Siberian cats (or Maine Coon)

[TransformX]

Most were hand-fed in order to help the poor mom. Just click on the picture to get to the site with the pictures.

[Fat Tone]

Originally posted by TransformX
I'm not sure what you mean by ...

Just laughing cos of the way you reacted to my post. I'm not into starting an argument with you - you asked for a wise ass comment and I gave one.

[TransformX]

[Dr Mordrid]

Had a Main Coon myself years ago.

Yes; they're BIG. As in one my parents had was well over 20 lbs and not fat.

Yes; they're less allergy inducing than other cats. Take that from someone who goes into a sneezing fit with any other breed

Yes; they're less "snooty" than other cats....but that's only because Main Coons think they're dogs

Dr. Mordrid

[TransformX]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
Yes; they're less "snooty" than other cats....but that's only because Main Coons think they're dogs

Dr. Mordrid

I find that pretty cool

[Rakido]

Hi Tx,

we (translate this as: my girlfriend ) breed Maine Coons for approx. 11 years now (here in Europe) and my advice to you is: Do not buy one.

I've read the link you posted and i fully agree with the description of the MC.

The problem nowadays with the MC is the health. The three major health problems are Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (the heart walls get thicker), Hip Dysplasia (causing Arthritis) and Gingivitis (especially this is getting a big problem nowadays).

As popular as the MC is and was, more and more people with absolutely ZERO knowledge about breeding bought a male and a female kitten and started to breed kittens, because it's soooo easy. Un fortunately they do know nothing about inbreeding, genealogy factors, correct feeding and so on. We've seen people breeding with a mother cat and her son, faking pedigrees. breeding MC with a Persian, ...

The three health problems i mentioned are genetically caused (that means that a parent with hip dysplasia pass this to his kittens) and with all the clueless breeders (and unfortunately nowadays they are the majority) i mentioned above, they only multiply the diseases.

So what to do. If you want a MC sized cat, go for a Norwegian. If you want a very people-oriented cat, go for a Ragdoll (we have three of them now and they are incredible).

About the prizes you mentioned: $500 for a non-breeder-cat is not very much. Here in Europe you are charged with 650 Euros or more.

Here are some links for more informations:
about HCM
about HD

On a side note: we stopped breeding MaineCoons last year. To be able to breed, you must rely on the pedigrees of the cats and with all the faking that happened the last years, that's no longer possible. Maybe we'll continue with Ragdolls next year.


Cya
Rakido
ps: hope i got all the words right, i'm not used to speak about breeding in english.

[TransformX]

I've just got a contact with a local breeder of siberian cats
He sells kittens for about $150 with local papers (not that I care much about the paperwork).
I looked around the net and found no serious problems related to this breed.
Once he'll have kittens we'll probably get one.

[Rakido]

To be honest, these are prices i would get very suspicious.

Here in Germany the complete vaccinations for the kittens cost already around 160-180 Euros (approx. $210). To be able to sell it with this low price he either used the cheapest food he could find or he did not give all required vaccinations.

I would be very very careful with such a low price.


Rakido

[TransformX]

Vaccinations are quite cheap here and I'll have to pay for all of them.

[KvHagedorn]

It's a shame that unscrupulous people can do this and ruin a breed. Probably the same things have happened to many dog breeds.. I remember a friend with a blue Doberman and they had to keep giving her pills or her hair would all fall out. Really sweet dog, too.. it was funny, I went over to his house with two other friends and they were all shaking in their shoes because she was a Doberman and I was the only one who would pet her.. guess who she kept bugging for attention then..

Rakido, it's a shame your girlfriend stopped being a breeder. Losing honest breeders like that is probably worse for the breed than having so many unscrupulous ones. Can't you file charges on them for fraud? I bet if just one of those crooks gets convicted, the problems will decrease significantly. I never realized people got into breeding as a moneymaking venture, though.. thought it was just a hobby for cat-lovers. I certainly never wanted anything but good homes for my cat's kittens.

[agallag]

Originally posted by TransformX

De-clwaing cats is evil as it leaves them defenceless against foreign cats.

I would never declaw an outdoor cat. My cats exist strictly indoors. They have never once come into contact with a foreign cat.

[Rakido]

Originally posted by TransformX
Vaccinations are quite cheap here and I'll have to pay for all of them.

just to enlighten me: at which age do you get the kittens?


Rakido

[TransformX]

Between 2-3 months old

[agallag]

Absolutely minimum is 6 weeks, but 2-3 months is better. I got mine after about 5 weeks, and they hadn't fully learned the art of cleaning themselves. They were kinda messy for the first few months I had them. I think they can only learn that from their mother.

[TransformX]

Usually they learn it from their mother. This is why they best stay with their mother till they're 2-3 months old.