Anyone else have shelter purebreds?

[sirrahved]

My lovely Marsha is from the local shelter. They told me all about the breed after I picked her. I just thought she was pretty! (anyone agree?) She's so docile too. Just a mellow, sweet cat.

Everyone was telling me how lucky I was to find a purebred at the shelter (even if she was shaved in spots to remove matting) I think I'm pretty lucky, too. Not that I found a purebred, but that I found a great cat!

[RedHedd]

Mishi is a Maine Coon, purebred as far as we can tell, from Animalsavers rescue shelter. He, too, was shaved in parts to remove really bad matts when I got him -- Diane and I giggled about his little kitty mohawk when I adopted him. His fur has completely grown in now and he is truly a magnificant Maine Coon. I am SO lucky!

[jenluckenbach]

We believe Calvin to be a Norwegian Forest cat. And Jasper fits the breed standard for an Angora to a "T". But their backgrounds are not verified. I know that Siames end up at our local SPCA on a regular basis (why, I'll never know).

[Amber]

Im not sure if Maggie is a pure bred maine coon or not. anyone think they can tell?? lol

[RP Cathouse]

What a judge looks for in a Maine Coon. Tail lenght must be up to the sholder blades. Body long and retangular. Good boning, not thin boning, a muscular body. Head. strong square muzzle, good chin, curve to the nose, big round not almond shape eyes. Ears high on the head as the cat ages they do slide down some. Big ears. The coat must be different lenghts not all the same all over the body. This is what a judge looks for. But of course not all Maine Coons are show cats. As I have several who are not. But your cat is beautiful. What color is it? What is the personality like.

Stella

[Amber]

Maggie must be a mix of it then. Maggie is grey with a bit of brown, white and tips of black. Maggie pretty much outgoing, but sometimes shy. she is the best and she loves to cuddle and give head bumpies!!

[jazzcat]

Originally posted by RP Cathouse
What a judge looks for in a Maine Coon. Tail lenght must be up to the sholder blades. Body long and retangular. Good boning, not thin boning, a muscular body. Head. strong square muzzle, good chin, curve to the nose, big round not almond shape eyes. Ears high on the head as the cat ages they do slide down some. Big ears. The coat must be different lenghts not all the same all over the body. This is what a judge looks for. But of course not all Maine Coons are show cats. As I have several who are not. But your cat is beautiful. What color is it? What is the personality like.

Stella
That is so interesting. I know Ripley is a Maine Coon mix and the part about their ears sliding down a bit with age has happened to him. We noticed about a year ago that his ears are not as high as they used to be. He's 11 1/2 years old now.

When he was a kitten my father in law called him "Mule Ears" the first time he saw him because of his large ears that stuck straight up and were so high on his head. Thank goodness he finally grew into those huge things. He definitely has the different lenghts of hair too. The hair on his underside is much longer.

[RedHedd]

Originally posted by RP Cathouse
What a judge looks for in a Maine Coon. Tail length must be up to the shoulder blades. Body long and retangular. Good boning, not thin boning, a muscular body. Head. strong square muzzle, good chin, curve to the nose, big round not almond shape eyes. Ears high on the head as the cat ages they do slide down some. Big ears. The coat must be different lenghts not all the same all over the body. This is what a judge looks for.

WOW! I was so happy to read this as my Mishi has ALL of those traits. I'm so happy he was rescued. I found out from Animalsavers that they rescued him from a definite death sentence. Apparently he had hit his head somehow and when they found him the pound was about to put him down because he had suffered some sort of head trauma, had a URI and was badly malnourished and matted. Animalsavers rescued him, put him on antibiotics, nursed him back to health and had his matts shaved and were going to neuter him too. While he was under general anesthesia to shave the matts they discovered that he had already been neutered, so someone must have taken care of him somewhere in his past. The head injury may have contributed to his current state of nuttiness. He's my oh-so-special Big Boybee and I feel so blessed to have him - purebred or not. I love the Big Goon! ;)

[RP Cathouse]

