Maine Coon tassels are the “trademark” of this remarkable breed in many respects. According to legends, the first maine coons were the descendants of domestic striped cats and forest lynxes, which is why these cats have “animal” fur on their ears. Of course, this is not the case — the species are too far apart from each other, so it is impossible to obtain feline-lynx offspring.
There are other breeds with tassels, for example, Norwegian forest cats and pixybobs. But a considerable part of the charm of the Maine Coon lies precisely in the large ears decorated in the lynx manner.
Even when choosing a kitten, it is recommended to pay attention to its ears, which is often understood unambiguously: there are brushes — this is a maine coon, no — a half-breed or a mongrel kitten. In fact, they are not a mandatory attribute for Maine Coons. The breed standards prescribe their desirability, but an animal with small tassels will not be disqualified in any case. They are not an obligatory sign of the purebred animal, but, of course, they make the maine coon more spectacular and “wild”.
In Maine Coon kittens, the tassels on the ears are not very thick, over time they grow and become “lynx”. Do not expect that the kitten will become the owner of lush brushes with lightning speed — they grow slowly. The brushes of Maine coons of the European type (extremals) are often longer than those of “Americans”, but extremals are in principle larger than Aboriginal coons, in addition, long brushes on the ears are “cultivated” by lovers of “Europeans”.
You can find all sorts of tips for building brushes on the ears of a coon. Most often, such manipulations do not lead to anything other than stress in the animal, because the size of the brushes depends only on the genetics of the Maine Coon. It happens that a kitten has large brushes, and when it grows up, they remain medium-sized, or even small. It’s all about the individual characteristics of each animal. It is often advised to take vitamins to improve the condition of the coat — maybe the Maine Coon brushes will not become giant, but it will not hurt the health of a pet.