The Maine Coon Cat has a long, rectangular body with a deep chest to go between the thick weeds and brush of the New England countryside. Maine Coons possess the incredible mass and strength that they were required to catch their food and also maintain the many native and wild competing carnivore species at bay if confronted. They have extremely long whiskers, being night hunters, so they could feel the proximity of side branches and weeds without having to totally bump into them (in the dark) and get weed seeds stuck to their long fur. The massive tail with a thick, muscular base served several vital survival functions. The length makes total balance and agility, at high speed and climbing, an easy accomplishment. While at rest, that heavy 8-inch diameter fur on the tail (sometimes called a brush) is wrapped around the legs and stomach to conserve vital body warmth. These were the most perfect predators of any of the purely domesticated cats, and they have no exotic wild-species bloodlines in them. Even still, modern teeth are formidable and long to permit penetrating deeply into rats, etc. to kill their food.