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Some lovely stories here but mine is rather less interesting and simply involved a cat magazine, once I'd seen the photos of the coonies I couldn't put them out of my mind. We had three children, a big house, dogs a pony and a pygmy goat, so why not some cats? After a trip to Cornwall to see some in the fur it was a done deal and I've loved them ever since.
Actually the big house etc is long gone but I still have nine MCs, which probably says it all!
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When I moved in with my now fiance I missed my cats from home, Id always lived with dogs and cats, rabbits, hamsters, you know it we probably had it. My fiance wasn't a fan of cats, but liked dogs. I'd heard that maine coons are the cats for dog lovers so I suggested he researched into them. He did and phoned me from work all excited about the prospect of a maine coon! I then looked into them and fell in love with the breed before even meeting a maine coon! We went to see a local breeder and fell in love with this boysterous little kitten we met, his mum and dad were beautiful and we ended up buying him!
Pangur has totally changed my fiance's opinion on cats, he's absolutely in love with him. As am I :) he's a lovely boy.
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Your story is basically the same as mine :) although we're still at the point where we're waiting until we can take our little guy home.
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Aw, I remember the wait for Pangur. Seemed like forever. Our boy's three in September!
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Tell me about it :) it'll all be worth it in the end - I bet I'll be saying that when Ted's turning three! Any plans for more? I don't know if I could restrain myself for three years...we shall see!
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No more planned. Pang's a bit spoilt and we're not sure how he'd take to a kitten. He kindof went a bit crazy when we had our son! He's settling down again now so we'll see. I am wanting one though!
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I don't think any one has one and doesn't want another but I know it's hard to share the love sometimes! How old's your little boy? I love babies/toddlers - I look after a lot of them here in my spare time! I'm a wee bit concerned about having some of the children I looked after at my flat over the summer. Basically a lady I work for has two boys aged 5 and 2 - she works near my flat so it would be easier to drop them at mine for the weeks her usual child minder is on holiday (I went to her house last summer but it was such a trek!). Neither of them are used to pets which makes me wary...
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Kids can be a bit rough with pets if theyre not used to them, that was my worry with our son but thankfully Pangur seems to stay out of his way at the moment! Jacob's 14 months old! Hes interested in Pangur but doesn't chase him, I'm already teaching him to be gentle so i'm hoping they'll get on just fine. Be nice for them to grow up together :).
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I grew up with a dog and I think it was a good thing. It taught us how to care for another living thing and none of us would ever do anything to harm another creature (unless it's a wasp or in my little brother's case...a hamster...)
I'm a bit worried about the two kids because the older one is quite unpredictable - he either wants to sit quietly and talk with me or he wants to play 'killing things' aka being really rough and boisterous. I'd like to think he's at the age where he'd know not to hurt the cat but I'm not sure I want to risk it. The little one is much more gentle - he's such a lovely little boy!
I'm not sure you're allowed to have favourites as a nanny/childcarer?!
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6 years ago
When I was barely 17 yet, my mother promised me that when I had finished my last year at boarding school, she would let me have a cat to keep me company while I lived at home. On one condition; it had to be a purebreed to make sure I took full responsibility for it.
So I started reading about different breeds in books and online. I was considering a few different ones, Egyption Mau, Turkish Angora, Manx etc..
But as soon as I put my eyes on the Maine Coons, I knew they would be perfect!
5 months later, Enigma moved in, just 14 weeks old..
She just turned 6 years old this month
Through the last 6 years, I have had Enigma who has had two litters of 3 each, a girl called Alfa who died from Calici and HCM because the breeder didn't get her cats properly checked before sale and 1½ year ago Felina moved in.
Today, I only have Enigma and Felina who I hope will mother some beautiful kittens one day.
I can't imagin life without my MCO ladies..
