Maine Coon Grooming: A Professional Groomer's Complete Guide
The Coat Is The Whole Job
Maine Coons have one of the most beautiful coats in the cat world — and one of the most misunderstood. That dense double coat, the lion-like mane, the britches, the plumed tail: it looks effortless, but it isn't. Left alone, that same coat mats down to the skin faster than most new owners expect.
I'm Lucy Appel of Bellspurr Maine Coons, and I've groomed cats professionally for eight years. I first learned coat care while showing Persian cats — a breed that teaches you grooming in a hurry — and I went on to earn my Feline Master Groomer credential from the National Cat Groomers Institute of America (NCGIA), because I wanted to be certain I was doing it right, not just the way I'd been shown. That same standard is how every Bellspurr kitten is raised: handled, combed, and comfortable with grooming from the very start.
This is the routine I actually use and teach. Follow it and your Maine Coon's coat stays clean, comfortable, and gorgeous.
Understanding The Maine Coon Coat
Before the how, the why. A Maine Coon's coat is a double coat: a soft, dense undercoat underneath longer, water-resistant guard hairs on top. That undercoat is the part that mats and the part that ends up on your furniture. It's longer at the mane (ruff), the britches (back legs), the belly, and the tail — and it sheds seasonally, with heavier "coat blows" as the weather turns, when combing matters most.
Where Mats Form First
Mats start at friction points. Check these every single time:
Your kitten's coat also isn't the coat they'll have as an adult. If you're wondering when that famous mane fills in, here's the timeline: when your Maine Coon develops its mane.
Combing & De-Matting: The Core Routine
If you do one thing, do this. Regular combing — not brushing — is what prevents almost every grooming problem down the line.
Here's my monthly grooming routine:
Glides over the top and feels like it's working — but it skims the surface and presses the undercoat into tighter mats underneath. This is why "I brush every day" cats still mat.
Reaches all the way to the skin, where mats start, and actually lifts the dead undercoat out. The only reliable way to keep a double coat mat-free.
The only way to keep a double coat from matting is to comb it — all the way to the skin — with a professional comb like the Chris Christensen 00C 6.5 in Crescent Coarse/Fine Finishing Butter Comb (the curved "half-moon" comb).
My Chris Christensen Crescent comb — I carry it everywhere.
How often: A few times a week for most coats, and daily during heavy shedding seasons. A cat that's combed regularly rarely needs anything dramatic.
The technique that matters: Comb in sections, getting all the way down to the skin — not just the top of the coat. Work with the direction of the coat, and give extra attention to those friction zones.
How To De-Mat, Step by Step
- Work in sections, in good light. Never try to tackle the whole coat at once — divide it up and take one small area at a time.
- Start at the bottom and work up, layer by layer. Lift the coat, work the lowest layer nearest the skin first, then let the next layer down — bottom to top — so you're never fighting the whole coat at once.
- Protect the skin. Hold the base of the mat between the skin and the tangle so you're not pulling on the skin, and ease the mat apart from its edges with the comb. Don't yank.
- Let the coat tell you. Dead coat comes out painlessly. If it hurts or resists, stop forcing — switch to the FURminator to lift the loose coat, gently.
- Never use scissors. The skin tents up into the base of a mat, and it's far too easy to cut your cat.
- Know when to hand it over. If a mat is tight or close to the skin, that's a groomer's job — it's clipped out safely with the blade held flat and parallel to the skin.
The De-Matting Ladder
The Tools I Actually Use
If you invest in one tool, make it a quality steel comb — it tells you the truth about whether you've actually reached the skin, which is where mats start. The one I reach for is the Chris Christensen 00C 6.5 in Crescent Coarse/Fine Finishing Butter Comb: the coarse end works through the coat, the fine end finishes, and the rounded teeth glide instead of dragging or breaking the hair. It's an investment, but it's the last comb you'll buy.
You'll find it — along with the rest of the grooming tools I actually use — in my store: Shop my grooming tools →
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Watch: the best grooming tools for your Maine Coon.
Prefer to just comb over the top now and then? A Chris Christensen brush works for a light going-over between combings — the comb still does the real mat-prevention work.
Watch: my 3 steps to groom your cat.
Bathing
Yes, Maine Coons can be bathed — and a proper bath does things combing can't, especially for a heavy or show coat. Done right, it goes in order:
Step 1 — Degrease first. This is the step most people skip, and on a heavy coat it's the one that matters most — especially the greasy spots like the chin and the base of the tail. I start with a concentrated degreasing shampoo, the Kelco 50:1 Filthy Animal Shampoo, to cut the oils before anything else.
Step 2 — Wash and condition. Once the coat is degreased, I follow with a professional 2-in-1 — the Chris Christensen Pro-Line Fair Advantage Shampoo & Conditioner. It cleans and conditions in one pass and adds body without weighing the coat down.