Head butts and being silly, crazy ect. are traits of a Maine Coon that is why they are so lovable!!! I never know what to expect from my guys. They can be asleep one minute and zipping around the house like something is chasing them or they are chasing something, I haven't figured it out yet. Some love a bath and others complain the whole time they are being groomed. They are there when I am sad or sick, if I am off Mason reminds me that around 2 PM it is nap time and naps up against me with Moses and a couple others who want to join in the nap fest! Some pick up things with their paws, some drink water from their paws, and one sticks his mouth under the tub faucet and lets the water run down into his mouth. If you would like to look at my web site it is

StellaR.P. CATHOUSE WEB SITE (www.geocities.com/rpcathouse)

[CatDad]

Originally posted by RP Cathouse
What a judge looks for in a Maine Coon. Tail lenght must be up to the sholder blades. Body long and retangular. Good boning, not thin boning, a muscular body. Head. strong square muzzle, good chin, curve to the nose, big round not almond shape eyes. Ears high on the head as the cat ages they do slide down some. Big ears. The coat must be different lenghts not all the same all over the body. This is what a judge looks for. But of course not all Maine Coons are show cats. As I have several who are not. But your cat is beautiful. What color is it? What is the personality like.
Stella
I always knew that Bob was an MC Mix. From the description he has to be mostly MC.

Thanks for the description.:)

[RP Cathouse]

Bryan,
Bob and Joey are great looking Males and named after my 2 favorite men in my life my husband Bob and my son Joey (I love it!!) My love for cats started when I was very young and has stayed with me. I love the Maine Coons, but I love all cats no matter if they are puebreed or not. I am a breeder of them but also feed and take care of the ones that run outside and help with a rescue group. I am always willing to help and try to get answer for anyone who asks. I don't know everything but I am willing to learn. How old is Bob and Joey? If you go to my web site and look for Mason you will see Bob looks very simular to him. Mason is 5 yrs old and is 22 pounds (and not Fat, just very big) Maine Coon Males run from 13 pounds (a whole male) to 18 pounds most of the time. Then you can get a cat like Mason. My other guys are 15 - 18 pounds. I would like to hear what Bob and Joey pursonalities are like.

Stella

R. P. Cathouse Web Site (www.geocities.com/rpcathouse)

[auggie]

Stella, Joey is a female!:D

Since you're a breeder I have a question for you:
I fell in love with this beautiful maine coon female at a cat show.
I came so close to buying her, until I had to dish out close to one grand for Phoenix vet bill.
When I was holding her I didn’t feel any claws, so I ask the breeder if she was de-clawed.
She responded by telling me, no, we train our cats to retract their claws. How is that possible?

[RP Cathouse]

I still love the name and thinking about it there are females with the name Joey. My black smoke with white is Smokey Jo. All the breeders I know do not declaw their cats. It is against the ruls of showing to show a cat declawed. I start trimming or should I say try to start clipping kittens claws about 6 weeks old. It makes it easier for the new parents to continue with the pratice. I all the breeders I know there is a this cat will not be declawed paragraph. Declawing is like removing up to the first joint on your fingers. Ouch!! Most of my cats will not show a claw unless playing with a catnip toy or other toys. Or using the cat trees or if being threatened. I keep their nails clipped. I have some that don't like it but that is tooooo bad I am the Mom in the house and if it nail clipping time or bath time it gets done one way or another! Plus these guys are very gentle anyway. I have never trained my guys or know how to train a cat to keep their claws retracted. That is a new one on me! I have a litter due in Dec and one due in Jan. So I will have lots of kitten here.
And for the Vet bill I just did the same here today but alittle more. We go broke at times for our Furkids and that is how it should be, what a great parent you are and I would be happy if you were a parent of one of my kittens.

Stella

[sirrahved]

I've heard that Maine Coons are a native breed.... are there still Maine Coon cats in the wild?

[CatDad]

Stella,

I am so sorry I completely missed your post.:o I was going to send you a PM, but you have that disabled. No problem I will just put a post here.:)

No problem about thinking Joey is a boy.:) I get that all the time. It was her name when we got her at the age of 5 and they said that she responded to it, so we didn't change ot.

