Got to see our first Maine Coons in person

My fiancee and I went to the Santa Monica cat show last weekend and we finally got to see our first Maine Coons in person, we've been relying on pictures and videos thus far. We were both awestruck, these are amazing creatures.

We got the chance to pet a great looking 4 month old male. We couldn't believe how silky smooth their fur was, I'm guessing that is until their full coat comes in, but I could be wrong. It was his first time at a cat show, didn't phase him.

We saw a silver tabby and a red tabby, I've never seen colors mixed together in such a stunning pattern. We definately chose the correct breed of cats to get. We're hoping to get our MCs in January if all goes well.

Same happened to me too over two years ago. Went to the UK Maine Coon Club show in July 2010 and I was hooked.

My Leo was entered into his one and only show at 16 weeks and he wasn't fazed either. Now, at 21 months old he is a big fuzzy and soft bundle of love. Don't worry about the softness - as long as you brush/groom them and feed them the right quality food all will stay silky. The other two brothers are not quite so "super model" but they also have developed well and are just as wonderful in character and fuzziness.

Yup, same thing happened to me over 11 years ago. My guy (10 weeks at the time) was the only Coon at the adoption event, and he was the most beautiful, most calm kitten there. Over 4 years, he grew to 30 pounds - solid. Yes, amazing creatures!

Very important is that he gets his daily ration of "cat grass".
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_1819.jpg

I saw pictures of the kitten that we got to pet when he was 8 weeks old, we were surprised how big Maines get at just 4 months. Another guy walked by and asked how old the kitten was, he said in surprise "4 months?!" At 4 months these kittens are at least as large as any other full grown cat I've personally seen or owned.

Seeing these cats in person also showed us how poorly pictures actually portray these animals. We can hardly wait to have 2 of these amazing kittens to care for. The kitten we got to pet and another one that we saw were actually from the breeder we have been in contact with, so it was really great to see kittens of hers and how well they have moved to other owners; was also nice to speak with references directly.

There is no better way of finding out about your favorite breed then going to a show & I always let people pet & make a fuss of mine too as I think it gives them an even better insight into the breed,will also lump 10kg of cat flesh into their arms too if they ask is he heavy....!
How long now before you get your babes...? Be prepared for no one to accept they are only three months or so old because as you say they are large even at that young age,I sometimes think perhaps it would be nice to have another breed so I could have a sweet "little" bundle but what a joy I would miss out on so perhaps not...! Their fur stays lovely & soft some are more silkier than others,I find my silvers are really silky but they all have that super softness to it.
Will look forward to seeing photos of your babes once they have picked you as their new parents...x

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jckkerrison

There is no better way of finding out about your favorite breed then going to a show & I always let people pet & make a fuss of mine too as I think it gives them an even better insight into the breed,will also lump 10kg of cat flesh into their arms too if they ask is he heavy....!
How long now before you get your babes...? Be prepared for no one to accept they are only three months or so old because as you say they are large even at that young age,I sometimes think perhaps it would be nice to have another breed so I could have a sweet "little" bundle but what a joy I would miss out on so perhaps not...! Their fur stays lovely & soft some are more silkier than others,I find my silvers are really silky but they all have that super softness to it.
Will look forward to seeing photos of your babes once they have picked you as their new parents...x

---

The breeder we spoke to said she normally doesn't let people pet her cats, I think that's just for shows since there could be diseases transmitted by touch, but since we had been in contact and everything she let us, what a privilege that was.

We're still waiting to find out for sure if the cat is pregnant, hopefully confirmation this week, and then hopefully she has kittens that we want. If we cross all those hurdles, they'd be going home early January. She has another cat that hasn't gotten pregnant the last 3 times, that cat was bred a couple of weeks ago, so if she's pregnant that is another potential litter to choose from. We are extremely hopeful.

If the cat is pregnant and there are kittens we want from the litter, I'll get some pictures up after we get to choose them.

No you can't blame breeders for not allowing people to touch their animals as they obviously don't want to take any unwanted problems home so yes you were very lucky but that's why I allow people more access to my lot,not being a breeder I don't have quite so much to worry about,even when i take them to work for their annual jabs the rules get broken as everyone wants to "just"look at how big they are so that means a quick let out of their carrier,a no no really....

Good luck with the girls coming up with your babes,I had to wait a few years for my breeder to come up with my designer babe & by then I had three others,just too addictive these MC's,are you going for girl's,boys,one of each or waiting to see ....?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Good luck with the girls coming up with your babes,I had to wait a few years for my breeder to come up with my designer babe & by then I had three others,just too addictive these MC's,are you going for girl's,boys,one of each or waiting to see ....?

---

I sure hope it's not years, we don't want anything special, we like the tabby coats, we like the blue, silver, brown, and red colors. If we can, we'd like low white, but if it came down to it, we'd accept kittens with high white. We're looking for 2 males, we like that they are really goofy, and we like the large size of the males.

It's looking like the 2 cats that she had originally told us might be pregnant, probably aren't. But her third female is pregnant, not sure of the circumstances. We put down a deposit for 2 kittens, they're supposed to be born mid October. There's 1 deposit in front of us for a male, so hopefully there are at least 3 males, 1 for them, 2 for us. We're hoping for as many colors as possible so we can have 2 completely different colored kittens for easy identification. Would love a red classic tabby and a silver classic tabby, though I don't think silver is possible from the parents, but we'll see.