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Edward (Pirnie Paws Little Fire) came into our lives by pure chance. I'm Office Manager at a Veterinary Practice so see all sorts of gorgeous kittys but anyway one day a client came in with a Maine Coon and her three beautiful kittens (one black, one tortie and a red one). I admired these kittens and said "oh that wee ginger fella is a cracker" and left it at that. In they came for their vaccinations a couple of weeks later and the client said "if you want him, you can have him for half price, mates rates" so told her I would look at my budget and see if I could do that......another couple of weeks went by and in they came again for their second vacc, this time she told me "cover his vaccination costs and he's yours........." so I snapped him up! She brought him in to my work on Christmas Eve and I took him home and he promptly disappeared under my bed and didn't come out for hours. I wrapped up his Pedigree Papers and popped them in amongst my daughter's Christmas presents. Santa came and went and my girl came back from her dads and started opening up her pressies, came upon this envelope and said "what's this then?", I excused myself and popped Ed into a basket quickly, I'd been hiding him in my room by this point, and produced this little ball of ginger fluff and that was that............
He's settled in very well and is great buddies with Elvis, tho I can see Elvis getting agitated at times cos all Ed wants to do is play, jump on him, bite him and generally be a kitten! Priscilla, on the other hand, will have nothing to do with him at all, she'll sit in the same room at him and glare at him until she decides to leave and Ed has learnt the hard way to leave Cilla well alone.......
Anyway that's my story ;)
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My Maine Coon mix found me. One day my friend's kids brought me this bedraggled kitten whom they had befriended. They gave her to a neighbor but she came back to then after a day or two. She hadn't been eating for a couple of days and they were worried. I took one look at how hard she was breathing and drove her straight to the vet, where she was found to have a low temperature and a traumatic diaphragmatic hernia. Turns out someone had seen the previous owner kicking her, which caused her diaphragm to rupture. Vet said he she was already so sick he had doubts about whether she would survive surgery but I knew without the surgery she would die for sure, so I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead. Well, she did survive the surgery and almost 7 years later, she's a joyful beauty and the boss of my cat tribe.
She was also failure to thrive and had lice on that first vet visit, so her hair was broken off and we had no idea she would grow up to be this lovely long-haired cat. She has no pedigree but she does have the look and the behaviors. So that's how I got my Maine Coon mix.
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Hello:
I am new to Maine Coons an this Forum. I came upon my Maine Coon by coincidence. I was wanting a cat as after my divorce I left my 16 year old with the ex and I was feeling lost so I looked on Craigslist and called the number and she sent me pictures. I immediately fell in love with this girl, she was different but did not know how so we went to pick her up. Come to find out she was rescued and trapped as a feral cat behind Home Depot! So she came into heat and I took her into the Humane Society and got her spayed. I was in the pet shop and saw a book and just yelled out OMG! there is our cat and that prompted me to do more research. When we got her she growled, she growls at people coming up the stairs and things she does not like. She talks up a storm and it sounds so human...I am in total awe of this species and we just love her. We do however need some advice on some of her behavior. As she was in the wild for a short time, I believed she was left by someone, she has more of a wild tendency and will run around the house like a mad cat and leap at the walls and on my husband and bite his feet, not hard and also claw his hands as if to cling on. I would really appreciate some guidance in some behavior modification.
Thanks all..
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Always loved big cats right from when i was a child but had never seen a maine coon. We had the opertunity to take a retired queen looking for a new home -- she had had several poor experiances before us --- we fell in love -- we now have our queen who is now 6 and two 1 yr old boys -- by babies and full of mischief. Not an exciting story I know but a story non the less
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Have had cats (and dogs) my entire life, usually shelter or lost pets. When becoming "petless" with the loss of our aged DLH (19 yrs), I just had to have another pet. We went to the local petfood store and they had no-kill shelter cats. I've always been partial to solid grays and blacks, so that's what I looked for. In the corner (in the bottom cage) was a beautiful DMH solid blue boy. This guy had personality plus (wasn't considered "cute" because he was 9 months old). I immediately took him home. We quickly realized he needed company. I've always wanted an MC because of their personality, looks, and size. The hunt began -- it took us 5 months, but we finally found our boy North of Phoenix. The "boyz" are now 5 yrs old, and typical brothers. They play-fight and sleep together. Even though the MC far outweighs (and sizes) his brother, the blue cat is the Alpha -- so funny to see a little cat bossing the MC through the house. The MC just wants to have fun and play, and being "second" doesn't seem to bother him (he's my number 1). So our MC was purchased as a companion for our shelter cat. Blue and Dakota truly are the lights of our life. My hubby has since retired and would be lost without them.
