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!