Considering Importing a Maine Coon for Breeding?
If you are interested in breeding Maine Coon kittens and are looking for your first breeding kitten or cat, you may have found it is difficult to find a Maine Coon breeder in the United States willing to sell a kitten with breeding rights. We have been there. Many breeders would not ever consider it (selling breeding rights) no matter what. Some breeders may offer breeding rights, but want to have a contract with so many restrictions, one could possibly argue in a court of law, that the kitten did not even really belong to us.
I can definitely understand that not everyone is cut out for breeding and many breeders are hesitant to just let a kitten go to anyone with breeding rights. These breeders have worked tirelessly and spent all kinds of money on their lines and do not want to risk someone not having the best interest of the kitten in mind. They feel many others are only breeding for money and will ruin the breed. Some breeders feel that only they or close friends are the only ones capable of producing healthy kittens. This is sad as it does in fact reduce the breeding pool and people who really want to breed will just do what many new breeders do when starting out. They will import a Maine Coon cat from Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Poland, or other European countries. These breeders are found online mainly through social media.
For some new breeders, this import process works fine. We imported our first breeding Maine Coons, as we thought we did not have any other choice. You can more easily get a Maine Coon with breeding rights from overseas, many breeders will ask zero questions about your breeding intentions. Sometimes these cats have a much less purchase price than what you may find in the United States if you can even find a breeder willing to work with you. But some do not have a less expensive purchase price! Keep in mind that in addition to the purchase price, there is the shipping cost, which after COVID and with inflation, can be almost as much as the kitten cost. Then you will also have customs broker fees, and airport fees when you pick up your kitten from the airport. You will have the travel cost of getting to the airport that your cat is flying into. Most cats that are imported will only fly into the major international airports such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, New York, or Miami. So you have to either drive to these airports, and have fuel, meals, and lodging expenses or pay another transporter to pick up for you. You may be able to get a closer airport but will normally have additional cost for this option. Also, keep in mind, the cat will be traveling in their crate in the cargo hold of the airplane. Due to the length of the trip, layovers, and customs clearance, the cat may be in their crate for 24-36 hours by the time you pick up the kitten or cat and get them in your arms.
Many times, when you import from overseas, you may get a cat which is really not suitable for breeding. Many (not all) of those breeders will sell any Maine Coon with breeding rights. They do not care about the standard for structure or health. Please know, there is more to determining if a Maine Coon is suitable for breeding than just the basic DNA testing for HCM, SMA, & PKDef that some of those breeders perform, if they even perform those accurately, which I know from experience is not always the case. Breeding these unhealthy cats is what actually hurts the breed, in my opinion. But because some new breeders have spent several thousand dollars by the time all the various costs and fees have been paid, they do not want to just spay or neuter the cat they paid so dearly to import and cannot get replaced. Unfortunately, some of these cats will still be bred and go on to produce some questionable kittens.
Some people though, like ourselves, have had to make the hard decision to never breed a cat that should not be bred. We have literally lost thousands of dollars for a cat we cannot ethically breed and had to spay/neuter. We also have been in the positions where we let the breeder know that the cat should not be used in a breeding program and all we have heard is well, no animal is perfect, or sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Or even worse, they see nothing wrong with breeding the cat at least once. They do not want to replace the kitten or make the issue right in any way. Sometimes we were blocked by unscrupulous breeders who flat out lied about their cats. We were “lucky” enough to have one breeder replace a cat that was not suitable for breeding, but we had to pay the shipping cost, customs fees, airport fees, and travel expenses to get him here from overseas, and it turns out he was not breeding quality either. So we paid more and still had no breeding quality cat.
Another downside from buying overseas is there is no recourse when purchasing from a breeder. Litigation is going to be very difficult and very expensive for an international case. Usually more than the cost of the cat. Then even if you do get a judgement, good luck enforcing it. In reality, it is probably just not going to happen.
One more thing to think about is can that breeder offer mentorship and support for your new breeding kitten in the future? Some breeders are very helpful, others ghost you once they have your money and have sent the cat.
Your Maine Coon breeding stock should be the best of the best, the top of the line. You may pay more for these cats to begin with, but you will have much better lines and much healthier kittens in general. This helps your reputation as a breeder and makes for much happier families that are happy to recommend you. Your life will be much easier if you don’t have all your families contacting you in 6 months to a year with a kitten that has gotten sick or worse died from a preventable disease. We realize there are going to be kittens that do get sick or have some health issue come up, that is the nature of breeding live animals. But if you start with a better foundation, you will have a much better success rate.
You should also have access to support for questions and concerns to your breeder much longer after the sale. Once you get the kitten home, and wait for him/her to grow you may have lots of questions as they get older and closer to breeding time. Will your breeder be able to answer your questions?
I want to clarify there are some good breeders overseas. We have purchased cats from some breeders over there that we can tell have much better health than others we have purchased from. However, you take a big risk buying overseas if you are not familiar with the breeders. And as a new breeder, it is difficult to know which ones are good and which ones are not.
