Thread: Going to look at an MC some advice

The tail is not so big when it's a little kitten



A few month older the tail gets more impressive

Ah so they grow into the famous tail then.

Originally Posted by Kimbie

Going to look at buying an unregistered kitten on Google as Antonia suggested.

I have heard back from them and the parents are not registered either.

So there is no way to trace bloodlines, genetic conditions etc which could prove a problem later in their life.

I can see how breeders can be annoyed about this practice, and I would have no intention of breeding her in any way shape or form.

So I am torn in the fact that from what can tell she is a MC, has the colouring I adore and half the price of a MC from a breeder, but on the other hand could wait and get one from a breeder and hope that colouring comes up as it seems very rare having looked at adverts on this forum and on other pet homing sites.

So not sure what to do really.

Kimbie

A lot of "lets do it for fun" or "lets make a quick pound or two" breeders{meant in the loosest of terms} rely on what is exactly is happening to you,see the baby,fall for it & yep that's another one hooked in & unfortunately while people keep buying the "bargain" kittens they will carry on breeding & chances are very high that the "queens" are being over bred to provide the "cheaper babes"...
The one big thing about all cats/kittens being registered is that no mum can be overbred from as when the breeder registers that litter it will also show when a previous litter to that queen was born,some people seem to think its only important to have registration papers if you want to show,its not,it shows that your breeder has done everything by the proper rules which is not only good for the cats but good for you too,no good breeder makes money at this game so the fact that you can get one cheaper should also ring alarm bells,has that babe had such a good start in life especially in the feeding stakes,has that babe had both his vaccinations,another expense that is built into the good breeders price,has tthe babe had a good week after its second vacc with the breeder to make sure there is no side effects,all things that you might have to cope with when you buy that babe at a cheaper price.
There are lots of people on here who have had problems but if you feel that is the one for you just enter into it very aware of problems that you could face & although there may not be that colour available at the moment from good recognised breeders it actually is not a rare colour my breeder has them in most litters as so do many others.
Whatever the outcome though look forward to seeing babe grow up & also what name it is going to be christened with...x

Originally Posted by Kimbie

from what can tell she is a MC

There is only one sure-fire way of knowing a kitty is an MC, and that is when you have the pedigree/registration papers.

Here's a quote from one of the Google links I pointed you to:

“Lets suppose you are about to go out and buy your first maine coon. You may not realise that the two UK breed societies – Maine Coon Cat Club and Maine Coon Breed Society have lists of regsistered breeders, and drum roll….a kitten list! This makes finding a ‘proper’ maine coon kitten easy and you can avoid having to trawl through Oddle, Gumtree, Preloved etc.”

Emphases are mine… you might want to check out these societies.

BTW, silver tabby MCs are not rare at all... there’s lots of them on this forum (including my darling Minnie), just look at the galleries. I am sure you will find one quite soon from a trustworthy breeder.

Well would appear my questioning of the seller has caused offence, lol

From her email

"My kittens are pure as pure, I rather think that you really dont know what you want, so I think it best that you dont have one of my PURE maine coon kittens and that YOUR friend will maybe find you one that is registered for £200"

So I think that has answered my question really, if they are getting uppity with my questions clearly I should be looking elsewhere.

So a shame I can not get that one, but I will keep looking, I am going to look at the sites that Antonia recommended and see what happens from there.

So thankyou for all your help and advice.

Kimbie

I'm not a breeder but from my own experience and from all I have learned in this forum, good breeders will always require you to neuter kittens (or will have it done themselves). You only need to look at the sites of the many breeders on this forum as well as other sites out there to realise the expertise, care, effort and expense that they put into keeping the breed lines pure and strong.

So going back to someone who has unregistered breeding cats, you really have to ask how that happened. Either they were bred by a 'breeder' with unregistered cats - in which case you can have no idea what the kittens are, other than they may look like MCs, or alternatively they were bought from a registered breeder by someone who did not keep their promise to neuter them - which tells you a great deal about the sort of person who would do that.

A kitten of unknown heritage may be carrying inherent problems that may surface later in life, once you adore it and would pay any amount of money to keep it well. It may be a false economy.

Many breeders occasionally offer slightly older ex-breeding cats for rehoming - it's certainly something I would consider if I decided to expand my household. Hope you find the cat of your dreams - the wait will be worth it x

Originally Posted by Kimbie

Well would appear my questioning of the seller has caused offence, lol

From her email

"My kittens are pure as pure, I rather think that you really dont know what you want, so I think it best that you dont have one of my PURE maine coon kittens and that YOUR friend will maybe find you one that is registered for £200"

So I think that has answered my question really, if they are getting uppity with my questions clearly I should be looking elsewhere.

So a shame I can not get that one, but I will keep looking, I am going to look at the sites that Antonia recommended and see what happens from there.

So thankyou for all your help and advice.

Kimbie

Proves that asking them the right questions can be their downfall.....
There will be a babe out there for you & we will all look forward to seeing it & yes they do grow that famous tail in fact some are tail with cat attached.....x

Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Proves that asking them the right questions can be their downfall.....
There will be a babe out there for you & we will all look forward to seeing it & yes they do grow that famous tail in fact some are tail with cat attached.....x

Oh I am sure there will be, have fired off some emails from some more research, there is a breeder local to me who is giving up and has an 11 month old so asked for some pics of her, plus found some silver tabby's out and about.

But also gives me change to finish my kitchen, as my cooker stands off the ground about 4 inches, need to board that up to stop them exploring under the cooker and from there under the cupboard, will never get them out from that little cave of adventure lol

Kimbie

As others have said, if the breeder tells you how "pure" their kittens are and how you can just go waste your money on an expensive cat and how appalled they are for you to even think that they may be doing something completely wrong and unethical, then they are more than likely doing something very wrong and unethical. Unregistered parents and kittens mean something is wrong, if they are a legit breeder with a legit litter, there will be a paper trail. If they are breeding with pet quality cats to get around the costs of having real breeding parents, what else are they skimping on? Food, veterinary treatment, vaccinations? The breeder I'll be purchasing from goes above and beyond to answer my questions, never giving any hint of being angered by my questions about the parents or anything else for that matter.