How Clients Choose Kittens: Myths and Reality

A client told me that she specifically wants a female simply because she has always had female cats. Other clients tell me, “We had a girl before, so now we want a boy.” So many people, so many different ways of looking at it.

Personally, I belong to the second group. I’ve always tried to get as many different experiences from life as possible. For me, that simply makes life more interesting and more fun.

Another reason I often hear is temperament. Recently, a client told me she would only consider a boy because she once had an aggressive female.

But aggression is not a gender trait.

An aggressive cat is usually a frightened, stressed cat, often with previous trauma or negative experiences. This is especially common with rescue cats, although it can happen anywhere. How a kitten is raised matters far more than whether it is a boy or a girl. How safe and secure the kitten feels, how much positive human interaction it receives, and the environment in which it grows all matter enormously. A frightened or chronically stressed animal may become defensive. A kitten raised with security, affection, and positive experiences has a very different foundation.

Many clients who want a large Maine Coon specifically look for a boy because they believe males grow larger than females. They also often ask to see the kitten’s parents, assuming that the parents’ size will tell them how large their kitten will eventually become.

An intact breeding male will usually look larger than a breeding female, but there is a very simple reason for that. Maine Coons continue growing and developing for up to three to three and a half years. I begin breeding my females while they are still young, before they have reached their full adult size. During pregnancy and nursing, their growth may slow while their bodies devote enormous resources to carrying and raising their kittens, so a young breeding female may look much smaller than the mature adult she will eventually become.

Some breeders prefer to wait until a female is older and fully developed before breeding her. I prefer younger mothers for a very practical reason: newborn Maine Coon kittens are tiny, and a very large, heavy mother can accidentally lie on a kitten while nursing. With a younger, lighter mother, I find the risk easier to manage.

This is also one of the reasons I retire my breeding females while they are still young. After retirement, they have plenty of time to continue maturing and filling out as adult Maine Coons.

What about you? What criteria do you usually use when choosing a kitten? Have you ever found that something you believed about gender, temperament, or size turned out to be completely different in reality?

As for me, knowing what I know about different catteries, health would be my first priority. Not every cattery raises healthy kittens, and health problems can become emotionally and financially exhausting.

Boy or girl, color or size — all of that comes second. Give me a healthy kitten, and I can fall in love. ❤️

And if health is your first priority too, welcome to Joie De Vivre Maine Coons. ❤️