Thread: Future maine coon owner - advice required

Mainecoons are very sociable & love company be it human or feline so as you are out at work all day two would be ideal,some breeders neuter before you have them but if you end up with one of each you can get them done before there is any hanky panky going on, I have always found the boys more laid back & the girls busy busy busy but if you have no preference I would let the babes chose you, when we went to look at one of our babes his litter mate came straight over & sat at our feet so although we already had MC's we ended up having the two anyway , if you can get to any of the shows you will see MC's & breeders & can have a chat & find out more & get to know more about them, look carefully at the breeders it can be a minefield out there, you want parents & babes registered, parents HCM screened at least, not allowed to leave until they are 12 to 13 weeks old & fully vaccinated, brought up in a home environment , if you go anywhere & get offered cheap young babes for whatever reason don't go there you could end up spending a lot more than going to a reputable breeder, if you go visit & are not happy walk away & good luck....x

I am literally in the same position as you I have spent 18 months researching Maine coons and am finally able to get one. After all my research I decided that two kittens was the best idea for me - I work during the day and while in the future I will be getting dogs, for now I will just have cats (and reptiles). MCs have a good reputation for getting on well with other animals and talking to the breeder I have chosen, she has regularly had pairs of kittens go to the same home and be best friends. In addition to keeping each other company during the day, they can also amuse each other at those 3am playtime sessions and from what I've read, pairs in general are less needy/attention seeking than singular cats.

As as to boys vs girls, I'm stuck on this myself. It doesn't seem to matter much with regards to them getting on with each other so I think it's a personal thing. I originally wanted either 2 boys or 1 of each but I'd like a brown and a silver tabby so that would take priority over sex for me (except I want at least 1 boy ). Of course if one kitten completely wins me over then I won't mind about sex or colour!

If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, I would get one of each sex, or two males, but not two females. I have had cats pretty much my entire life, and the only time I have had a problem is when I had two females. Females are territorial and they don't like to share. They don't mind a male wandering around, but another female in their territory is trouble. I have two males and one female. They play together constantly and sound like a herd of elephants running across the floor upstairs. One male knows how to open doors and lets his brother and sister in to any room they so chose. I'm sure people have told you that they will follow you everywhere with the female having to inspect everything, and I mean everything. Spend the first week with your new kitty closely, especially at nite so that they bond with you. In this way, you will become their person.