Janjon Maine Coon Cats

My name is Janet Ford. I have owned maine coon cats for the past 15 yrs and recently made the leap to breeder and show cattery. My husband, John, and I also raise, train and show redbone coonhounds as multi-generational coonhound fanciers. We are excited to begin our new hobby as maine coon cat fanciers. We can't express how much we love this special breed. There just isn't another cat quite like the Maine Coon Cat!! We love big cats and being dog trainers, we love that this breed is so interactive and trainable.

Maine Coon cats are very difficult to get a start in if you are wanting to breed or show. Maine Coon cat fanciers are very protective of their breed, and rightfully so. Many breeds of both cats and dogs alike have been ruined or harmed as a whole by unsavory breeders who thought their cats or dogs in their breeding program were little more than fuzzy little wallets. As a long time breeder and showperson of Redbone Coonhounds, the author of many pet care articles (thousands), the author of Guide to Ethical Dog Breeding and the National Coonhound Examiner, I still had a difficult time finding anyone to even talk to me about the possibility of breeding maine coon cats.

I began talking to a maine coon cat breeder who had just gotten started in the fancy. I noticed her email address reflected nubian dairy goats and she was from the same state as my former mentor in the dairy goat show world, Deb Smith. I asked her if she knew of my dear friend and her renowned herd of dairy goats. Sadly, we lost Deb some years back due to a car accident. When we lost Deb, I soon went out of the dairy goat world. It just wasn't the same without my good friend and mentor. I was gifted Deb's prized, undefeated, champion nubian doe, Rimfire's Emily, when she died per her request before her accident that if anything ever happened to her, I was to inherit Emily.

My new maine coon cat breeder friend did not know Deb or Emily as she was new to the area but had heard of them. She told her maine coon cat mentor about me as he also had nubians and had been in that area a long time. He not only knew Deb, he was friends with her. When he found out Deb had left Emily to me he said that was all the reference he needed and agreed to sell me my first maine coon cats with breeding rights! Thank you Steve, Deb and Emily. :) Deb's still looking out for me. I miss and love you, Deb!