MooseKittens - Raising Kittens

At MooseCoons, kittens are born in a spare bedroom set aside as a safe haven for momma cat. They spend the first four to six weeks sequestered from the household, but I spend time with them daily, handling them from the minute they are born. It is my opinion that kittens become more socialized and affectionate to humans when they are exposed to contact from very early, on a constant and consistent basis. Certainly the
kittens I have raised prove this theory,
as I get updates from folks who've bought pets from me, and I constantly
get comments on how sweet and affectionate they are.

And they look SoOoO innocent!

Between four and six weeks the kittens are brought into the family room to live. The other cats in the house react to them with various attitudes, from barely restrained antipathy to overt curiosity, such as “are they old enough to play with yet?”

Spike (right) is the "grande Dame"of the house at approx. 18 years old. She's very curious
about everything, and she tolerates the kittens as long as they don't bite her tail!

The dog, Billy Boy (left) trots around them, cautious of his oversized feet and allows them to crawl all over him, bat at his long ears and
attack his tail. He plays back, and always is so gentle.

Billy becomes a surrogate mother and is
very protective of his young charges. He is the only critter in the house allowed in the "nursery" when new kittens are under two weeks old. I let him sniff one of the new babies and once he realizes what is making all that noise, he's fine :-) He knows in another couple of months he'll have plenty
of new playmates, but for now they are
off-limits.

Once the babies have moved into the main part of the house, the kittens feel it is their job to redecorate - constantly! No surface is sacred. Magazines on a table top make a particularly good launching pad. Any little trinket left, well, anywhere, must be tossed to the floor in a playful frenzy. The kittens can be a whirlwind of destruction all on their own, but when 23 pound Uncle Zuni Bear joins the fun - oh my!

Words of advice to new kitten buyers - buy a nice sturdy china cabinet to house all your china, glassware and knick-knacks.

Never underestimate the ability of any kitten to get where you really don’t want it to be! Maybe especially a Maine Coon Kitten ;-)

The first fly of Spring!

Moxie, Zuni + FuzzyButt

(kittens at 6 months)

And someone ate the feather duster, then hit the bathtub for a little more household havoc!

(red guy Marty at 4 months)

This is another reason I need to review new kitten buyer applicants - some homes really aren't suited to having a kitten and may be better off with an older, more settled companion, perhaps a retired Maine Coon show cat or breeder. While Maine Coons do remain playful well into their years, once they've hit two or three they tend to settle down significantly and aren't as likely to be so far-flung in their explorations (well, unless a fly gets in the house...)

Between six and eight weeks (after the kittens have had their first immunizations) I begin to invite friends and family and their kids over to play with the kittens, so they will be comfortable with new people and children. My aim is to expose them to as many different social situations as possible while they are young, and I'll occasionally take a couple out with me to visit a Pet Food store. I sometimes think I need to find a husband for the good of the kittens, but where's the man who will be happy in a cat-filled house? Anyway! While health and overall wellness of the line is my primary breeding goal, I think the socialization aspects of raising the kittens is extremely important. Kittens are not allowed in a CFA show hall younger than four months, so as soon as they are old enough, any kittens left in the house get to go to their first cat show, either as entrants or just to hang out and observe all the excitement - all those people walking by and allll those kitty smells around! Whether they end up being show cats or not, this is another good socializing experience for them.

Application for Ownership
- These babies are special to me, so I need to check into any potential homes :-)