Thread: Opinions And Insight: Maine Coon Breeders

The trouble and expense and potential danger (to kitten) of importing a MC from Norway seems extremely unnecessary when there so many MC breeders in the US. Normally only a breeder would import such a cat for some specific purpose (look, line, etc.). There are lots of sites that list MC breeders. E.g., the MCBFA lists 5 breeder members in Texas:
MCBFA Members

Looked at Congocoons a while back when somebody else mentioned it. Person is breeding for a specific and frankly nonstandard MC look. I personally don't like the look, but that is obviously up to you (as long as you do not intend to show). As already noted, didn't see much about health testing. With many breeders in the US doing heart and other health testing it is safest to stick with those breeders, although some long-established breeders know their lines well enough that it is very unlikely there will be problems (however you will have to take their word on that since you won't know all about their history).

As an example of health info, I looked at Nascat (Houston) from the MCBFA list and find this on their website:

My breeding program focuses on health. The pedigree and health history of each cat is chosen carefully and screened to promote, protect and preserve the Maine Coon breed. This is done with yearly echo-cardiograms on all breeding cats. All cats are DNA negative for the MyBPC3 HCM gene and negative for the SMA (Spinal Musculature Atrophy) gene.

The Nascat site is what I would consider very professional, with pedigree and health info for each of the breeding cats, e.g,: Nascat Maine Coons (a beautiful example of a female MC I might add--click on her Helmi Flick photo)

Originally Posted by NCarver

The trouble and expense and potential danger (to kitten) of importing a MC from Norway seems extremely unnecessary when there so many MC breeders in the US. Normally only a breeder would import such a cat for some specific purpose (look, line, etc.). There are lots of sites that list MC breeders. E.g., the MCBFA lists 5 breeder members in Texas:
MCBFA Members

Looked at Congocoons a while back when somebody else mentioned it. Person is breeding for a specific and frankly nonstandard MC look. I personally don't like the look, but that is obviously up to you (as long as you do not intend to show). As already noted, didn't see much about health testing. With many breeders in the US doing heart and other health testing it is safest to stick with those breeders, although some long-established breeders know their lines well enough that it is very unlikely there will be problems (however you will have to take their word on that since you won't know all about their history).

As an example of health info, I looked at Nascat (Houston) from the MCBFA list and find this on their website:


The Nascat site is what I would consider very professional, with pedigree and health info for each of the breeding cats, e.g,: Nascat Maine Coons (a beautiful example of a female MC I might add--click on her Helmi Flick photo)

Is importing pets not a common practice? I know it's often done with dogs, especially with the bigger bully breeds, but I'm new to cat breeding as a whole.

But as I mentioned above, the look abroad wasn't intentional. I google searched "Blue Maine Coon", looked through google images, and a few of the Spellbound cats were featured. I looked through their cattery, fell in love with their cats, and contacted them.

I don't know if it's just me, but I prefer the "wild look" to the cleaner look. That's another reason I'm attracted to the above two breeders. I'll contact Nascat though.

Originally Posted by BasedBumi

Is importing pets not a common practice? I know it's often done with dogs, especially with the bigger bully breeds, but I'm new to cat breeding as a whole.

I don't know if it's just me, but I prefer the "wild look" to the cleaner look. That's another reason I'm attracted to the above two breeders. I'll contact Nascat though.

I don't think it is common for non-breeders to import cats from Europe, no. Why would somebody do that if they could avoid the expense and hassle? There would obviously have to be something very particular and rare that one really wanted to have in order to do that.

Like I said, the Congocoons look vs. a standard MC is obviously a personal preference. I think those cats ears look ill proportioned and unattractive, and so do most breeders obviously, but they are quite unique.

There are also a few breeders in the US that breed with new foundation lines (i.e., cats with MC characteristics but that are not from registered lines). These cats also often do not look like a standard MC of today, having a less refined or more wild look. You might try to look up some of those breeders. Again, I think these cats are often rather unattractive compared to a standard MC, but they might appeal to you.

As for Nascat, I don't know anything about that breeder other than: (1) she is a breeder member of MCBFA which is a very reputable MC association and (2) her website is very professional and (3) she claims to do current best practice genetic testing and echocardiograms on her breeding cats. Also she is from Texas rather than half way around the world (I know Texas is big, but even so... )

I stumbled upon the Spellbound cattery after looking for a solid blue male, the coat color I prefer above all.

OK--well that may be a difficult color to find, from what I have seen.

