REFERENCES
The Maine Coon cat came into being through natural selection. It was first sighted in the state of Maine on the east coast of America. The "Maine Cat" lived in barns similar to our "moggy" and showed special traits which were very appealing to the pride of US farmers and they showed off their "Coon Cats" in country fairs. In 1960s and 1970s it became a recognized breed. More recently, new foundation lines have been introduced to reinforce the gene pool of the breed. These popular foundation cats have been taken from barns in and around Maine, tested for good health and used for breeding. The Maine Coon cat is a farm cat making its way into cities; something like a polar bear making its way into the Sahara.
I try to give back the natural habitat they once used to live in, on our farm in the outback of Gisborne. They can go outside for a swim in the creek or a splash in the pond whenever they wish to. They hunt for mice and rabbits and we shoot turkeys for them. There is absolutely no traffic and my eyeing tom-cat has scared away every intruder since he moved in last year. It's peaceful, quiet and safe out here.... if you want to make sure this cattery is ok, come and have a look for yourself.
BREEDERS AWARD OF MERIT
Cat show Christchurch .......17th
April 2004 - for Gone
Wild Smoerre
Cat show Napier ................ 2nd May 2004
- for Gone Wild Purrl Grey
2 BAM & BIS & Supreme Exhibit
Cat show Blenheim ........... 10th July 2004
- for Gone Wild Smoerre
Cat show Nelson .............. 24th July 2004 -
for Gone Wild Smoerre
Cat show Dunedin ............. 1 August 2004
- for Gone Wild Smoerre ... as
she drags him to every show
Cat show Christchurch .......20 March
2005 - for Gone
Wild Smoerre
Cat show Nelson .............. 31st July
2005 - for Gone
Wild Salsa
What new owners say about their Maine Coons Gone Wild
"I have nothing but nice things to say about Mika. He can do no wrong and is spoilt rotten !!!
He is a fabulous cat. He always announces his arrival with his little chirpy voice. He definitely knows he is special though. Kevin says he feels privileged when Mika smooches up to him! Mika is a constant source of entertainment. He is a real clown. He likes to watch what ever I am doing too. He just sits quietly observing. Maine Coons are the best."
Bossi is a gentle giant. She is extremely massive, everyone always makes comments on both how beautiful and massive she is (especially her tail). She really looks like a wild cat. She walks me to my car when I leave for work and then waits inside my front door for me every day when I get home from work. She follows me round the house and generally just likes to hang out wherever I am (very loyal). Every morning she comes and sits on me to wake me up for pats (and probably food) – very cute. Her fur is extremely soft, long and gorgeous (bundles of fur everywhere), she is irresistible to pat. Every time I look at her I think gosh you're beautiful…..she really is stunning.
As a cat lover all my life I have owned many much loved 'moggies'. We got our first Maine Coon boy 'Foxi' in October 2004 and we are continually amazed at his antics and personality compared to our 'moggies'. He is very laid back and placid and interested in whatever we are doing. We were so happy with 'Foxi', that in May 2005 we got our little girl 'Nizza' who is absolutely beautiful with the sweetest nature. Our two maines get on very well together. They sleep in the same bed even though they have separate beds, wash each other and during the day when outside are always not far away from each other. They are both friendly towards our neighbours' cats and show no aggression at all. We could not be happier with our choice of the Maine Coon breed and would recommend them to any cat lover.
I left a message on your phone, but thought I'd write you an email also. I entered Gucci (Gonewild Salsa) in the Nelson Cat Show on Sunday. This was both the first cat show for her and myself. She now weighs 4.7kg and all of the judges remarked on how excellent she was in every way, eyes, head, length of body and tail, the list went on. So thank you for not only my fantastic pet, but for what apparently is also an excellent example of Maine Coon. Hope you are pleased with this result. I was uncertain how she would go, given that I had never showed a cat before, but was very pleased by the end what was a very long day.
OLD F5 FOUNDATION CATS
Today there are "new
foundation cats" and even "newer foundation cats" - but it
started off in the glory 60s with the "Top 5"
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"Top 5" cats are:
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MAINE COONS HAVE IN THEIR GENES
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INBREEDING COEFFICIENT When a cat is mated with a
sister/brother: 25 % |
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ABOUT MY CATTERY What you see in the pictures on the right was built out of
recycling material. My cats and kittens basically live free on the farm. These
"rooms" are mainly to keep some cats apart when they need a
"time-out", to keep my two studs from hurting each other or for
mothers with their babies to spend some quality time together in peace and
quiet. |
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CLONES In 1978 Heidi Ho Sonkey Bill was born, a grand son and double great grand son of Andy and Bridget Katt of Heidi Ho. When bred to Tanstaafl Polly Adeline the amazing thing was that their offspring all looked alike, almost like clones... So when we nowadays speak of "clones" we are talking about the sons and daughters of Sonkey and Polly. The significance of the clones is, that they were used over and over, because they threw nice show quality cats and really added size. So many breeders decided that if a little was good, a lot was better. So although the clones themselves did not have a very high inbreeding coefficient (9.4%), there was done a lot of line breeding with them and their offspring. Nowadays many Maine Coons have pedigrees with 35% clones, sometimes even up to 50% clones. If you analyze pedigrees of today's Maine Coons then there is this very *one* couple that is so prevalent in our pedigrees. |
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OUTCROSS CATS
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HEVENGIFT JOHN STARR Inbreeding: 3.13% Clones: 43.8%
Top 2 = 29.6%
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Silver mackerel tabby with
white born: 21 May 2001 Import Milan/Italy ... Cattery
Real Coon
"Sonkey Bill" (D.o.B. January 21,1978) and "Polly Adeline"
(D.o.B. November 5, 1977)
were the parents of a
multitude of today's Maine Coons. They produced the "Clones".
"WHEPS"
brown spotted tabby (tigree) ... born 21 May, 2001 ... Cattery Real Coon, Milan-Italy;
Real Coon Kirsty and Real Coon Kentacky (reg.names) have Sonkey Bill
and Polly Adeline in their 4th (!!!) generation
If you want to look up the pedigree of the sire, go
to "Hevengift John
Starr" and see how close
they are to the originals Maine Coon Database: www.pawpeds.com
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www.maineattraction.co.za www.arnica.co.nz www.innotek.co.nz Accessories:
www.jaiatipis.com
www.trex.com
www.edopo.com www.catnip.com.au |
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