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Sooty grew up with a maine coon, and we decided to get him a companion and it was the obvious choice. They are laid back but with huge characters which is what I love!
Ems x
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Growing up I'd always had male cats, then when I moved out I lived in apartments where pets weren't allow.
The design firm where I worked as shop manager was owned by a great cat lover and there was always an at least one office cat.
Then I met Meme, she was a stray hanging around the office that the girls rescued, gray and white short haired and she didn't get along with the alpha office cat.
She picked me to be her human and I eventually took her home and became an outlaw pet owner, hiding my cat from the land lord.
We spent many happy years together before she got old and passed away while I was away on a business trip.
I was devastated, I wanted another cat, a kitten and I wanted one before some well meaning coworkers gave me one.
I had a friend who told me about these giant cats, the Maine Coon Cat and I was very interested.
I went to my local Petsmart and got the book "This is the Maine Coon Cat" this dispelled many of the myths I'd been told, while big I wouldn't be getting a 30lb cat.
I was intrigued by the story of the females on how gracious they were and how they knew they were beautiful and high sought.
I then used the breeder directory in my local paper to find a breeder, I called but he didn't have any available kitten but he put me in touch with a breeder who did.
I called Susan and she had older kitten from 2 litter, Samantha known as Blue Girl a Torbie then 6 months old and 3 half siblings 8 months old and all red and white.
Susan and I talked and she decided I was worthy so I went to choose a cat, the Blue Torbie intrigued me as there was one in my book, I met the cats and they were all beautiful but Samantha was until the day she passed away the most beautiful creature I've ever known.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3366/...71a2e6e2_m.jpg
Even though she was rather indifferent to me I was in love with her from the moment I first lay eyes on her.
She soon warmed up to her new Papa, I believe she liked being Daddy's little princess instead of being 1 in a house full of cats.
Susan did offer me a deal on 2 cats but I declined, I was still a outlaw cat owner and felt 2 might give things away I regret that decision but Susan probably doesn't that cat Blondie and the Captain the father are her 2 remaining cats at 16 and 18 years.
Samantha was the light of my life until she passed from cancer in her Papa's arms 5 days after her 16th birthday.
She was a joy to be around and a gentle soul, I feel privileged to have been her person
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Like a lot of others on this web site my wife and I lost a wonderful cat and after a period of time were looking for another to fill the void. We went to several cat shows and every time we ended up in awe of the Maine Coon. They were so cool, calm and collected in the middle of the chaos of a cat show. They were just cool, an over used word, but that is what they are. What is amazing is I was done before I even got to touch one. No other breed was so impressive. Curly hair, no hair, no tail, curled ears, none of this impressed as much as the demeanor of the Maine Coon. Now that we have Raylor, he is so incredible it is difficult to describe. We have had many cats in our lives, but in the short time we have had him it is obvious that there is something different about this breed. Don't tell the President, but if they said I had to pay a "Maine Coon tax" to keep Raylor I would pay it without complaint.
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I'm a massive cat lover and have always had cats, usually just general moggies. I had a pair of sisters about 7 years ago and they were very funny and laid back, they used to come for walks to the local park with me...no lead or anything, they'd just follow me! Sadly unbeknownst to me they had both been born with a heart defect. Minette died 2 years ago and Isabel died on New Years day. I have another cat called Delphine who will be four this year, and she became rather quiet and isolated following Minette's death. I needed a new kitten to fill the void.
