what is the difference between a ragdoll and a maine coon cat?

My sister had a very large black cat. We can't tell if he is a maine coon or a ragdoll. He is very heavy, very muscular. Please settle the debate once and for all.

Ragdolls are longhair cats and only come in pointed or pointed/bicolor patterns. Maine Coons are large longhair cats and come in a varity of colors but NOT in the pointed/chocolate patterns/colors.Here is info on both breeds:http://www.breedlist.com/maine-coon-breeders.htmlhttp://www.breedlist.com/ragdoll-breeders.html

There' s no such thing as a black Ragdoll- they are colourpoint cats, with or without white spotting. There are some blacl Maine Coons but they are fairly rare. If the cat was a pedigree breed it would have come from a breeder with registration papers and a pedigree certificate- if this is not the case then in all likelihood you have a moggy or non-pedigree cat.

Ragdolls are rather large,resemble long hair Siamese,usually with some white at point areas.My female,who is now part of a feral colony has white tip booties.Generally a pretty laid back attitude. A maine coon,is a large cat and you can usually tell by the M on their forehead.Although I've never seen a black one.The other answers are great and you can do the research on line if any further descriptions are needed.Your last answerer gave you some excellent sites to check.

i have a white ragdoll they say ragdolls have darker tails and ers and back then the rest of the body. they say thats one way to tell if its a ragdoll also the fur the fur feels really soft like a bunny they have different type of fur thats really soft unlike other breeds of cats but you can type in google ragdoll cats and it should tell you more about the breeds. i found all this info on watching cats 101 on animal planet