The world learned about the existence of Maine Coons from American breeders. The name of the breed translates as “Manx raccoon.” And if everything is clear with the first term in this phrase (“Maine” - from the name of the American state of Maine), then the second requires clarification. The unusual striped color and fluffy tails of Maine Coons gave rise to a legend among breeders that the breed was obtained by crossing a representative of the cat family with a raccoon. The story remained a story, but the word “coon” (short for the English racoon - raccoon) still stuck to the breed.
The most beautiful version of the appearance of gigantic catfish in North America can be considered the legend of the failed escape of Queen Marie Antoinette. Expecting reprisals from the French revolutionaries, the wife of Louis XIV prepared to flee to the American continent and, to be on the safe side, sent a ship ahead of her with things dear to her heart, including her beloved long-haired cats. The mustache-tailed cargo sailed to the shores of New England safe and sound and, freely interbreeding with local shorthair cats, gave rise to a new breed that soon spread throughout the entire state.