Due to all this difficulty in obtaining Main Coon kittens with breeding rights, we have decided we will work with any new breeder who wants to put in the time and effort to have a healthy, reputable breeding program. We strive to make sure ALL families have as healthy as Maine Coon kittens as possible. So we feel that helping new breeders by providing health tested cats, will allow the breed to flourish. We also offer an unheard of “Fertility Guarantee.” (If any other breeder offers this, I am not aware of it.) We guarantee your Maine Coon kitten or cat purchased from us with breeding rights will be able to have at least one litter of kittens. If for ANY health reason it cannot breed (not due to neglect), we WILL replace it. This covers more than just HCM, SMA, & PKDef, that some breeders cover, and then some cover those things only if the cat passes away. We strive to cover just about any health issue that could prevent your kitten from breeding down the road.
EXAMPLES
Here are some examples of kitten purchases that have actually happened to us or breeders we know. We purchased, and PAID extra for, breeding quality kittens with breeding rights. These kittens could not be bred for various reasons. We will not name these breeders, our goal is not to bash other breeders. Their decisions were technically within their contract, for most of the issues. So read your contracts carefully!
We had a male imported from Italy, develop Stomatitis. Stomatitis, unfortunately, is inherent in the Maine Coon breed, and is normally not covered by any contract. But we feel a breeding cat should be perfectly healthy and not be affected by Stomatitis to give the best chances of producing kittens that have less chance of being affected by the disease. While it’s not a guarantee a kitten will never be affected by it, it helps when you start with the best of the best Maine Coon breeding stock. I brought it to the breeders attention and explained that he should not be used for breeding. She stated his parents did not have it and it is not covered any guarantee. She did offer a discount on a future kitten.
We had a kitten imported from Europe that within a week of being here passed away from a bowel intussusception. There were no foreign objects ingested (as can happen to cause this and would be considered neglect). It was just a fluke thing that the vet could not determine the cause of. We let the breeder know but were offered nothing for her and then the breeder quit responding to us.
There was a female Maine Coon kitten imported from Eastern Europe who was DNA tested and showed N/N for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, when she had an echocardiogram, her heart showed thickening of the walls. She could not be used for breeding. No replacement was offered. Some breeders think, mistakenly, that if a cat tests negative for the gene that can be tested for HCM that the cat can never get HCM. That is incorrect.
A female Maine Coon developed closed pyometra and had to be spayed before she was a year old. This is a risk common in cats, especially girls who cycle often. Open pyometra can sometimes be treated and the female go on to breed successfully, but closed generally requires a spay to save the cat. The breeder was informed of the girl’s condition and that she could not breed. The breeder stated well that is a risk you take when you buy a breeding cat. Yes, it is a risk, but it is a health issue and that cat could no longer be used for it’s intended purpose of purchase. The breeder did not even offer a discount to pet price.
A female Maine Coon cat was purchased from Russia and the breeder stated she was clear (negative) on her genetic testing for HCM. When the cat was tested in the states, she carried one copy of the gene associated with HCM. On some disorders such as PKDef or SMA, one copy is not a concern, but with HCM it is. The breeder flat out lied about the cat and offered no replacement and blocked communication.
SUMMARY
We understand there is risk in any investment one chooses to make. For example, if you invest in the stock market, you risk the stock never making any money and you could lose your entire investment. While we understand there is risk involved in any hobby or business involving live animals, we are hoping to reduce that risk to breeders in a way that we can. If you purchase a Maine Coon kitten with breeding rights from us at Brushy Kreek Coons, we guarantee he/she will be able to have at least one litter of kittens or we will replace it. So long as the reason for not being able to have kittens is not due to neglect in any form.
Whoever you decide to purchase from, you should ask the following questions before making your final decision:
1. Can you get any type of reliable health history of the kitten and its parents to know what health testing has been completed?
2. Have you taken into account ALL of the costs of getting the kitten to your home? It is much more than just the price of the kitten. You will have shipping cost, customs broker fees, airport fees, travel costs to get the airport to pick up your kitten.
3. Does the breeder have a replacement guarantee for ANY health reason (not due to neglect) that the cat will not be able to breed? Some breeders say they guarantee against only HCM, SMA, or PKDef and then, only if they pass away. Unfortunately, sometimes they don’t even stand behind that. But what if the cat develops closed pyometra and must be spayed or Stomatitis? Most breeders won’t cover that for replacement, but we will.
4. Do you have access to the breeder after you bring the kitten home for questions and concerns?
5. Do you have resources to verify the validity of the breeder as well as recourse if a dispute arises?
THE FINE PRINT
So what’s the catch? You say this sounds too good to be true? Well, it is real, but we do have some conditions for the guarantee. Those can be found on our Terms when purchasing a breeding cat, but essentially you must:
1. Take care of the kitten. The kitten must have vet exams as outlined in the terms of our purchase agreement. The kitten must be offered quality, fresh food and water and be an appropriate weight (unless some health condition is causing an inappropriate weight).
2. Keep the kitten safe and indoors. Keep objects away from the kitten that he/she could swallow. Issues arising from ingested objects are preventable. Getting hit by a car is preventable. It is not a health issue. If your cat is allowed outdoors, it must be in an enclosed area where other animals cannot get in or on a leash/harness, supervised at all times.
About Us: We are a Maine Coon breeder in Houston, Missouri. We located in south central Missouri about 1 ½ hours east of Springfield, Missouri; about 2 ½ hours southwest of St. Louis, Missouri; and about 4 hours southeast of Kansas City, Missouri. We are also just a short drive north from Northern Arkansas. We would love to hear from you!
We health test our breeding Maine Coons by full panel DNA genetic testing as well as echocardiograms of the heart, and have recently added hip X-Rays for Hip Dysplasia.
