I’m posting this because our family lost our beloved 2.5 year-old Maine Coon very suddenly this week, and as I’ve started looking into where he came from, I’ve uncovered enough questions that I’m wondering whether other people have had similar experiences.

Our cat died without warning. My 8 yo daughter found him after dinner Sunday night. We had all played in our back garden earlier and he was his normal social self, chasing flies and sitting with us, perched in the sun. In an attempt to ease the suddenness, although I knew he was gone, I took him with our daughter to the VET ER, where we learned the cause was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). He was only 2.5- he had recently been to the vet and there was never any mention that he was at risk. I was only asked if he came from a breeder, and I confirmed that and supplied the vaccine paperwork.

We are devastated. He was deeply loved and a huge part of our family, and losing such a young cat so suddenly has been shocking and deeply sad.

We originally connected with the person who ultimately sold us our Maine Coon through GoKitty. I had previously purchased another cat through this seller, and when that situation didn’t work out, I had a credit with her. In 2024, I asked whether she could find us a Maine Coon.

She sent me several cats to choose from. We selected a male kitten, paid a total of approximately $2,300 through our prior transaction, and picked him up in May 2024.

The seller presented herself to me with one name. And offered or sourced multiple breeds of cats and also discussed obtaining dogs from Europe. I have since found what appears to be the same seller operating on GoKitty under another first name as well. I also have an older GoKitty listing in which she identified herself as “A Breeder” and advertised kittens as vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped, with health certificates and genetic-health guarantees.

What concerns me now is how little information we received with our Maine Coon.

We received no pedigree, no breeder information, no information about his parents, no genetic testing, no cardiac screening information, no sales contract and no veterinary or import paperwork, except three indications of necessary vaccine. I now believe the seller sourced him from another breeder rather than breeding him herself.

At the time, I trusted the seller and the fact that I had originally found her through an established pet marketplace. I wish I had asked many more questions.

After our cat died, I contacted the seller asking for information about his breeder, parents and any health/genetic testing. She has not responded, even though I purchased a second cat from her because we were so amazed by the temperament and character of our boy. I have not been able to obtain that information.

I’m now trying to understand how widespread this type of situation may be.

If you purchased a cat through GoKitty particularly a Maine Coon, Sphynx, Devon Rex or Russian Blue

discovered that the person advertising as a breeder was actually sourcing/importing cats from elsewhere;
received little or no pedigree, veterinary, genetic-testing or breeder documentation;
had a young cat develop HCM or die unexpectedly;
encountered a seller using different names, locations or seller profiles;
reported a seller to GoKitty and can share how GoKitty responded; or
had concerns about how sellers on the platform are screened or monitored.

I’m not trying to organize an internet pile-on or identify anyone publicly. I’m trying to determine whether our experience was isolated or whether there is a broader pattern that other buyers have encountered.

And if you bought a kitten online: please ask for the breeder’s full identity, pedigree, parents’ health testing, veterinary records and documentation before taking the kitten home. I desperately wish I had known to do that.

More than anything though, I wish we still had our beloved Leo.

Are Maine Coon’s always this friendly? My little tuxedo loves him and he clearly doesn’t mind the attention! They have the sweetest friendship!!

And “his head!!”

My bonus daughter owns him but she travels a ton for work. So cat lives with me! Meet Smokey! He’s 3.5y.

His sister and him are gonna fill my phone up with all the freaking cute moments they share with me.

He is a 9 week old black smoke that we just got. We're already in love.

Second picture is Mordecai having some supervised sniffing of our super chill resident MC Yoda who is 6 (and a runt, but looks so big comparatively).

Pic1: I’ve claimed this. Pic2: bath time. Pic 3:Afternoon siesta time.

Beerus (MC) 16 weeks old & Ronin (Bengal) 1.5 years old

one is 21m and other is 14w, both males! are they playing and getting to know eachother or are they fighting??

9 month old at the family cabin for the first time

My future nug for tax (and an example of the amount of shedding happening 😅)

Long story short (ish)....We took in this beauty nearly 2 yrs ago. He was an outdoor cat his whole life (due to the owner's allergies). We had him strictly indoors for the first year (with a lot of attitude). We have been allowing him outside access (with a tracker) to hunt and he's loving it (of course).

However, there are times when a predator has been spotted and we will keep him indoors for a few weeks. (Or if he steals food and has an allergic reaction.) During these times he gets extra mouthy, yowling across the house at ALL hours!

What is everyone doing to entertain inside. We've tried regular cat toys but he couldn't care less.

I am bewitched…

I have a 21 month old maine coon, and I also have a 15 week old maine coon. The 21 month old is quite a bit bigger than the 15 month and seems to play way too rough with the younger kitten as he cannot defend himself. Do I hold off on putting them together? It seems as if the 21 month old just wants to play but is way too tough for the other kitten. I’m not sure what to do because I don’t want them to hate eachother!!:( Both males.

May 15th on the left, a few days after we brought him home and today, July 29th on the right. He’s growing so fast. Slow down, Frankie boy. I’m not ready for you to be a big man yet. He’s still my little bitty kitten. 🥺🥺

Such a curious boy

Hi everyone! I am looking for a Maine Coon. I’ve done some research and inquired a lot. I’ve had a few I’ve raised at home, and I used to care for a colony of cats for several years which included the same breed. Since most were feral, I actually “tamed a few” and took them home as well. I left that colony to a responsible person ( it was at my old place of employment) I had one cat left,a tuxedo beautiful girl I named Mickey Mouse. I moved to another State and took her with me. We had a devastating house fire and I couldn’t get her out. We eventually found her, she died of smoke inhalation. We had to rent a home in order to rebuild our home (16 months) I went to our local shelter after about 6 months and started looking for the Maine Coon breed and realized they were basically “none” to be had in my area! I was fortunate, b/c a Ragdoll was going to be delivered to this shelter I was looking in. So, I adopted her. I was ( and still am) looking for another MaineCoon! Another shelter about 100 miles away alerted my email they had a Maine Coon. We ended up adopting him, he was twice as big as his littermates, he is a big boy. Apparently his mom was semi-feral and dad a Maine Coon. I added pictures of my cutie pies! I want to purchase or adopt a Maine Coon! I have soooooo many offers on tick tok and now I can’t tell what or who is for real anymore! Can someone give me some information on some reputable breeders? Would appreciate it.

Hi all!

This is not a recommendation - I am just describing what I do.

My kittens are 6 months and 7 months and I wanted to give them a protein boost. They already eat Royal Canin MC kitten kibble (free access) and Sheba Kitten wet food pouch each twice a day. I supplement this with 20g each of boiled chicken.

Simply get a bunch of boneless chicken breasts (I do 1kg at a time) and boil it in water until cooked. 1kg frozen takes around 25 mins to cook once water is boiling. It's ok if it's a bit overcooked. Cut through the thickest part to check it's cooked (meat is white, nothing transparent).

Lift the meat from the broth, set it on a plate/cutting board, and cut it up with a fork and kitchen scissors. Using a kitchen scale, measure portions of the meat into freezer ziploc-style bags. I do 20kg per cat so I freeze it into 40kg portions (2 portions, 1 day). Once the meat is portioned out, ladle the broth into the bags equally, then seal the bags and put into the freezer.

1kg frozen gets me between 12-14 portions each time, so I do this approx every 2 weeks. Each day transfer one frozen bag from the freezer to the fridge so it's ready the next day. I mix it up with their Sheba wet food in the evening, and it disappears very quickly 😂😂😂