Bob we got from a shelter, he was recused from an abusive home. The short story is that we think he was abused by a female because he would go near my significant other for about the first six months. He came around however. After he settled in and realized all was good and he was in a safe place, he turned out to be a great cat. He is not a big lap kitty, he will sit on us, but it has to be his choice.:rolleyes: He is very mellow guy and his beging consisits of sitting there and staring at you until you get him a treat. He is also great at the vet he throws a fit for nail trimming, but other then that he will just sit there. When I leave and pay the bill I put him on the counter and he just sits there while I pay. All the people at the vet office think that is so cool. He also has let a couple of people hold him there, which I thought was pretty good, since they where female. He initially goes to the bedroom when we have company, but he will come out and join the party after a short time, ands ask for attention. I think the hiding part is from his previou life. He will genrally be in the same room as us but not on us. It is so cute if he can't find us, he will meow until we answer him. He has a quiet meow for sich a big cat.

That is about the jist of it for Bob, I know that I have to be leaving something out, but think that I should stop. Ask me about my kitties and I will ramble forever.

I will tell you about Joey in another post. I spent to long on Bob and now I have a dentist appt., just a cleaning.

sirrahved the MC is considered a native breed, they are belived to have come over on boats hunderds of years ago on norse sailing ships. I think that is correct, when I come back from the dentist I will get the full story. I am not sure if there are still wild one.

Bye for now.

[RP Cathouse]

Catdad first what is a PM? Is it a private mail? You sound like a great parent. I have lots and lots of stories about my guys also. But I don't think many want to hear them. I have had Maine Coons for 7 1/2 years but I have always had cats in my life. Even as a little girl. Boy I can remember that far back..... LOL!! Cats are a comfort and stress release for me. They ask nothing except a clean litter box and food. And of course to be worshipped. but what they give in return is priceless.

My cats names are in order they arrived here are.
Jezabelle
G. Louise aka Weezie
Dixie Blaze
Mason
Chino
Tyler
Moses
Penny Lane
Eleanor Rigby aka Ele`
Whisper aka Mudge now at the rainbow bridge
Jaxon
Chinni
Smokey Jo
P.B. Baby
Big Red
Charlie Parker
Suzee Q aka "Q"
Sanuye
and coming
Cathan aka Catie


and me Stella
picture is of Mudge and her daughter Smokey Jo

[CatDad]

As promised, a post on Joey. Ok, so it is a little late.:o

I know I left alot out of the bob Post, but I really had to stop.

The Joey description will be a little shorter, not because she is any less special, but because I know less aobut her.

I do not know what mix of breeds that Joey is. She has to have some Maine Coon in her. Beyond that I do not know. I do knwo that she has some of the softest fur that I have ever felt. Bob is soft and he is really fluffy. However, Joey blows him away in softness department, it s like silk. Joey was a feral that was rescued by the shelter that I got her from when she was a kitten, they think she was a kitten anyway. Well she spent the first two years at the shelter, and then a couple adopted her and she spent a year and a half or so under there bed. Not abused, just was not the right environment for her. So back to the shelter, where she was cared for until she was about 5, and we adopted her. Like I said she is a feral, so her personality is a little hard to judge because she is so skittish. She is warming up, but it will just take time. I think Joey has it in her to be a real loving cat. She is very active and curious, not like Bob at all at least in the active part.;)

Ok, I know that is not much, sorry. If you have some specific questions, please let me know.

[CatDad]

Hi Sirrahved,

I found some good theories on the history of Maine Coons, Sorry it took so long.

There are many theories and legends as to how the Maine Coon originated. The most legendary myth is the breeding of a domestic house cat and a Raccoon! This of course is not true and physically impossible.

