(snipped)
He looks a LOT like a Maine Coon. He has the bushy
tail, the big high ears with little tufts of hair sticking out, and
the shaggy fur, including the droopy belly fur and britches. The only
characteristics he lacks are the longer mouth (his is more like a
normal housecat), and he doesn't trill. His personality is sweet,
gentle and playful, curious and intelligent. The vet and the shelter
thought he was 1-2 years old. He weighs 10.1 lbs, but after reading
about Maine Coons, maybe he's still growing. When he stretches up to
scratch the scratching post I made for him he can reach up well over a
meter without even straining, so he's bigger than his statistics would
lead you to believe. And then, he's probably not purebred too.

I don't have any good pics of him yet because I am clumsy with a
camera and can never get it working properly in time to catch a good
shot. As soon as I do I'll put some up. He looks a lot like Tyee on
http://www.verismocat.com/htmscripts/petscomp.htm, except that his
mouth isn't so long. (You have to look through the pics to find Tyee,
who is in a photo with another cat.)

In the meantime, I read that cardiomyopathy is a common problem with
Maine Coons, as is hip dysplasia. I have a visit scheduled at the vet
for December 15 to get a booster for one of the vaccinations, so I'll
ask her about these issues. In the meantime, are there any other
medical things to watch out for with Maine Coons? And is it possible
to check at his age to see if he is going to develop any of these
ailments?

Congratulations! It sounds like you got a beautiful, sweet cat. He's probably a
DLH mix who just has a bushy tail though. Unless he's a Maine Coon who was
lost, or was dumped at a shelter, and that's possible, but not real likely.
(But that's really good, IMO, he'll have good moggie genetics) There are lots
of cats who look like Maine Coons. 10 lbs. sounds really light for a
two-year-old MC also. I wouldn't worry too much about PKD, hip displacia or
cardiomyopathy really, unless you have specific symptoms. Testing is expensive,
and unless there are symptoms, there's no need to put the cat through it just
because he looks like a Maine Coon, IMO./
Here's a pic of my daughter's MC when he was about 2. (regular posters, forgive
me, I know I've posted these before. Humor the Grandmeowmie please)
http://www.members.aol.com/jjrich0523/jamieorion.jpg
http://www.members.aol.com/sriddles/o.jpg

Sherrry