Thread: Wanting to buy a Maine Coon Kitten

I don't know anything about these breeders, but you should try to stick to a breeder that tests for HCM both via the DNA test and by doing echo screenings (as the DNA test catches only the one most common mutation but there are thought to be others) as well as HD, and perhaps SMA and PKD.

Obviously another thing you should consider about breeders is what their cats look like. Personally, I don't go for the Congocoons look (very tall ears and wide muzzles), but you might. The Suncoons cats are more typical looking MCs, and I find them more attractive. You may be able to get some idea of what others think of a breeder's cats by seeing what show rankings they have achieved (though this is somewhat dependent on how much time a breeder wants to spend going to shows). I don't see any rankings given for any of the Congocoons cats, though, which is kind of unusual. I see the two Suncoons males are both listed as Grand Champions (which is good).

A really excellent breeder that isn't as far away from you as Alabama is LAPD: Los Angeles Purr Department Not sure how easy it is to get a kitten from them, though.

Other considerations:

Make certain you are going to get registration papers with the kitten (may not get until after neutered/spayed). In the US these would be from either CFA or TICA.

Cost: most MC breeders are selling kittens in the $600-$800 range, though some better known breeders are more around $1000 or even much higher.

Some breeders are very choosy about who they sell their cats to and will ask lots of questions, not ship them, etc. While this can sometimes seem annoying, consider whether you would want to buy from someone that cared only whether you had the money.

Kittens are probably going to be better socialized if the breeder has a small number of litters each year. If you find a breeder that has lots of kittens all the time, they probably are getting relatively little attention.

Generally a breeder will not let you get a kitten until it is at least 12-13 weeks. I would be very concerned about any breeder that talked about you getting one earlier.

Some breeders have begun neutering/spaying before they let the kittens go. While some people don't go for doing this so young, I can tell you that it is pretty stressful having to go through the spaying of a female at 6-7mos, as they generally look quite poorly for a couple of days. So, there are some advantages to having it done early.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by NCarver

Some breeders are very choosy about who they sell their cats to and will ask lots of questions, not ship them, etc.

Ship a cat? Are you serious? Do you mean they are put in a box???? Surely not...

My cats were both "shipped" from a different state. They were taken to the airport in a cat cage - put on a plane and I picked them up at the airport my end. Sarah came over with no problems but Zack had a fiasco of some sort and ended up cutting his mouth and was sick and stressed so a vet trip and some treatment later he was fine. I figured 1 1/2 hours on a plane would be better than 7 to 8 hours in a car. I would have been stuck if he had lost the plot on a long drive.

Poor Zach! I feel sorry for them having to go through an ordeal like that, but I'm in the UK so we don't have these long distances to deal with. I was very lucky to find a breeder just 20 minutes' drive away, and even that was bad enough when we went to get Larry - he cried all the way home in the car, with me talking to him all the time and giving him my fingers to sniff. Our breeder shows her stud cat, but won't drive for more than 1 hour with him in case he gets too stressed out.

Thank you all for your comments! *hugs*

Yes, to ship a cat means to put him or her in a plane and fly it over. A lot of breeders don`t ship their cats. I prefer breeders who don`t ship their cats. But Alabama is far away and I really love the look of the Congocoons. The breeder of Congocoons did not answer yet. If I end up buying from her, I will try to drive there myself and pick the cat up. Shipping is my last choice...

CCarver that was really totally helpful! Thank you so much!!!
Yes I am concerned with Congocoons a little, too, because they don`t seem to do shows... Suncoons seem to be perfect so far, since I even will be able to visit them. I will check out the link from Los Angeles, too. There would not be a problem to drive to Los Angeles, too. I will take a look, if I like the look of the LA cats. Thank you again!

Edit: I was looking at http://lapurrd.com, right now! Thanks for the link! Yes, they are beautiful! I filled out the contact form. I was hoping for some more information at the webpage, but I will ask the breeder in personal then. Thank you!

We got one MC kitten that was shipped (via plane). Much more stressful for us waiting and worrying than it apparently was for the kitten. We got the carrier in the car, opened it, and out he popped as if nothing at all unusual had been going on. However, I would generally prefer not to put a kitten through that. There also is an added expense for shipping of course--though driving hundreds of miles isn't going to cost nothing, to say nothing of keeping a young kitten cooped up in a car for hours and hours.

It is true that LAPD does not have much info on their website. You can see on their "champs" page that they have a large number of I.W.S.G.C. (international winner, supreme grand champion) cats. No idea what the asking price of their kitten might be, nor how easy to get one. The woman that bred two of our MCs has gotten cats from LAPD and they now have one of hers. Since she is a very conscientious breeder, I know that LAPD must be very good. Our breeder's site is Maine Coon Cats of Chemicoons of Illinois* - This site requires Java but she is in Chicago now (plus no available kittens any time soon).

One potentially important thing I realize that I forgot to mention is that in the US, most top MC breeders will not sell you a kitten if you intend to allow it outside unsupervised! The sale contracts will spell this out and may even say that you can be made to forfeit ownership if you fail to follow the contract requirements. Certainly any health guarantee will be void if you lie and let the cat outside. So if you are buying a MC that you intend to be an outside cat, you may have a hard time finding a good breeder willing to sell to you.

Thank you NCarver for the information about the breeder. I hope they will write back soon. I don`t care about the cost, as long as I get a healthy wonderful MC.

Thanks for telling me about the outdoor-rule. I read it too at many breeder sites. And I am totally fine with that. I don`t want my $1000 cat go outside and stolen by a neighbor or eaten by a coyote anyways. My other cats were first allowed to go into my yard when I was with them, but I stopped that as I learned about the rattlesnakes, coyotes and black widows in this area. OO Although there is a big wall around the whole yard at least black widows find their way into it anyways. I don`t need that kind of stress right now. LOL

edit: Wonderful breeder by the way. Thank you! I will contact her, too.