Purchasing a MC. Choosing the right breeder and right cat.

Hello, I'm in search of 'the right cat/kitten' but being new to the breed, how do I ensure I get it. No matter what I bring home, the cat will have a happy, healthy loving home for life, as all my animals have. But I would really like to ensure that if I'm spending £500 on a kitten, that I am getting one with excellent conformation, true to the breed standard with a low inbreeding coefficient and out of parents that are tested for all the usuals.

I have control over the latter as I can make sure I choose to purchase from a breeder who has their breeding stock tested and by checking the 5 gen pedigree, but how do I ensure I get a good looking cat if I am not an expert on Maine Coons. I can tell a good looking adult cat when I see one, but choosing a kitten is a different ball game.

All maine coons are lovely beasts, and I've been reading a great deal about how much time, effort, energy and money, that most breeders put into their breeding stock and raising kittens. I would hate to offend any breeder by not wanting to purchase a kitten that wasn't show quality. Especially when I wouldn't even begin to know if a kitten i was or wasn't show quality. Does anyone have any advice for me please? Thank you very much.

Firstly do you want a kitten to show....????? If you do then the breeder should advice you & it is in the breeders best interest to make sure you are going to take out a cat that promotes their prefix,having said that a lot of the kittens that are not shown would actualy be of show quality,very few are shown compared to the number of kittens sold to pet homes but at the end of the day all of them are pets whether they are shown or not,good breeders do their utmost to produce strong healthy babes......
If you give an area where you live hopefully someone will have brought from a breeder around there & will give some helpful advice.

I was lucky and got a recommendation from a uk forum and I emailed them and they were very friendly and were more than happy to discuss what they do etc. So I organised a visit to them as I wasn't going to be looking for quite some time due to work commitments. So after reading on here about getting a kitten I knew the questions to ask etc, but the place was clean, the MCs came in and straight up to my mum and me and said hello. One jumped up and sat on my mum and the other sat beside me and fell asleep so I could straight away see they were properly cared for and also socialised well which was great to see. The breeder doesn't breed to sell either, its when they have kittens that's when they will sell them. Also the breeder should have no problem with any questions you have and if they seem hesitant or don't want to answer anything then I'd be very worried about using them. They are a great place and I have now seen my 2 boys at 5 weeks and they are the most gorgeous things ever haha. You can get bad breeder as has been the case for one of the poor forum posters on here so you really have to be careful. But as has been said you need to say where you live before we can help you.

Thank you very much for your replies. I am interested in showing, but not as a full time hobby due to work and family commitments, so it would be at local shows. I used to show my dog like this and we had a great time. I live in Cheshire, but I'm willing to travel for the right breeder. I have found a breeder near me, migabobonito who currently has kittens, however it doesn't look like any are currently available. The parents of the two older kittens she has for sale are lovely looking cats. Does anyone have experience with this breeder?

thanks

I've no experience with that breeder, but I'm also in Cheshire and got my Sully from Sue (Colordale Maine Coons) in Rossendale. She has kittens due in mid January and the parents can be seen at www.colordale.com. She's a lovely lady and very informative and communicative about her cats and kittens.

A breeder experienced in producing show cats will be able to judge the potential of a kitten at a relatively young age, but there is no guarantee that your baby will actually win anything even then. If you explain your requirements from the outset, I am sure most breeders would be happy to help you find the right kitten.