Step 3 — Rinse completely. Anything left behind dulls the coat and invites mats — rinse until the water runs clear.
Step 4 — Dry all the way down. This is where a household hairdryer falls short. I use a high-velocity pet dryer with a heater — both the Flying Pig High Velocity Dog Pet Grooming Dryer w/Heater (handheld) and the Flying Pig High Velocity Dog Pet Stand Grooming Dryer w/Variable Air Speed & Heat (stand). It dries to the skin and blows the loose undercoat out as you go, and because a coat that's damp underneath will mat, "dry" means dry all the way to the skin.
I made a full step-by-step video walking through exactly how I do it:
Want the written version too? Here's the deep dive: how to bathe your Maine Coon.
To Shave Or Not To Shave
I'll give you the honest answer most people don't: a Maine Coon almost never needs to be shaved. Shaving is for genuine problems — severe matting or a medical reason — not for convenience or to "keep them cool." A shaved double coat can grow back uneven, and it strips the very insulation that regulates their temperature.
When shaving is genuinely necessary — a pelted mat, or a sanitary or medical trim — it's a job for professional clippers, never household scissors. I use the Wahl Professional Animal Bravura Lithium Ion Clipper, which is built for pet coats. Even so, a full shave-down is best left to a groomer or your vet, where it can be done safely. And the shears I use professionally — the Chris Christensen Classic Series Grooming Shears — are a pro's tool: in an owner's hands, blades near a cat's skin are how cats get hurt, so please leave them to a professional.
When it is and isn't the right call: the pros and cons of shaving Maine Coon cats.
Dental Care
Grooming isn't only the coat. Dental disease is one of the most common — and most overlooked — health issues in most cats, and a little routine care goes a long way. Here's how to build the habit: a guide to Maine Coon dental care.
Shedding & Hairballs
The undercoat you comb out is the undercoat they don't swallow. Consistent combing is your first and best defense against hairballs, alongside good hydration and diet.
Most of that loose undercoat comes out with the comb — that's still my main tool. If you find you're having to pull too hard, a deshedding tool like the FURminator Medium to Large Cat deShedding Tool for Short Hair can help lift the excess, but go gently and let the comb do most of the work.
More on prevention: how to prevent hairballs in Maine Coons.
Nails, Ears & Eyes
The quick hygiene checks that round out a grooming session:
- Nails: a trim every few weeks keeps them from catching and splitting. You only need a simple, inexpensive pair of cat nail clippers — I use the Candure Cat Nail Clipper Stainless Steel Cat Claw Trimmers — and take only the clear tip, never near the pink quick.
- Ears: check for buildup; clean gently only when needed.
- Eyes: wipe away tear staining before it sets into the fur. For faces that need more help, I use the Eye Envy Cat Tear Stain Remover Starter Kit.
Pro Tips & Common Mistakes
- Brushing instead of combing. A brush glides over the surface while the undercoat mats underneath — the reason so many "daily brushed" cats still get matted. Use a comb, and reach the skin.
- Waiting until it's already matted. Prevention is easy; de-matting is hard on everyone. A few minutes a week beats an hour of untangling.
- Forcing through resistance. Dead coat comes out painlessly — if it hurts, that's the signal to ease off and change tools, not to pull harder.
- Reaching for scissors or clippers at home. This is how cats get cut. Leave blades to a groomer or your vet.
- Skipping the bath fundamentals. Not degreasing first, or leaving the coat damp underneath — both quietly undo the whole job.
- Starting too late. Handle and comb kittens young so grooming is just part of life, never a fight.
Maine Coon Grooming FAQ
Comb. A brush skims the surface and can press the undercoat into mats — the reason so many "daily brushed" cats still get matted. Comb to the skin with a professional comb.
A few times a week for most coats, and daily during heavy shedding seasons.
Work it layer by layer from the bottom, in small sections, easing it apart with a comb — never scissors. Tight mats close to the skin are a groomer's job.
They benefit from them: degrease first, wash and condition, rinse completely, and dry all the way to the skin.
Almost never — only for severe matting or a medical reason, and best done by a groomer or vet.
Coats That Start Right
Every Bellspurr kitten grows up with a Feline Master Groomer's hands on them from the start, so combing, handling, and bath time are simply part of life — one less thing you'll have to teach later. When you bring home a Bellspurr Maine Coon, you're getting a kitten whose coat was cared for correctly from day one.
- See our available kittens: Maine Coon Kittens For Sale
- Meet the breeder behind them: About Bellspurr
- Read what our families say: Bellspurr Reviews
- Shop my basic grooming favorites on Amazon: My Grooming Picks
- Browse my full Amazon store: Lucy Appel Bellspurr Maine Coons on Amazon
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