luxation, where the kneecap slips out of place, and says cats with it or with hip dysplasia are more likely to develop arthritis. Ask how the cat walks and jumps.
• Weight and ears. The GCCF says the breed can tend to put on weight, so feed with care, and that its large ears need checking regularly to make sure they are clean.

Think about space first. The GCCF describes the largest domestic breed it recognises, slow to mature (up to four years), high in energy and in need of plenty of room to play, with a very strong climbing frame that will take its weight. PDSA adds that Maine Coons are playful and chatty, and would rather run around on the floor than curl up on your lap.

Then the coat. PDSA says it needs daily attention to keep knots and tangles away, and the GCCF warns of heavy shedding in spring. Ask an owner whether the cat has lived indoors or had a garden, and keep to that while it settles.

Adopting works differently from buying. A rescue chooses the right home for each cat (on the club page, the owner decides), and kittens hardly ever come up: a kitten on the Maine Coon Cat Club's page is a rare event, the club says, and older cats are the norm. Anything listed near Nottingham or Derby today is on our Nottingham Maine Coon page, and kittens of other kinds on our Nottingham kittens page.

Set on buying? Cats Protection recommends a breeder registered with a body such as the GCCF, a visit to see the kitten with its mother at home, and walking away from sales arranged by video or a social media advert. Ask to see both parents' HCM results, and put down no deposit until you have met the kitten. Pass a suspected scam advert on to Report Fraud (once Action Fraud).