The reason I got a Maine Coon is due to happening across a couple on the harbourside last summer while out walking. This couple were jut chilling out by the waters edge and I couldn't help but notice that they had this huge and beautiful cat with them. The idea of taking a cat out and about with me really appealed! So when my sister (who's a midwife) told me one of her clients was a breeder and was able to sell me one at a bargain price I was in! Poif was born on the day of my birthday, I got to pick from the litter. They were all beautiful but I knew when I saw her beautiful tortoiseshell coat and pretty face that she was the one for me!
I've had Poif for 2 and a half weeks now and I've loved every minute so far. As I type this in bed she is springing all over the place, chasing her tale and trying her best to jump on her fvourite toy...my laptop!! Couldn't be happier!
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Attachment 3031I'm new to this site and new to Maine Coons. We live in a rural area in the Texas Hill Country. We've had a variety of cats over the years who found us in one way or another. All were outside cats but were welcomed into the home anytime they wanted.
We had a big orange Tabby who seemed to have had some of the personality traits of the Maine Coon. He was our daughter's cat. He disappeared the day before she left for college 2 years ago. He was 10. We were devastated
Sometime last year I ran across an article about Maine Coons. I've always liked BIG cats. After reading the article I was hooked and shared the info with my wife and my daughter. We decided that when the time was right that a Maine Coon would be our next cat.
Several weeks ago we decided it was time. We visited with several breeders and found one we really liked. We purchased one kitten but after further thought decided to buy his sister! We will bring them home on 7/5. We can't wait. I know we're in for some surprises and a lot of fun
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My very first cat as a child was a Maine Coon. Don't get me wrong, I love my domestic short hairs to, but MC's have a special place in my heart.
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After loosing my beloved moggy to old age I was lost without a cat. I didn't want a kitten so began trawling the free ads for older cats. Saw one for "Garfield with an Afro". He had a sad story and I went staight round to see him. I fell in love with this giant furball and took him home. It was only later while looking through all the papers, vet records etc that I had been given that I realised he was an MC. Found this site, got all my questions answered, fell more and more in love with the breed. Second one arrives in a few weeks time, a 3 year old girl.
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I think we have decided to get another one, our current is a girl called Lily, our other cat a persian is sadly very old, so we would not want Lily to be alone.
I posted on the first page of the thread saying our reason for getting a maine coon was because we'd met a gorgeous boy called George when we got our persian, we chose the persian as she looked more needy of a forever home, George has never left my mind, so the next one os going to be a male called George! :)
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Bin there more breeds than? haha.
I whas looking for a norwgian forest cat, but there whas no click...I have see a lot of them 12/13 years ago.
On a show I saw a MC girl form 4 months and it whas love on first sight :-)
Also by the girl. And I never heard of a MC before...but they bin super...I never want a other breed.
This girl I buy and 2 years later I hade 5 MC's and now a lot more :-)
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So, I'm new here and for some reason I cannot start a new thread. Anyway, a few years ago a friend of mine told me all about this breed and as soon as I saw pictures of coonies I knew straight away that I would have one, one day. So the day has come, I just brought my new kitty home!
He is white, odd eyed and deaf and sooo beautiful! Hopefully he with get along with my 6 year old, black moggie, Negritta =)
I am so happy to have him around, can't stop watching him play!
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My first cat as a small child was a maine coon. And, I have always loved big cats. (including those in the zoo!)
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For years I've wanted a 'fancy cat'. As a child I grew up with both cats and dogs in the house, and DH and I have always had a German Shepherd. Our first (and current cat) is a moggie re-homed from a friend, but I still wanted a pedigree of some kind. I'd looked at Norwegian Forests and Bengals, but never been in a position to really look at getting one. After taking our beautiful GSD boy out on stud duty I met a lovely old lady MC called Daisy, came home and did some research. At that point I decided this was the breed of cat I wanted and started to look at breeders. Being as far north in the UK as is physically possible to get it still seamed like a bit of a pipe dream but I was so excited at the thought! After being on this forum for a couple of weeks I saw a post from a member here looking to re-home his stunning pair of MC's, replied and started a long email conversation. The up shot was while we were on holiday last month we drove a few hundred miles to collect Jasper and Bailey. The boys are amazing, have started to settle in really well and get on with the resident bad tempered moggie and the GSD, not to mention having the whole family wrapped round their furry paws!
