my kitten is 14 weeks. my vet said oh its a maine coon. but how do i know its a purebreed as i would like to breed her. i got her at an aspca type place. thanks shelley

-- Anonymous, August 25, 1998

Answers

Response to is she a purebreed maine coon

If you don't have registration papers and a pedigree of your girl, there's no way to know whether or not she's a pure-bred Maine Coon. However, if she fits the Maine Coon standard you can say she's a "Maine Coon type."

-- Anonymous, August 26, 1998

I have a question. I resently adopted a kitten ( about 5 months old)that I found abandoned at a campsite. She is a tortoiseshell, but I would like to know if she is a main coon.

-- Anonymous, December 17, 1998

I also adopted a kitten. I believe her to be a Maine Coon. She has no disqualifacations of the breed, but I'm having trouble trace her origin. I took her in of the streets of my trailer park. I later found out that her owner had moved a few weeks before and left her behind because of the expence. I know she was purchased from either a pet store or a breeder, the people who knew the old owner said she payed a large amount for this cat, but could no longer afford her. Is there anywhere anyone knows of that you could purchase a registered Maine Coon in the Saugatuck, michigan area (by Holland)? The only breed fault she has is that she is quite small, probably due to the lack of nutrition as a kitten living on the streets.

-- Anonymous, February 13, 1999

To the question of whether your Maine Coon is a purebred or not, I offer the following thoughts:

"A rose is a rose is a rose", or, "...by any other name...", a rose would smell as sweet.

Last year, I adopted a large white cat (17 lbs. at that time) with a heavy, stalky body, high cheekbones and a pair of clear, wideset, bicoloured eyes. He was described as a Persian, which I had no disagreement with. From the outset, he was affectionate in the extreme, playful, POWERFUL and always good mannered.

Recently, a friend pointed out that he fit all of the characteristics of the Maine Coon-type cat, right down to the pink pawpads and tuffed ear hair. So, I'm forced to conclude he's indeed a coon-cat. Is he a pure bred? Who can know, and what of it? He is fixed and so wouldn't be putting his blue blood about if he is. He's a happy kitty that tears about the apartment scaring the neighbours with his less than delicate footfalls, and makes the top-of-breed list of any cat fancier who sees him. But is he pure? Are any of us? And, ultimately, does it really matter when breeding is not involved?

I think the label "-type" should be applied to this and other pedigree breed to denote a close match (and, in this case, close counts in more than horseshoes). I hope the term "-type" never puts anyone off from adopting such a pet. In the case of my Snowden, the breeding tells even if the paper doesn't!

Cheers!

-- Anonymous, March 03, 1999