Modern experts tend to believe that the history of the origin of the Maine Coon "race" is much more prosaic. Cats were brought to America a long time ago, but they were mostly short-haired individuals. Long-haired cats arrived on the continent much later, along with the first settlers from the Old World. As a result, having found themselves in favorable conditions for free crossing, the native inhabitants and the "visitors" representatives of the caudate-whiskered brethren became the ancestors of a new variety of large long-haired cats.
A real pioneer in the development of the Maine Coon breed was a cat named Captain Jenks from the Marine Cavalry. This fluffy giant caused an indescribable delight of the audience in 1861, making a mark at cat shows in Boston and New York and eclipsing the then popular Angoras. But by the 20th century, the Manx giants had given up their positions and were driven out by the Persians and Siamese for almost half a century. After the end of World War II, the Kuns reasserted themselves, however, at that time only within the American continent. In 1953, the breed acquired its own official club, and in 1968 the first association of lovers and breeders of "Manx raccoons" Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association / MCBFA was founded. As for Europe, the Kuns reached it only in the 70s of the last century.
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