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Wife wouldn't let me have a cheetah or a leopard :grr::drool1:
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I didn't really choose my first Maine Coon/ Norwegian Forest mix Feather She just walked up to my family's back door and made herself at home. My second Koda we brought in when he was 3 weeks old(his mom had him in our window well to the basement) and my Missie I found at the shelter and fell for her. before Missie I loved this Himalayan/Maine Coon at the shelter called Bigfoot Louie. He was Gorgeous but I had Koda at the time and I live in a apartment complex with a one pet policy.:sad1:
I say I won't get another on but I just fall in love with the big boys and for some reason it's always little girls that I fall for.
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For many years I had moggies - rescues and strays - cats that had chosen me rather than the other way round and I loved them all. When the last one died at the ripe old age of 20, soon after I had lost my beloved 16-year-old springer spaniel, I was heartbroken and swore that was it - I would never have any more pets. I suppose we've all been there - but the house was too quiet without them all. I was browsing online one evening and I stumbled on some websites with pictures of Maine Coons and I started to research the breed. I couldn't get them out of my head - so big and beautiful - what would be the harm in just looking? I found a breeder not too far away who had a solitary black smoke kitten available and the next Saturday my son and I went just to look. Well I was blown away by the breeder, the house, the audience of cats on every surface scrutinising us as we chatted. They chirped and head butted for attention and one attempted to leap into my son's arms (he's 6 feet tall) from a standing start on the floor. Looking back I think it was a test of sorts and if the cats liked us - and they did - we had passed. We were ushered through to the kitten room and introduced to about 10 furbundles including the little girl we had come to see. Love at first sight? Definitely. She is now our Sophie - almost 2 years old and such a character! She's vocal and clever and totally beautiful. We didn't want her to be an only child and very soon afterwards I fell in love with a brown tabby boy kitten. Of course we took him - a big soft boy - my gentle shadow. Sophie and Max were great pals and I had no intention of getting any more. Sounds familiar? I was, by this time, addicted to Maine Coon websites and about a year ago I spotted a little white odd-eyed girl. I adored her on sight and being told she was probably deaf was no big deal to me - after all, my cats are all neutered. When we went to see her soon afterwards there was never any doubt in my mind that I was going to have her. She is brave and bold and full of nonsense - always keen to ride on the vacuum cleaner - as fascinated by light and shadow as the others are with sounds. And now there are three Maine Coons in my house and I really will have to stop at that...
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Maine Coons tend to worm their way into anyones hearts. Would love to see pictures of your clan, Wivelspiker.
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Hi Wivelspiker, and welcome!
All your Coonies are scrumptious, but I am partial to black smokes. Yours is :drool1:
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I was about 2yrs old when my older brother found a stray moggie cat. Since then, I was never without a moggie cat, that is until I got married. Dh hated cats and wanted a dog. We brought home a purebred Sheltie puppy Angel. For the next 2 yrs DH & I talked about getting a friend to keep Angel company while we were at work. To my delight DH agreed the friend would be a kitten. We searched every shelter, pet store, and home. DH wanted a kitten that didn't look ordinary. Of course I felt every kitten I met was special and I feel in love with each. Finally one pet shop had him. He was a beautiful gray boy sitting all by himself in a huge cage in the center of the store. The owner told us he was half Maine Coon. We adopted Storm and had a great 19.5 years with him. Storm loved Angel and they got along great. Storm morned the passing of Angel and looked for her for days. We loved Storm's Maine Coon traits and his 20lb size. When Storm passed this in April, the search began for another half-Maine Coon. I spotted one. DH didn't like the looks of him and DH mentioned the cost of adopting this moggie from the shelter. He thought for the price we should get a purebred MC. I began my search for a local breeder. DH balked about the price of a purebred but I mentioned he got his purebred dog. So a purebred Maine Coon would be our next kitten. We found a breeder and adopted Whiskey. We just love every bit of his MC behaviors. Now I'm working on getting Whiskey a MC friend, as everyone knows, you can't just have one.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Wivelspiker
Luv'em!
