Maine Coon Cats

Cats, as everyone knows, have long been associated with magic. They have historically had the reputation of being familiars for witches and mages, and sometimes, for being workers of magic themselves. These folk beliefs are, as usual, overblown, but it is well known among those with The Talent that cats can sense magic, curses, and spirits. For this reason, many mages have kept cats in the home as a sort of guard, thus leading to the idea of the familiar.
In the early 1990s, magi-veterinarians at the MacNamara Breeding Farm discovered quite by accident that Maine Coon cats have a greater ability to sense magic and curses than most cats, possibly because of their high intelligence. This particular breed of cat also is loyal and hardy--not to mention popular--and the MacNamaras began to breed Maine Coon cats specifically to be used as guards.
Through experimentation, the MacNamaras developed a training program for their Maine Coon kittens, teaching them to communicate with their people when they sense magic, curses, or spirits. Maine Coon cats are quite happily vocal, as well as intelligent, and this pioneering program succeeded. A Maine Coon trained at the MacNamara Breeding Farm has therefore become quite a valuable resource, especially in these troubled times where Magio-Supremacist terrorists have been working to disrupt the Talented World. Indeed, the Department of Integrated Services has put in an order for dozens of these specially trained Maine Coon cats to work in the DIS Building in Washington, D.C.
The MacNamaras later discovered (also by accident) that half-breeds of their Maine Coon cats carry the trait for magical and spiritual perception. These half-breed cats are less expensive than the purebred ones, but still expensive, as they must be trained just as the purebred cats are. Still, many customers prefer the half-breed Maine Coons because of their hybrid vigor and (occasionally) shorter hair.
The MacNamara Maine Coons are quite expensive--$1700 for a purebred, $1200 for a half-breed--but most mages find the cost worth the benefit of having a trained magical guard, especially a loyal guard who loves children and purrs.

by M. Wendy Hennequin

Scientific Name

Felis catus

Origin/Ancestry

American (Maine)