The more popular and probable of the theories regarding the Maine Coon are:

1. Marie Antoinette, Queen of France smuggled all her royal treasures on to a ship including her six longhaired cats to be shipped to Wiscasset, Maine during the French Revolution and she was to follow. Her royal treasures and cats arrived in Maine but unfortunately Marie Antoinette did not. The theory is that her six cats bred with domestic house cats to produce the Maine Coon Cat.

2. Another theory that is popular is the breeding of a domestic house cat with a small wild cat (bobcat or a lynx). This is one of the reasons many people feel the Maine Coon cat looks similar to the lynx or bobcat.

The first recorded mention of the Maine Coon Cat was a black and white cat in 1861, the Maine Coon was popular from 1861 up until 1895. Slowly the Maine Coon Cat began disappearing in the ranks of registries. The Maine Coon began showing in the AOV class (Any other variety or miscellaneous category). The Central Maine Coon Cat Club (CMCC) began in 1953 to increase the popularity of the breed by showcasing it to the public. (CMCC) held their first show on June 21, 1953. The show was a huge success and recognition of the Maine Coon Cat grew to more shows and considerably more entries. (CMCC) had to decide if they wanted to become a large club or stop, they opted to stop.

In 1956, Dr. Racheal Salisbury a breeder and a judge had a standard drawn up to which the Maine Coon could be judged.

In 1968, the Maine Coon Breeder and Fanciers Association (MCBFA) was formed to bring public awareness up and have the breed accepted for championship status in all the registering associations. By 1976, all registering association accepted the Maine Coon Cat as championship status and popularity continues to grow about the Maine Coon.

[sirrahved]

Thanks! I think they are a really interesting breed. :D

[CatDad]

Your welcome.

What I should have done, had I been thinking about it, is post the links that I found. Sometimes I don't, think that is. It actually has some pretty good info:
http://members.shaw.ca/mainecoon/history.html

The other one is:
http://www.fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-faq.html

Enjoy

[RP Cathouse]

Maine Coons is a native cat of the U. S. and it beginnings are still a mystery and will always be. But they are a wonderful breed their pursonalities and looks are what I fell in love with. A big strong cat, with such a lovable pursonality. Their looks have not changed much over the years. They still have a muzzle, their boning is big, musle mass is well defined and they have a summer and winter coat that is easy to care for if you groom weekly. Some are lap kitties and some are not. Some are big goofs and some are very smart. Not all are huge I have a female that weighs only 8.5 pounds but has the best pursonality and all the features you look for in a Maine Coon. Her name is Weezie.
She greets everyone who comes in the door. Weezie has to smell and sniff everyone several times. Most DLH must have part Maine Coon in them because the Maine Coon was an outside cat that developed in the what it is. A very sturdy, hardy cat. IMOA.
But as always I love all cats, but the Coon is very specail to me.

Stella

[trayi52]

Stella, I just went to your website, just loved it. Sounds like you are such a good mommy to all your babies. :)

[RP Cathouse]

Since my children are grown and out on their own, but they still call or visit me at work everyday, the cats have taken their place. Well, sort of, but I have the same values and ideas with them. To raise very healthy, social, and lovable kittens. I will not allow a kitten to leave my home, if sick, or very shy. I talk to the new parent to make sure I feel comfortable with them have them visit to be sure they know what they are getting into. Usually I know right away if some one is good for my kittens or not. I test my breeding stock for health issues yearly. The Vet's know me personally and know I will drop off a cat or kitten if something is wrong and I have to work. My Vet bill have been very large at times, because I my guy to be happy and healthy. But, I know when the cat is not going to get better and the quality of life is not going to get better and it is suffering.
On my cattery cards it states:
Look into the eyes of a kitten and see the love that is waiting for you. Our kittens are raise with our family (furry ones included) and with love. AND, already spoiled. for you!
Stella
R. P. Cathouse Web Site (www.geocities.com/rpcathouse)http://

[Randy_K]

I have a friend who picked up an adult red Abyssinian at a shelter. The poor boy had been there six weeks with a sign on the cage saying "Orange Domestic Shorthair". He's super sweet and gentle and has adopted her two blue Aby kittens (cousins of Mango) and grooms them all the time.