Incidentally, the MCBFA has a very nice page on MC colors:
Maine Coon Colors

Originally Posted by NCarver

I don't think it is common for non-breeders to import cats from Europe, no. Why would somebody do that if they could avoid the expense and hassle? There would obviously have to be something very particular and rare that one really wanted to have in order to do that.

Like I said, the Congocoons look vs. a standard MC is obviously a personal preference. I think those cats ears look ill proportioned and unattractive, and so do most breeders obviously, but they are quite unique.

There are also a few breeders in the US that breed with new foundation lines (i.e., cats with MC characteristics but that are not from registered lines). These cats also often do not look like a standard MC of today, having a less refined or more wild look. You might try to look up some of those breeders. Again, I think these cats are often rather unattractive compared to a standard MC, but they might appeal to you.

As for Nascat, I don't know anything about that breeder other than: (1) she is a breeder member of MCBFA which is a very reputable MC association and (2) her website is very professional and (3) she claims to do current best practice genetic testing and echocardiograms on her breeding cats. Also she is from Texas rather than half way around the world (I know Texas is big, but even so... )

That's true, you make a valid point. And if I were to find a breeder stateside that had a solid blue kitten or were expecting one, I'd jump on it in a second. But up to this point I haven't been able to.

And I've been quoted prices, and it is up there a little bit. Stateside, I meet a breeder who's price after shipping was $1250. Her cats were $1000. It's about $600 more internationally. Pretty expensive.

And what about the look of the Spellbounds; is that unorthodox as well?

Originally Posted by BasedBumi

And I've been quoted prices, and it is up there a little bit. Stateside, I meet a breeder who's price after shipping was $1250. Her cats were $1000. It's about $600 more internationally. Pretty expensive.

And what about the look of the Spellbounds; is that unorthodox as well?

Hey I am no expert in MC looks, I just know what I find attractive and I know from looking at many MCs what most MCs in US look like (plus I have read the various breed standards). I looked at Congocoons again (photos have changed) and I looked at Spellbounds for the first time. I would say they have a similar sort of look, with slightly taller ears and broader muzzles (particularly on the males). In fact, though, many of the Congocoons cats look perfectly "normal" to me and there are certainly some very attractive cats there; just a few that stand out as unusual looking. Several of the Spellbounds cats have some of the broadest muzzles I have ever seen in MCs. I don't find this attractive, but this is a purely personal thing unless you want to show your cat perhaps. Here is a link to some guides to the MC standards with photos that I have found helpful in seeing what a MC is "supposed" to look like: Maine Coon Seminar. I note that the CFA standard for example says: “Length and width of the muzzle should be proportionate to the rest of the head and present a pleasant, balanced appearance.” With a number of the Spellbounds cats, when I look at them all I see is muzzle. That is not "pleasant and balanced" looking in my opinion. But maybe you are not looking for pleasant and balanced in your MC.

As for prices...in US most good breeders are charging around $800 (w/o any shipping). I know some of the better known breeders charge more like $1000-$1300. There are also a few that charge $2000 and up ($2500 is the highest I have heard of).

^^

Ok, do me a favor if you will and tell me what you think about the breeder below.

Maine Coon Kittens index

Originally Posted by candes

Wowza, the prices! Ok, I know I got a bit of a favor, but mine was $700 and flown to my city with the passengers. My original local breeder whose litter was one shy for my third male pick, charges $550 without delivery.

I don't consider $700 vs. $800 a big difference--that is within the reasonable range. Many breeders also give discounts for repeat customers as well. $550 though is quite cheap. Last time we looked, the only people selling around that price were not terribly serious breeders (e.g., did no health testing, many litters, etc.) $800 may sound like a lot to many people, but consider that these breeders are doing things like having an echocardiogram done by a vet cardiologist each year for each breeding cat and then not having more than one or at most two litters per year from the females. So several hundred dollars for the echo, plus vet visits during pregnancy and for the babies, the babies first shots, etc. Sometimes they end up with only two or even just one kitten from a breeding. No, they aren't making money off this at $800/kitten and the only way breeders can be selling for around $500 is by doing no health testing or having an unhealthy number of litters per year from each female. Besides, over the cat's lifetime, a $200-$300 difference in initial price is going to amount to very little. If you cannot afford that difference for a cat with better health testing, then you probably shouldn't buy a pure breed cat, as good quality food isn't cheap and vet bills can be quite staggering. We spend more than $100/month just on food for our four MCs, for example.