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The Maine Coon
About Cheeptrills
Meet the Cats
Meet the People
Meet our Graduates (Some of the cats we've sold)
Finding a Kitten
Tips for Cat Owners
Our Sales Contract
Origins of the Maine Coon
Great Maines of the Past
Of Cats and Queens
The Rainbow Bridge

The Joy of Cats
Panic in the Night
Homecoming
Cats 'n' Consequences
On the Road
My First Show
For Better or Worse
Life in South Texas

Pictured at the left is the first kitten of our breeding "Cheeptrills Aria"

We got our first Maine Coon from Lynne Sherer (Calicoon Maine Coons). We met Lynne when we were dragged to a cat show in California by Trish's mother, who was showing Siamese. We had no intention of getting a kitten, but at that show we met the gorgeous SGC Calicoon Hooligan (aka Hoolie), and wanted a cat just like him. Hoolie's owner/breeder, Lynne Sherer, politely told us that there was no way we could have Hoolie, but that she had a kitten at home who bid fair to look much like him. We went to Lynne's house, met the kitten, and of course took him home with us. That kitten was an adorable red classic tabby who we named Applejack. He grew up to be Grand Champion Calicoon Applejack of Cheeptrills.

We also had no intention of breeding Maines, but Lynne liked the way "Appie" was developing and talked us into showing him. At his first show, we met Karen McInchak (McInkats Maine Coons) who liked Appie's looks and offered us a female (the brown tabby with white Champion McInkats Shilo) if she could have a kitten from Appie and Shilo. That was it - we were well and truly hooked!

Karen and another fine lady, Sue Servies of Suzeran Maine Coons, took us under their wings, taught us the fine points of genetics and pedigrees, introduced us to the Maine Coon Breeders and Fanciers Association, and instructed us in proper cattery management. We were truly blessed to have had the good fortune to meet two such exemplary breeders so early in our venture!

We have only one litter at a time, so we can provide each baby with all the time and attention it needs to become a delightful, well-socialized pet. We breed for health, temperament, type, size, and color (in that order, but do our best to ensure that all of these qualities are present in each of our kittens).

Our kittens are raised in our bedroom until they've had their first series of kitten vaccines at 6 weeks, then they're turned loose to meet the other cats and start learning their "house manners." We handle the babies from the moment of birth, so they're extremely "people oriented," fearless, and trusting. We have a house-call vet who gives them exams at six, nine, and twelve weeks (which is the age at which they can leave for their new homes), and each kitten is sold with a guarantee of health. This guarantee states that the kitten is not only free of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, but is physically sound. In the event the kitten is sold for breeding purposes, we also guarantee fertility if the kitten is raised in optimum conditions. (These guarantees are set forth in detail in our sales contract .) You can see an example of the advice we give our pet buyers by clicking here.

Although many of our kittens are show quality, we sell very few as breeders, since we're very fussy about the conditions existing in a breeding cattery. Many of our top-show quality kittens have been sold as pets, since our main criterion for placing a kitten is how it will be treated in a new home -- we'd much rather see a potential show-stopper living as a beloved pet than caged and ignored until showtime! However, many of our pet owners have decided to show their cats in spay/neuter classes, where they can have the fun of showing without the demands created by breeding. We rate honestly each kitten we sell, and will tell you if the kitten you're considering has the potential to compete in the show ring. (For pictures of some of the show-quality cats we've sold, click here.)

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