Cat Forum - View Single Post - How to Find a Maine Coon Kitten

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4. How old will the kitten be before it comes home? Ten weeks is minimum, most breeders hold kittens until 12 weeks or maybe longer. MC's are a slow developing breed, and need a long period of nurturing from both their mothers and breeders. Kittens develop their sense of bonding with humans between 2 and l0 weeks of age - it's wrong to break their bond to their FIRST "human" - the breeder - any earlier. They also have not developed their immune systems or had their necessary shots before l0 weeks of age. Any breeder selling kittens younger than this is more interested in moving the kittens out and getting the money than in raising healthy, stable, happy kittens. At about l2-l3 weeks, a MC kitten is going to be gaining a quarter to half pound a week, and is confident and ready to bounce right into its new home with confidence. Don't worry - they may be "big", but they are still "babies"!

5. Will the kitten be registered? It's kind of silly to have a purebred cat and not register it - the cost is less than $l0. Generally, the breeder will provide the "blue slip", or official registration, when you notify the breeder that the kitten has been neutered.

6. Will I get a contract and written health warranty? You should. And read the contract specifications carefully. Most breeders will be requiring that the kitten be kept strictly indoors, not declawed, not shown without permission, and neutered at a specific age. Another clause in most contracts is that this kitten may not be transferred to anyone else without obtaining the breeder's permission (hey, we interviewed YOU!)...and that, if for some reason you cannot keep this cat in the future, the breeder must be given the opportunity to take the cat back and assist in finding it a new home. This is because a nightmare to a legitimate breeder would be to find out that one of his/her cherished kittens ended up in a pound. This should never, ever happen.

Your health warranty will spell out your rights. State laws vary, but most warranties will cover a specific period of time for which the breeder remains liable. Check carefully over the specfics - and ask the breeder if you have questions about it.

7. What if I want a show cat? Most breeders are happy to mentor someone through the show process, once you have demonstrated a true commitment to the time and money required. The best way to do this is to buy a "show quality cat", neuter it, and show it in premiership ( the neutered cat equivalent to championship). If you get hit with the show bug, you'll have a lot of contacts and experience if you then decide to go ahead and establish a breeding program.

8. What if I want to breed? A BYB will be happy to sell you breeding rights to the cat for extra money. Don't do it. First, you will find it impossible to find a stud cat for your female from a legitimate breeder to breed to. The converse is, no legitimate breeder is going to want to obtain stud service from your male either. Legitimate breeders get these calls all the time - and none of us believe in just plain" breeding for the sake of breeding". We think that the majority of breeding cats should be titled - and the chance of you having gotten a true show quality cat from a BYB is about zero. You will not have had a mentor with experience with the established show/breeding community, and by selling you breeding rights, the BYB has created another BYB - you! If you really think you want to be a breeder, then you need to do a lot of research and learning, and you need to do that by becoming involved in the established community of breeders and exhibitors. You will also find that being a BYB is difficult, with an educated public. This is not a way to make money, and the "joy" of having kittens around is balanced - sometimes inequitably - with the tragedies. It takes a strong stomach to survive the bad times. If you are SURE you want to be a breeder, then get the very best start you can, by working with the very best breeder you can find, to mentor you and help you along.

9. Do you give your own shots? This answer can surely be "yes", but be careful. Many experienced breeders give their own shots, but they should also be making sure that each kitten has at least one veterinary exam before it goes. In some states, health certificates must be obtained from the vet before the kitten can be sold. Don't buy a kitten that has not been examined by a veterinarian. Back to the used car example, you definitely would want a mechanic to check the car out first to make sure no serious damage already exists!