What is the white ones' name? She is beautiful. Max is handsome, I am partial to brown tabbies and Sophie is beautiful too.
Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for this - you've made me feel very welcome to a great site!
I can see why you like brown tabbies - yours are absolutely gorgeous. My white girl is called Poppy.
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My husband actually choose her. I knew nothing about cats, I had never had one, I had always had dogs...big dogs. After loosing my 5 yr old pitbull to a brain tumor I was heart broken and didn't want another pet...ever. Of course that didn't last, if your an animal person you know you can't llive without one. We decided to get a cat because we were giving up our house and going to an apartment. Hubby chose a Maine Conn because they have such huge personalities and are so interactive with their people. Missing having a dog, he thought I would bond with her better. I did! She follows me everywhere talking away to me and I've even tought her tricks. It was a good choice for sure!
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When I met my hubby he had an 8 month old kitten named Tough Guy. He was a short hair orange & white tabby cat, followed us all over the house, came when we called him and had to sit between us and touching each of us. Tuffy was also very vocal and talked to us a lot. He was a big cat, 14 lbs at his largest, a very long and lean cat. He was very dog-like and walked hubby to the door in the morning and greeted him at night. When we lost him at 12 years of age we couldn't bear the thought of getting another cat. It took us 6 years to even consider it, but when we did we wanted a large cat and someone mentioned to me about the Maine Coon breed and I started researching and the similarities were eerily similar to the personality of Tough Guy.
I started looking around for breeders and found many to be so expensive and since we decided on getting two, so they could keep each other company, $800 - $1,200 was very pricey and a lot of stipulations attached. I came across an advertisement of some kittens available from a breeder who did this just for the love of the breed and we paid her a visit. She wanted only $400 each and they came with first shots and registered. As we entered a 5 week old, red kitten came up to hubby while the others ran away, he stepped on his foot and bit his toe. LOL.... DH picked him up and sat him on his shoulder and there he stayed... he was picked or he picked us.... then I saw the white one and he was a little standoffish but I loved his look. I grew up with a white, deaf Persian and he was a very independent cat and memories came flooding back. These were our new little boys to come home with us when they turned 8 weeks. They have been a blessing in our lives and we are loving the total experience.
Here's the first pic of Merlin
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...e/DSC00119.jpg
and first pic of Louie
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...e/DSC00124.jpg
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We lost our beautiful tortie moggy on valentines day,after searching for a new kitten we came across another tortie,very strange had these huge ears,was very intrigued,couldn't resist a closer look,3 years later,love breeding and showing these wonderful,lovable,intelligent,playfull,inquisitive ,soulmates,what more can you say,love em soo much.
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one and a half year ago we had two "normal" cats. The were both old 16 years and after the male cat died in early August 2010 we first said we do not want a new cat... one week later we went to the shelter and we saw Caruso.
Carsu is a Maine Coon mix and he was found in a settlement straying around. People living there catched him and brought him to the shelter, where he was a half year until we took him home.
Shortly after our old female cate died and we looked around and found the norwegien cat Finchen. But Finny is more a cat doing her own biz and Caruso needs a friend.
So we looked around again and found our two Maine Coon Daffy and Idaho.
Both were just castraded, poor guys :smile:, and since Daffy was at my side the whole time Idaho was on the lap of my husband. Well there was no discussion we took both. Our house is big enough for four cats.
It was a little bit of magic with this cats. They are both totally different. Daffy is more quit whereas Idy is our clown, jumping around and want to have fun.
We fall totally in love with this breed
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