BREED COMPARISON

	Maine Coon	Norwegian Forest Cat	Siberian
HEAD
Shape	Broad modified wedge	Triangular with straight lines	Broad, modified wedge with gentle rounded contours
Size	Medium	In proportion to body size	Large, impressive
Frontal Skull/Forehead	Gentle curve	Flat	Slightly curved
Profile	Gentle concave slope. Allow for a slight bump at the end	Straight from top of forehead (brow) to tip of the nose. No break	Top of head is flat; forehead is slightly curved. Nose has a slight curvature and the lower portion to the tip of the nose is slightly concave rather than straight
Cheekbones	High, prominent. Distinct stop can be felt under cheekbones	Not mentioned	Not pronounced
Muzzle	Square	Following the line of the triangular head with no evidence of pinch or snippiness.	Rounded; moderately long
EARS
Size	Large	Medium to Large	Medium to Large
Placement	Close together	Continuation of triangle	1 to 1-1/2 ear widths apart
Shape	Wide at base. Lower base set just slightly further back than upper base. Moderately pointed.	Wide at base; slightly rounded at tip	Wide at base with rounded tips
Furnishings	Extend horizontally beyond the outer edge of the ear	Extending beyond outer edge of the ear	Long from middle of ear; covering base of ear completely
Lynx Tips	Extend vertically from the top back of the ear	Desirable	Desirable
EYES
Shape	Slightly oval, appear round when wide open	Moderately large, almond shape	Large, almost round
Placement	Wide set	Medium-wide set	Wide set
Neck
Shape/Size	Sturdy	Heavy musculature	Rounded; well-muscled; substantial; thick
Length	Medium-long	Medium	Medium-long
Body
Shape	Rectangular, but not slender	Sturdy, considerable girth. Males large and imposing, allowance should be made for females, as they can be considerably smaller than males.	Substantial; back slightly curved or arched.
Length	Long	Moderate	Moderately long
Size	Large	Males large and imposing	Not given
Musculature	Substantial and powerful	Substantial and powerful	Substantial
Bone Structure	Substantial	Substantial	Large
Chest	Broad chest	Full chest	Well-rounded
Hips	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	Substantial
TAIL
Shape	Wide at base and tapering to tip with full, flowing hair	Wide at base, tapering to end. Bushy	Wide at base, blunt at tip. Even and thick long hairs drape down from top side of tail
Length	At least as long as the body from shoulders to base of tail.	As long as the body	Medium in length
LEGS
Length	Medium to form a rectangle with the body	Medium to long, in proportion to body	Moderately long
Hind legs	Not mentioned	Hind legs longer than front	Slightly longer than front legs; not noticeable when cat is in motion.
Bone Structure	Substantial	Heavy	Heavy
Musculature	Substantial	Heavily muscled thighs; substantial lower legs	Substantial
FEET
Shape	Round	Round	Round.
Size	Large	Large	Large
Toe Tufts	Well-tufted	Well-tufted	Desirable
COAT
Length	Uneven; shorter on shoulders, gradually lengthening, long shaggy britches and belly fur	Uneven	Moderately long to longhaired
Texture	All-weather coat. Coat has distinct body, falling smoothly along body	Coarse	The coat gives the impression of lacquer and oil when ungroomed
Density	Slight undercoat	Double coat with a feeling of heaviness and depth covered by water repellent guard hairs.	Tight undercoat, thicker in cold weather
Miscellaneous	Falling smoothly along body	The type and quality of the coat is of primary importance, color and pattern of coat secondary	Hair on the shoulder blades and lower part of the chest being thick and slightly shorter
Ruff	Frontal ruff	Full ruff is not expected but should be a frontal ruff beginning at the base of the ears	Abundant
COLOR
	Not mentioned 5 points	The type and quality of the coat is of primary importance, color and pattern of coat secondary 5 points	Clear strong colors and patterns desirable, but are secondary to type 10 points