Current Events > I have cat questions. Have to watch a Maine Coon for the foreseeable future.

(+) Yeah! (+)

CE don't fail this cat.

I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm an extremely kind person or try to be, and I've got my best foot forward it trying to give this guy a good home. I just want to learn how, beyond the obvious. Maine Coons are very complicated for the hours of research on google/youtube I've done so far. However, most of those guides and videos tend to explain things vaguely. So many of them are clickbait and not actually informative.

I don't want to talk about it, but my Mom will not be around much longer to be able to take care of him. The cat is one year old.

To get the obvious stuff out of the way, my apartment is extremely clean, and there are no hazards. He has his litter box, water/food bowls, toys, blanket, cat tower and other accessories he grew up with in my place and seems to be utilizing all of them. I've never owned a cat. There are no other pets in the apartment to bother it.

Cat Questions:

1: It recently got groomed, but how often should I be taking a Maine Coon to a groomer? I've seen the pictures, they look like lions. He shouldn't need regular professional grooming. Do try to brush him fairly regularly, but unless he's running into matting issues he won't need to go to a professional groomer.
2: The brand of dry/wet food and litter it is used to are, unfortunately, not accessible here. He's from NYC, and the brands are a very tiny mom/pop store. How do I know what to look for in transitioning those brands? Yes, I've looked online. No dice. Any decently reviewed cat food for his age should work. If you still have the old food, start mixing the new food in bit by bit to get him used to it.
3: I've read they like to go on walks, but I don't think he's been trained. The suburb here is safe and there are few dogs. Should I try leash training? I hear they're active cats. You are by no means required to walk your cat. As long as you provide a stimulating home life with toys and whatnot, an indoor life is perfectly happy. That said, if you are gonna harness train your cat, you want to probably clicker train him. There are all sorts of videos online about that.
4: It doesn't seem to want to hang out or play, and it sleeps a lot. But it wakes up at 2AM and starts... screaming. Like a demon. When approached, it calms down, rubs my ankles, but if I try to pet or play it scurries away. And screams again. Help? Cats sleep a ton, like 17 hours a day, that's normal. What you can do is shift his schedule. Cats might be independent but they do like regularity. Try to feed your cat at roughly the same time each day. Try to play with him at roughly the same time, ideally a bit before you'd like to go to bed. As far as playing goes, take it at his pace. Cats like to control interactions. Play to the degree he let's you, but don't push. Cats, like people, will have preferences on how they like the play so try different toys and play method. I'd start with the tried and true string.
Human-Cat Questions:

1: My sinuses are dryer than the Sahara. I sneezed a little bit of blood last night, and my head is aching. How do I subdue cat allergies? I don't have allergies so I got nothing.
2: I work a lot. Like, 60-70 hours a week. I manage a bar from 10am-2am six days a week. I'm working on reducing my hours in the next two weeks, going to have to, but in the mean time how is the best way to satellite entertain a cat? Do they like the TV on or soft music or anything? I have friends who don't mind at all checking in once a day to feed, water, and check litter around dinner time since I do that in the morning. As long as you are feeding before and after you go to work and scoop the box once a day you shouldn't need people to come around to do that. The bigger thing is entertainment. Try to get a lot of cat toys, don't put them all out at once. Put out a few and just cycle them through. If you can make sure the cat will have access to a window with the blinds up enough for him to see out. Windows provide cats with a lot of stimulation. As mentioned above get active play time with him each day. And beyond that just try to hang out with him when you can. Even if it's just chilling while you watch TV.

Can't think of anything else, but any other unscripted advice would be great.

10am-2am

you work 16 hrs a day 6 days a wk...?

that's insane. like literally by the time you get home, even if you immediately went straight to bed, you would not be able to get a full 8 hrs of sleep let alone do anything else...

: My sinuses are dryer than the Sahara. I sneezed a little bit of blood last night, and my head is aching. How do I subdue cat allergies?